Jose Zambrano Cassella

MOVIES TOO GOOD FOR YOUR STREAMING QUEUE: The Long Good Friday Karma’s a Bastard — Just Ask Bob Hoskins

New on CUT TO BLACK. Free to read:)
#films #filmmaking #movies

This year has indeed sucked ass. One of my heroes. No words. RIP Ace Frehley

hashtag#music hashtag#kissarmy hashtag#acefrehley hashtag#icon

The Guy Who Painted Your Childhood Before Photoshop. Before AI. One man, a brush, and the entire magic of cinema.

New on Cut To Black:
The man who painted your childhood.

Drew Struzan didn’t just make posters, he made movies iconic.

🎨 Free to read.

#filmart #DrewStruzan #posters

I know it’s not important, but I liked the new TRON. The Nine Inch Nails soundtrack is insane, the visuals are killer, and I even tolerated Jared Leto in 3D. So yeah, support your local theater and go see it. And if you get bored you can close your eyes and enjoy the music.

Hollywood Is Dead. Long Live Hollywood. The dream didn’t die. It just changed its address.

New on Cut To Black:

Hollywood is dead. Long live Hollywood.

A brutally honest look at what’s left of the dream factory, and why it might still be worth saving. Free to read now.

#filmmaking #hollywood

Things are so slow in production I started storyboarding my next grocery trip. Wide shots, close-ups, and emotional beats included.

YEAR OF TRON (Not the one you’re thinking of.)

New Cut To Black article is live: “YEAR OF TRON (Not the one you’re thinking of.)”.
A trip back to when movies felt like miracles, not algorithms.

#films #80scinema #TRON

Everyone’s a Director. Nobody’s a Filmmaker. Find your damn voice.

New on Cut to Black: Everyone’s a Director. Nobody’s a Filmmaker.

If you’ve ever called “action” before finding your voice, this one’s for you.

#filmmaking #cinema #directing

A place to talk film, music, and culture from the inside, the stuff I’ve lived, not just watched.

Part chaos, part confession, all opinion, the kind you didn’t ask for but might actually enjoy.

The scene of the crime:
josezambranocassella.substack.com

Subscribe (it's free) if you dare. #film

It’s Not F***ing Yacht Rock Pop once had a brain, a groove, and a pulse.

New Cut To Black article is live, because someone had to remind the world that music didn’t start with a laptop and a ring light.

josezambranocassella.substack.com/p/its-not-fi...

“I’m a Producer!” Because saying it out loud is apparently all it takes now.

“I’m a Producer!”
New on Cut To Black: Some people wake up, stretch, yawn, and decide they’re producers. I wrote them a little reality check. Spoiler: it’s not a compliment.
josezambranocassella.substack.com/p/im-a-produ...

FILE UNDER: THE CAVALRY ISN’T COMING Indie Film’s Future: Stop Begging, Start Building.

New article is live!. Free to read. Link below:

josezambranocassella.substack.com/p/file-under...

#film #filmmaking #filmfunding #reality #creator #artist

MOVIES TOO GOOD FOR YOUR STREAMING QUEUE: Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now Venice, grief, sex, and a little red coat.

Live now: Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now: Venice, grief, sex, and that little red coat that still haunts me. One of cinema’s cruelest masterpieces.

Link:
josezambranocassella.substack.com/p/movies-too...

Don’t worry…it’s a free read:)

#FilmCommunity #Cinephile #ClassicMovies

The first words from the AI actress were ‘What I really want to do is direct.’

#film

The Soundtrack to My Own Madness Scenes, beats, same addiction, different toys.

The Soundtrack to My Own Madness
open.substack.com/pub/josezamb...

Live now on Substack:

#newmusic #music #newmusicalert #musicislife #undergroundartist

Playpen Media | Media Creation Playpen Media. Allison Baker, Jose Zambrano Cassella & Zach Landreneau. Creators of award winning media, in all shapes and sizes. Production services big and small.

Just launched www.playpenmedia.com, a site showing my favorite film projects from the past decade, made with Allison Baker (Dir/Prod) & Zach Landreneau (Composer/Sound).
We’re open for new work!
Let’s talk.

