“Man, should we start a Blu-ray company?”: Ryan Verrill shares the origin story of Antenna Releasing (part two)
Ryan Verrill is now co-founder (along with Billy Ray Brewton and Francis Galluppi) of Antenna Releasing, a distribution label with the goal of disrupting the current models that are not filmmaker-focused. (photo property of Antenna Releasing)
Ryan Verrill, the founder of The Disc-Connected and Someone’s Favorite Productions, has launched Antenna Releasing, which is “a full service boutique distribution company specializing in curated theatrical engagements, and robust, filmmaker-forward physical media releases.”
In part two of the conversation, we discuss the work they’ve done to prepare for the launch along with a focus on their plans for physical media.
What’s the Idea: What have you done so far to be ready to launch?
Ryan: We have a handful of films signed that are new, films with 2026 release dates. We have stuff that was literally just done, that has not even premiered at film festivals yet. We got in on them very, very early. We are speaking with filmmakers around the world. We've already met with people in other countries multiple times. Billy Ray and I have met together and gone to a film festival together already. This has existed for quite some time, and we are making large strides.
But the biggest thing was the physical media side. Since that was the end goal for me specifically, I had to really start from scratch on that. Finding a manufacturer was tough. We had to find somebody that can handle distributing standard editions and stuff like that. They're handling Amazon for us and are going to be hands-on with that. We had to find fulfillment, so I don't get stuck sending out 800 orders a month or anything like that.
“I’ve been able to say, ‘Look, I know that it’s hard to put faith in somebody that’s not doing this, but I publish a monthly magazine on home video. I am the one posting announcements on this for every home video release. I’ve been doing this for years.’”
It was tough to get it nailed down in a way where the economics made sense to do this for somebody that was going in it literally with no money. I can say publicly right now, I've put less than $1,000 of my own money into this already. At this point, we are not paying people out at a rate where we need to do that yet. Our first theatrical release will be coming out at the end of March or early April, so we're looking to be growing our income in the next 60 days already.
Being able to nail down that timeline, getting people to trust your background without saying, “Here's a public website,” or “We're a public facing company, and we have reviews from people on how we can trust it,” has been a journey for sure. But the truth is that everything about this is about who you know, and my rolodex combined with Billy Ray’s has been game changing. I've been able to say, “Look, I know that it's hard to put faith in somebody that's not doing this, but I publish a monthly magazine on home video. I am the one posting announcements on this for every home video release. I've been doing this for years. Here's my YouTube link. You can see that I've done this every week since 2021 without missing a single one, except for once in 2022 and there's a good reason,” and all these other things.
They can go “Wait, this person is actually in it,” and then we have this director that's doing great things. That's been a big deal, and it's led to some funny coincidences. We signed a film that we're going to be putting out, and one of the producers on it is the director of the documentary behind Fran Galluppi's film The Last Stop in Yuma County. We met with this filmmaker, and they were talking internally about how these numbers seem too good to be true, let's look at the contract. They saw Fran Galluppi's name and the guy that was involved went, “Wait. Are they just using somebody's name for clout or something like that.”
Francis Galluppi’s feature film The Last Stop in Yuma County to critical acclaim. Antenna Releasing will help improve the chances of other filmmakers being successful with their own distribution.
They called up Fran, and Fran had to be like, “No, no, no. I'm involved. I had no idea they were coming after the film that you're working on. However, I completely endorse it. You can trust them.” They got off the phone and then Fran called me. He goes, “Dude,” and we had this bonding moment of “It's working. People are hearing about this and spreading the word.”
But the main reason it had to be now is because next week, as of the time of this getting posted, Billy Ray Brewton will be attending Sundance as a representative for Antenna looking at new films. Sundance is the quintessential film festival in the United States and last year, three or four films were signed. That's insane. In the past, if your film went to Sundance and you went home without a deal, you felt like a failure. Now it's just like, yeah, we'll just go to the next one. That is the film industry changing entirely.
We can bring some integrity and honesty and get some of these larger films that people are unwilling to sign for some reason, probably because they don't want to put a ton into marketing. Maybe we can come in and get something that's huge and make everybody a little bit more money, and in a way that gets the art out to more people.
What’s the Idea: It's fantastic to hear that there's a company that's going to be that filmmaker focused and holistically trying to get everybody to benefit from this thing.
Ryan: Exactly, and in a way that's not just leading to corporate overlords essentially, because right now, it's the same story in pretty much every industry in the U.S., which is horrifying. It's a handful of people at the top of every business making way more money than they need to, and a lot of people under them are struggling to make a living wage. That is appalling, and we should all be striving to fight back against that. This is my small part.
So many of these old contracts that filmmakers are getting are a joke because they'll talk about the strategy for the next year for the roll out, but that's the end of the contract. There's no discussion about what happens after the first year. These contracts are usually somewhere between five and seven years. You've only outlined until March of next year. What goes on after that for the next six years that you own it? Nobody ever talks about that.
We’re already talking to filmmakers about in year two, this is how we're going to ramp up interest again. In year three, we might start putting it on sale or bundling it with these other things. In year four, your next film is coming out, so we're going to hype it up as soon as you announce your next project. And if you want to have us distribute it, we'll be involved from day one.
What’s the Idea: I can relate with an example like Die My Love. I couldn’t make the showtimes in its two-week availability in my area, and that's the end of that life cycle. I’ll probably never get a chance to see it again. Why does it have to be that way? It sounds like you're going to open some of those doors, possibly.
