Interview · moment 9 of 42
Building an In-House Media Empire: The Machine Marketing Story
from An American Royal with Bert Kreischer | The Tim Dillon Show #341 · #341
4 min
Guest
Bert explains his business philosophy of being the 'remora fish' controlling all the ancillary businesses (marketing, BTS, social) around his own projects, and details how he personally revived and marketed The Machine movie after it sat shelved over Ukraine/Putin fears.
- Tim explains his business philosophy using the analogy of being a shark with remora fish—the small sucker fish that ride along and represent his in-house business model.
- The ideal deal structure he would have negotiated: keeping control of marketing, social media, behind-the-scenes content, and ancillary businesses tied to a film rather than farming them out.
- Tim takes credit for The Machine's marketing success, claiming he pulled a shelved movie off the shelf and leaked the trailer on Rogan.
- The movie sat on the shelf because of Putin fears—people worried it would be received negatively due to the geopolitical timing, though Tim argues the story has nothing to do with current events.
- Tim handled the announcement himself and got the trailer widely distributed, achieving significant viral reach within 24 hours.
- Similar approach with Razzle Dazzle: he took control of all behind-the-scenes content, marketing, and editing in-house.
- Tim identifies his actual strength: selling himself to people who already like him, which he applies across stand-up and other ventures.