From analog rejection to digital resurrection. Films Not Made unearths both Hollywood and indie film projects too wild, weird, or ambitious to ever hit the big screen. Hosts Avi Zev Weider and Amy Hobby invite writers, directors, and producers to join them in ripping open old wounds by pulling out abandoned scripts, impossible casting lists, and brutal rejection letters. Honest conversations with creators and AI resurrections of the movies that got away.

Episode List

Poodle Power: The Feel-Good Animated Iditarod Movie of the Year

Mar 10th, 2026 1:00 PM

What if a team of standard poodles ran the Iditarod? Not as a joke—as a real animated feature film.Amy Hobby and Anne Hubbell spent nearly a decade trying to make "Poodle Power" happen. Based on the true story of John Suter, who actually raced poodles (alongside huskies) in Alaska's legendary sled dog race until the Iditarod committee banned non-husky breeds in 1990. The project went through countless iterations: from live-action rescue helicopter drama to animated adventure, from Blue Sky Studios meetings to pitch sessions with executives who loved it but wouldn't greenlight it.Amy reunites with her producing partner Anne Hubbell (Provincetown International Film Festival, Kodak) and animation veteran Kent Osborne (SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventure Time) to autopsy eight years of development hell. They dissect the original pitch deck, revisit brutal notes from Oscar-nominated animators, and explore why a perfectly good idea about lovable poodles couldn't cross the finish line.Then we feed everything into the AI pipeline—scripts, decks, news clips, character descriptions—and resurrect "Poodle Power" with a new pitch deck and trailer. Plus, we introduce Bob, our AI film executive, who weighs in on whether this project has legs now.Guests: Anne Hubbell - Producer, Co-founder of Tangerine Entertainment, Director of Provincetown International Film Festival Kent Osborne - Actor, Writer, Director (SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventure Time)Hosts: Amy Hobby - Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning producer Avi Zev Weider - Award-winning filmmakerFrom analog rejection to digital resurrection - Films Not Made hosts Amy Hobby and Avi Zev Weider unearth both Hollywood and indie film projects too wild, weird, or ambitious to ever hit the big screen. You'll hear writers, directors, and producers ripping open old wounds by pulling out abandoned scripts, impossible casting lists, and brutal rejection letters. These honest conversations with creators become AI resurrections of the movies that never were.Subscribe and follow on YouTube and all podcast platforms. Website: filmsnotmade.comSubstack/Instagram/TikTok: @filmsnotmadePod.Link: https://pod.link/1873083993#UnmadeFilms #Animation #Iditarod #PoodlePower #IndieFilm #AIFilmmaking #DevelopmentHell

I Need Love: LL Cool J & Kool Moe Dee Love Story

Mar 2nd, 2026 10:00 AM

What if the legendary 1987 beef between LL Cool J and Kool Moe Dee was hiding a forbidden romance?Filmmaker Michael Tully (Ping Pong Summer, Cocaine Angel) wrote exactly that script during COVID—a hip-hop fairy tale he describes as "Krush Groove meets Brokeback Mountain." And yes, he actually pitched it to Kool Moe Dee himself.We explore why Michael wrote a film he knew would "never get made," how he balanced parody with sincerity, and what happened when he approached one of hip-hop's legends. Then we take his script, run it through our AI pipeline, and create a pitch deck and trailer to resurrect this impossible film.Joining the conversation is Loren Hammonds (Peabody Award-winning producer, Time Studios, former VP at Tribeca Film Festival), who brings his perspective as both a documentary curator and former hip-hop emcee "Mojo the Cinematic."Guests: Michael Tully - Filmmaker, founding editor of Hammer to Nail Loren Hammonds - Head of Documentary, Time StudiosHosts: Amy Hobby - Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning producer Avi Zev Weider - Award-winning filmmaker, SXSWFrom analog rejection to digital resurrection - Films Not Made hosts Amy Hobby and Avi Zev Weider unearth both Hollywood and indie film projects too wild, weird, or ambitious to ever hit the big screen. You'll hear writers, directors, and producers ripping open old wounds by pulling out abandoned scripts, impossible casting lists, and brutal rejection letters. These honest conversations with creators become AI resurrections of the movies that never were.Subscribe and follow on YouTube and all podcast platforms. Website: filmsnotmade.com Substack/Instagram/TikTok: @filmsnotmadeLetterboxd "I Need Love"Pod.Link: https://pod.link/1873083993#UnmadeFilms #HipHopHistory #AIFilmmaking #LLCoolJ #KoolMoeDee

Coming Soon: Films Not Made

Feb 10th, 2026 1:45 AM

What if you could finally see the films that never made it to the screen? Films Not Made is a revolutionary new weekly podcast launching March 3 that uses AI to resurrect Hollywood's most bizarre and heartbreaking unmade projects.We give filmmakers closure and audiences a front-row seat to the greatest movies never made. Subscribe on your favorite platform to hear the stories—and follow our video show to see the films for yourself. Visit FilmsNotMade.com for more.

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