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Unpacked: the Misadventures of an Indie Film Company

Unpacked: the Misadventures of an Indie Film Company

By: James M Raney & Jason Kiesel
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What happens when two lifelong cinephiles finally decide they've had enough of what Hollywood is putting out these days? Well, they start their own film production company of course... and find out first hand just how hard it is to take something from the blank page to the silver screen.

Jason Kiesel is a tech startup wiz who was on the ground floor with a little site called MySpace back in the day, then built his own tech startup and sold it... twice. He also happens to love cats and movies.

Mat Raney is a novelist turned screenwriter who won some awards and worked on a show called Bull for CBS. He has a wife and two kids that for some reason keep putting up with him (and even let him sneak out to the movies here and there.)

Each week, Jason and Mat talk about their ongoing adventures founding an independent film company, Packed House Pictures, and their efforts to source, finance, and make their first indie film, and along the way talk about movies they love (and maybe not love so much) and how they inspire them.

For more info, visit www.packed-house.com or www.indiefund.film

Packed House Pictures Art Economics
Episodes
  • It's Alive?

    It's Alive?
    Feb 27 2026

    Mat and Jason chat for a bit about AI in the indie movie landscape, and also talk about Guillermo Del Toro's Netflix update on a classic: Frankenstein.

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    39 mins
  • Influ-enza

    Influ-enza
    Feb 21 2026

    Mat Jason talk about casting (and financing) for an indie film in the age of content creators and influencers, and also wander down memory lane to talk about one of the most successful (best marketed) indie films of all time, The Blair Witch Project.

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    34 mins
  • What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

    What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
    Feb 14 2026

    Mat and Jason talk about how the best intentions don't always lead to the best result... and talk about trying to avoid the pitfalls of making a bad indie movie by way of the infamous A24 disaster, "Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III".
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    36 mins
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