Casting Calls to Creator Capital: theWorkbook Bets on Vertical Filmmaking
John McLean, president of theWorkbook, on why vertical drama is here to stay, where the money is going, and what actually builds an acting career.
In the first episode of Beyond the Hook, host Shera Skinner sits down with John McLean, president of theWorkbook, recorded live at the Canadian Vertical Film Festival 2026 in Victoria, BC. John explains how a wave of casting calls for vertical actors in late 2024 pushed theWorkbook to research the format, and why by the end of 2025 they had concluded vertical is not a fad but a new media type that will live alongside film and television.
He walks…
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