NBC News profiled Curry Barker, the YouTuber-turned-filmmaker who directed the horror hit Obsession: This quote from him stood out to me: “We’re finally getting to the point where people are like, OK, fine, I’ll put my film on YouTube. Versus when I was in film school, that was kind of like a last resort. People didn’t want to put their stuff on YouTube. They wanted to go the festival route. I was like, screw it. You know, just put it on YouTube and see what happens.” This reinforces a point I’ve returned to again and again in my newsletter: YouTube is essentially becoming a training ground for the next generation of Hollywood filmmakers. Many start out making short films and comedy sketches, formats that let them quickly experiment, refine their craft, and learn the fundamentals while simultaneously building their personal brands. For now, they’re still mostly selling their feature-length films to traditional Hollywood studios, but it’s only a matter of time before they become more comfortable with direct distribution. In fact, the YouTuber Markiplier already proved this model out after he pulled in over $50 million in theatrical ticket sales for his film Iron Lung. nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-…