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In this episode of Inside Indies, producer Scott Glassgold joins the show to discuss his unique path through the entertainment industry and how his IP-driven model is changing the landscape for indie filmmakers. Known for producing Tarot, a 2024 horror film made for $8 million that grossed nearly $50 million, and for developing Long Lost, now in active development at Universal with Steven Spielberg attached, Glassgold is reshaping how short-form storytelling breaks into Hollywood.
Glassgold began his career in marketing at Disney, later transitioning to development at New Line Cinema. “I was able to see the largest movies being released and how they were being positioned in the marketplace, which is sort of invaluable,” he said. His first independent producing project, Hurricane Season, told the true story of a high school basketball team coming together after Hurricane Katrina. “It was a magnificent story and truly inspirational,” he noted.
After founding Ground Control, Glassgold evolved the company from a traditional production house into a management and representation firm. But his biggest pivot came with his focus on short films and stories as IP. “We were using those as proof of concepts to demonstrate both ability of the filmmaker but simultaneously creating something that was transactional.”
His production Prospect, which began as a short film and later became a feature starring Pedro Pascal, exemplifies this model. So does Blink, a short film that helped launch the directing duo behind Tarot. “There’s a direct delineation between us making that short and then them having something to point to.”
Under his new venture 12:01, Glassgold is expanding into publishing through a partnership with Simon & Schuster. The company developed Long Lost and My Wife and I Bought a Ranch, both based on short stories that generated studio bidding wars. “We spend a great deal of time developing with writers… and then we shop it for film, and we hold back publishing.”
Watch the episode above or listen to it in full on your favorite podcast platform to learn how Scott Glassgold is building a scalable pipeline for indie IP through short-form storytelling.
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