#Filmmaking #create

Streaming: The Tostitos Vending Machine of Cinema Taste is a muscle. Algorithms atrophy muscles. Curiosity builds them

Streaming: The Tostitos Vending Machine of Cinema
New Substack is live:

josezambranocassella.substack.com/p/streaming-...

#film #cinema #streaming

THOMAS DOLBY AND THE STRANGE GENIUS OF THE 80’S When pop music had more guts, more risk, and more actual music per square inch.

The 80s: more music per square inch. Thomas Dolby proved it. New Substack is live.

LINK: josezambranocassella.substack.com/p/thomas-dol...

#80smusic #synthpop #MusicHistory

File under things I should never say: I hate to talk bad about a fellow artist, especially a Latino one. But Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl? That’s one of the signs of the end of the world. Football? Handball. Soccer is real football. #sarcasm #superbowl #funny

MOVIES TOO GOOD FOR YOUR STREAMING QUEUE - Excalibur (1981) by John Boorman The Arthurian legend, but hornier, weirder, and actually unforgettable.

MOVIES TOO GOOD FOR YOUR STREAMING QUEUE - Excalibur (1981) by John Boorman
Link: josezambranocassella.substack.com/p/movies-too...

#Excalibur #JohnBoorman #HelenMirren #NicolWilliamson #CultCinema #FantasyFilms #80sMovies #FilmCommunity #CinemaLovers #MovieReview

So the rapture was supposed to happen today. Hard to trust the news when Trump, his White House crew, the Senate, and Congress are still here, they’d obviously be ‘left behind.’ Just checking if any good people are still with us.

#Rapture2025 #Trump

The Duos That Shaped Cinema (Or: Why Some Directors Would Be Nothing Without Their DP)

Director + DP = the real magic trick. New article is live now.

The Duos That Shaped Cinema
open.substack.com/pub/josezamb...

#filmmaking #cinematography #directors #filmcommunity #filmindustry #movieloverscommunity #indiefilm #storytelling #behindthescenes

I am ready to switch to plan B.
#life

These days producers are expecting writers to have their scripts already packaged! At that point you are the producer. Thank god there is always Tito's Vodka.

FILE UNDER: MOVIES TOO GOOD FOR YOUR STREAMING QUEUE Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, voodoo, and a one-way ticket to hell.

Alan Parker’s ANGEL HEART
A forgotten, fucked-up masterpiece, finally in 4K.
My take:
substack.com/@josezambran...

#angelheart #AlanParker #MickeyRourke #robertdeniro #FilmNoirClassicr #cultcinema #moviereview #CinemaLovers #indiefilm #filmcommunity

Make your screenplay worth the cost of the ink for the table read. :)

I Use AI Every Day. I Still Mourn What It’s Killing. When I dream something up, raise the funds, gather a crew, block it, light it, shoot it, and edit it into existence, that’s me.

There’s a difference between creating with a machine and creating with your own hands. This piece is about that difference, and why the craft of filmmaking still matters.
#filmmaking #aiartcommunity #indiefilm #cinematography

Link: open.substack.com/pub/josezamb...

‘The Toxic Avenger’ Relieved ‘Millions in Medical Debt,’ but Cineverse Only Spent $50K to Make It Happen Cineverse and Undue Medical Debt explain their PR campaign at the box office for the unrated 'The Toxic Avenger' (2025) to IndieWire. Exclusive.

Sometimes, good things happen....

‘The Toxic Avenger’ Relieved ‘Millions in Medical Debt,’ but Cineverse Only Spent $50K to Make It Happen

www.indiewire.com/features/int... via @IndieWire

Congratulations, You Made a Netflix Knockoff Keep ignoring craft and cinema’s going straight to Velveeta hell.

Congratulations, You Made a Netflix Knockoff
open.substack.com/pub/josezamb...

New piece up: if your only influence is Netflix, you’re doing it wrong. Cinema is a language, learn it, study it, respect it.

#filmmaking #indiefilm #filmcommunity #directors #storytelling #cinema