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In this special Thanksgiving episode, Ellen Williams sits down with Mas Moriya, filmmaker, producer, and founder of Filmclusive, a platform he built from scratch to make hiring in film, TV, and gaming more transparent and equitable.

Mas was once an up-and-coming creative working with the likes of Alicia Keys.
But after the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, rising production costs, and the LA fires, the industry around him collapsed.

Friends with feature films, fellowships, and awards were suddenly saying:

That turning point pushed Mas into a powerful pause, a year-long reset where he stepped away from filmmaking entirely to understand what was broken in Hollywood and how to fix it.
What he found wasn’t just economic failure… but a systemic lack of tools, structure, and support for working creatives.

So he taught himself software engineering and design, leaning heavily on analogies (including Pokémon!) to understand complex concepts.
Yes, The story Mas Moriya shared included a very creative idea on how to learn a new skill.

And that learning led him to build Filmclusive, a market network designed to end pay-to-play capitalism in Hollywood and give creatives free access to opportunities and digital tools.

In this episode, Mas and Ellen discuss:

• How Hollywood’s economic shifts are pushing out working creatives
• Why the industry still depends on spreadsheets and 10 disconnected tools
• The moment he realized no platform truly served filmmakers and performers
• How AI and analogy-driven learning helped him teach himself to code
• Why small daily pauses can lead to major life pivots
• The leadership lesson Mas believes every CEO should practice

A perfect episode for anyone navigating change, reinvention, or the courage to build something new.

Learn more about Mas: https://www.filmclusive.com/about-founder

Learn more about Ellen: https://thesalientstrategist.com

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