Off The Lot

Off The Lot is where serious indie filmmakers level up. Hosted by Ken Kabatoff and Anthony Epp, this podcast goes beyond the fluff to deliver real, hard-earned lessons from the frontlines of independent filmmaking. Each episode is a masterclass—featuring directors, producers, and creatives who are in the trenches, making movies happen without a safety net. If you want actionable insights, unfiltered conversations, and the blueprint to build your own career outside the studio system—this is the show.

Off The Lot is a tv podcast hosted by Ken Kabatoff and Anthony Epp, with 36 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Ken Kabatoff and Anthony Epp hosts Off The Lot, a tv show with 36 episodes published.

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  Episode #62

  Tight Lettuce: The Reality of Making Your First Feature | Harrison Houde & Dakota Daulby

  Aug 17, 20261h 14mS2

  Harrison Houde and Dakota Daulby spent years trying to get a feature film made. Then a producer called and essentially said: write the movie — we’re shooting it this year. The result was Tight Lettuce , a bilingual English/French dark comedy inspired by a true story about a son trying to maintain a relationship with his heroin-addicted father. The film went on to premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival and win the Golden Audience Award for Best Quebec Film. In this episode of Off The Lot , Harrison and Dakota break down what it actually took to turn the project into their first feature — from originally developing it as a $100,000 short to suddenly having the opportunity to make the full movie. We get into: How a Facebook message eventually became a feature film Writing a first draft in roughly a month Financing the film outside the traditional Telefilm model Making a sub-$2.5M indie feature in 20 shooting days Why their 20-day shoot effectively became 16–17 days Casting Quebec star Emmanuel Bilodeau Combining comedy and addiction without trivializing either What they learned from 12–13 cuts of the movie Why Harrison says he’d never start another movie with car scenes The mistakes they made on their first feature Why they now want recognizable cast attached earlier What filmmakers misunderstand about theatrical distribution The reality of trying to get an indie film onto movie screens They also talk candidly about the biggest writing problem they discovered in the edit, what they would put in their contracts next time, and the lessons they’re already applying to their next films. Subscribe to Off The Lot for conversations about what it actually takes to finance, make, finish, and release independent films outside the studio system. Follow Ken's Indie Horror Feature Remnant here: www.remnantmovie.com Follow Ken Kabatoff's newsletter here: The Film Founder Follow Anthony Epp's newsletter here: The Greenlight Report Follow Ken & Anthony on Instagram here: @ken_kabatoff @epptri

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  Episode #61

  The Director & 1st AD Relationship: How Great Film Sets Actually Run

  Aug 10, 202659 minS2

  A great 1st AD doesn’t just keep a film on schedule — they can completely change what a director is capable of accomplishing on set.In this episode Ken and Anthony break down one of the most important relationships in filmmaking: the director and the 1st assistant director. Ken shares what he learned directing his first feature, REMNANT, including working with veteran 1st AD Pete White, restructuring impossible shooting days, running two units simultaneously, knowing which shots could be pushed, and why the best ADs are much more than glorified schedulers. Anthony brings the perspective of an experienced 1st AD: how to earn a director’s trust, plan an ambitious shot list around the reality of an indie schedule, manage dozens of departments without creating panic, protect safety without compromising the film, and keep an entire set moving with purpose. We also break down chain of title — the paperwork every independent filmmaker needs to protect their movie before money, partners, investors, distributors, and competing interests enter the picture. Follow Ken's Indie Horror Feature Remnant here: www.remnantmovie.com Follow Ken Kabatoff's newsletter here: The Film Founder Follow Anthony Epp's newsletter here: The Greenlight Report Follow Ken & Anthony on Instagram here: @ken_kabatoff @epptri

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  Episode #60

  The Odyssey Review: IMAX Spectacle, But Where’s The Heart?

