What you'll learn

• 1 (00:22) **The Hidden Market Behind Your Streaming Menu** - Host Alexi Horowitz-Gazi introduces the premise: the negotiations and strategy that determine which movies make it to a screen near you.
• 2 (01:00) **Meet John Sloss, "The King of Sundance"** - Introduction to John Sloss, founder of Synetic Media, a veteran sales agent who turns cinematic art into saleable commodities.
• 3 (03:57) **The Tiny Circle of Decision-Makers** - The host realizes the commercial fate of any film depends on a small handful of people with specific tastes and calculations.
• 4 (05:02) **Basecamp vs. Summit: The Real Goal of Sundance** - Getting into Sundance is just the beginning; the real goal is selling the movie to a distributor.
• 5 (07:37) **The 1989 Inflection Point: Sex, Lies, and Videotape** - John Sloss explains how one film transformed Sundance from a celebration of indie film into a major market.
• 6 (08:48) **The Art of Selling: A Jekyll and Hyde Dance** - John describes the two-phase strategy: ingratiating yourself before the screening, then hardline negotiating afterward.
• 7 (10:32) **The Napoleon Dynamite Strategy: Downplaying Hype** - John explains how keeping a low profile can create organic buzz that leads to a better sale.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app