  Aug 3, 202639 minS2

  Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is unlike anything ever put on a movie screen. Shot entirely on IMAX film across oceans, mountains, deserts and ancient landscapes, it is an astonishing feat of physical filmmaking—and arguably the ultimate theatrical experience.But is technical achievement enough to make a great movie? In this full-spoiler review, we break down Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic, from the Trojan Horse and the Cyclops to Calypso, Ithaca and the slaughter of the suitors. We examine the film’s most significant changes to the original text, including the removal of most of the Greek gods, Odysseus’s altered motivation, the elimination of his defining act of hubris and Nolan’s decision to transform a story about homecoming into one about guilt, trauma and regret. We also go inside the extraordinary production: enormous IMAX cameras, two-and-a-half-minute film magazines, custom soundproof camera housings, mirrored eyeline systems, real ships and practical environments. Nolan and his collaborators effectively had to invent new filmmaking techniques just to get the movie made. The result is visually overwhelming and technically historic. But does The Odyssey give us a hero worth rooting for? Did Nolan’s changes weaken Odysseus’s journey? And why does the climactic return to Ithaca feel less emotionally satisfying than it should? Spoiler warning: This episode discusses the entire film and major events from Homer’s original story.Subscribe to Off the Lot for candid conversations about filmmaking, film financing, production and what it takes to build a career outside the studio system.

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  Episode #59

  Are Movie Theaters Actually Making a Comeback?

  Jul 27, 20261h 4mS2

  Movie theaters aren’t dying. In fact, more people are buying tickets—and the films succeeding are challenging several assumptions Hollywood has made over the last decade. In this episode of Off The Lot, we examine why theatrical admissions are rising, how longer release windows and a stronger supply of original movies are rebuilding the moviegoing habit, and why audiences no longer simply “go to the movies”—they choose one specific film worth leaving home to see. We also break down one of the most difficult decisions facing independent producers: does casting a recognizable actor actually help sell an indie film? Ken shares what changed after Kim Coates joined Remnant, including the credibility a known actor can bring—and the hidden production costs that come with hiring one. Then we discuss Vancouver producer Chris Ferguson and Oddfellows’ new first-look deal with Warner Bros., what their success proves about building a repeatable genre-film company, and why their rise creates opportunities for the next generation of Canadian producers. In this episode: •⁠ ⁠Why theatrical admissions matter more than box-office headlines •⁠ ⁠How longer theatrical windows create urgency and audience demand •⁠ ⁠Why original horror films are bringing younger viewers back •⁠ ⁠Recognizable actors versus genuinely bankable actors •⁠ ⁠The true cost of adding a name actor to an indie production •⁠ ⁠How Oddfellows built toward its Warner Bros. partnership •⁠ ⁠Why production companies need a repeatable pipeline •⁠ ⁠The real value of genre festivals such as Fantasia

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  Episode #58

  Mayumi Yoshida on Making Akashi and Changing Telefilm’s Rules

  Jul 20, 20261h 16mS2

  Mayumi Yoshida spent nine years turning a deeply personal idea into her first feature film, Akashi—writing, directing, producing, and starring in a story that crosses generations, countries, and languages. In this episode, Mayumi reveals how a conversation with her grandmother evolved from a stage play into an award-winning short and, eventually, a critically acclaimed feature. She also breaks down the fight to finance an 80% Japanese-language Canadian film—and how she and a coalition of filmmakers helped push Telefilm Canada to remove a policy that prevented many multilingual stories from qualifying for funding. We also discuss: * Directing herself while leading an international cast * Shooting in Vancouver and Japan on an extremely compressed schedule * How losing six production days shaped the film’s visual language * Rehearsing film scenes like theatre to survive two- and three-take days * Cutting a completed two-hour version down to 100 minutes * Using black and white, colour, production design, and sound to explore memory * Why filmmakers should choose stories they can remain committed to for a lifetime * The importance of knowing when you are—and are not—the right person to tell a story Akashi premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Choice Award, and went on to receive major recognition at the Whistler Film Festival, Reel Asian, and the Leo Awards. Follow Ken's Indie Horror Feature Remnant here: www.remnantmovie.com Follow Ken Kabatoff's newsletter here: The Film Founder Follow Anthony Epp's newsletter here: The Greenlight Report Follow Ken & Anthony on Instagram here: @ken_kabatoff @epptri

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