Ryan: We want to make relationships with these theatres in a way where if we played on a Saturday night one week, we want to wait a good, I don't know, 10 days, and play it on a Tuesday the next time, because a lot of people work on Saturday nights. If I can, I'm going to give everybody at least two opportunities to see it.
I make no bones about it. I know that these films aren't blockbusters. I know that they're not going to get 3-week runs in art house theatres. I know that they're not going to be in AMC across the country for four weeks. If you're not Disney, you're not getting that at all, so it's a weird competitive world. I mean, Lynne Ramsay released a film this year that played in most venues one week. If you did not see it that one week because you couldn't afford to and you didn't get paid until the next week, or you couldn't find a babysitter that week, or you had to be on vacation at that time, you don't get to see that movie until it comes out on streaming later. If you're a giant Lynne Ramsey fan, where is the joy in that?
All of us that love films know that a theatre is the right place to watch any of these movies. Second best being a home theatre that's properly tuned, which is why we're going to give you the best quality disc that we can at the end of it.
“There are incredible films around the world that are already restored that are not being paid attention to in home video. They are legendary, inspiring, and shaped the history of film making, yet people have never seen them.”
What’s the Idea: Are you exclusively focused on modern movies, or will you be distributing older material, specifically with regards to the physical media side of Antenna?
Ryan: I don't have any specific titles to announce yet. I plan on getting more and more into film restoration. Just the grim reality of that is film restoration is expensive beyond belief, and that is financially not feasible for somebody like me who lives in the middle of the country and is doing this on a shoestring and a prayer. I plan on getting there. In fact, I've already contacted people for it, and I have ways to start getting it done. It's just very difficult for the first project.
The other big thing is on home video, some of those other smaller niches that I was talking about are not being served anywhere. I'm really looking forward to some of those. A big example is there are incredible films around the world that are already restored that are not being paid attention to in home video. They are legendary, inspiring, and shaped the history of film making, yet people have never seen them unless they've been to film school.
What’s the Idea: Are you excited about creating the physical media side?
Ryan: That is the main draw. The truth is if we couldn't make it work, I would still try to be doing this because I think there's a lot of films out there that deserve to have eyes on them that won't have eyes on them, but I think that 2026 specifically is going to see a return to physical media in a way like we have only been dreaming of for these last few years. It's very optimistic for somebody stepping into that industry to be saying that. I completely understand. But after running The Disc-Connected for years, I've said every year, “It's not something that's going to disappear tomorrow.” But I've never been 100% optimistic about the health of the future. It's something that, if they stop producing hardware, we're in trouble. If people stop producing 4K players, I will be very worried about this industry.
But with the fragmentation around streaming, with this Netflix and Warner Brothers merger possibly coming up, with the constant price gouging that we've seen from companies like Disney, Paramount, and NBC, and with these clawing back of titles that you thought you bought six years ago that you fall asleep to every night that's a comfort to you, I'm starting to see people that I never imagined would going to the store and saying, “Do you sell Blu-ray players?” Family members that I haven't talked to about any of this have said, “I remember a couple years ago you were talking about DVDs. What is the best way for me to start this?” People are finally realizing the world does not exist at their fingertips the way that they thought it did.
“Our plan for the first disc release is likely right now looking to be about October, November of 2026. That being said, there is still a lot of stuff that can change. No side of me thinks that is absolutely set in stone, but I don’t want to see 2026 end without me having a disc in people’s hands.”
I think a lot of factors are at play that are truly leading us into a time of essentially revolution and protest. The overall greater political arena right now is fueling that as well. The corporatization of social media, the corporatization of news, and the over proliferation of misinformation is leading to people questioning everything and finally realizing these super greedy fucks at the top of the chain do not care about us whatsoever.
I remember a handful of years ago when Netflix announced they were losing The Office at the end of the year, social media lit on fire for a month with people realizing they go to sleep watching this every single night. It’s their comfort show. “I've watched the whole thing nine times. What am I supposed to do?”
The reality is you could own the Blu-rays or DVDs and be fine until the day you die. If people realize that, they can finally understand that there are literally tens of thousands of films and TV shows that you can have at your fingertips. You can tape trade again. We can do swap meets and trade DVDs and do all these things to make sure that we're all able to actually own our media, which is not something that the greedy people that want you to keep subscribing and paying a monthly fee for the rest of your life want you to do. They want you to have an unending infinite wallet to pour into theirs.
What’s the Idea: Can you tell me more about your plans for the discs, like the possible release timeline?
Ryan: Our plan for the first disc release is likely right now looking to be about October, November of 2026. That being said, there is still a lot of stuff that can change. No side of me thinks that is absolutely set in stone, but I don't want to see 2026 end without me having a disc in people's hands. That is my big goal, and anybody that knows me and has seen what has happened in the last five years can hopefully see when I set a goal, it pretty much always happens.
We have to make the right choice. The first title has to blow people away. It has to be something that is exciting enough to make people go, “There is merit in following this company in a way that's not just theatrical or streaming.” Most of the people that know me through Disc-Connected are not going to the theatre because my name is a producer or a distributor on something. They want to be able to see a disc in their hand and see what I can do to add to that space. And if I don't blow them away and I don't make people very happy, it could be the only disc they ever buy from me. I know that I've made decisions like that in the past, and I don't want to be the victim or the culprit of that.
And not to mention, I've set a really high standard for myself. When you are literally the person running the biggest award show for physical media four years running now, it's really difficult to not set out to craft incredible packages with amazing special features and top-notch art. I have to nail it. And if I don't, I don't mind delaying it a month or two just to get it right.
What’s the Idea: I can only imagine you're going to put out a strong release. You know the top contributors, so you know what Samm Deighan or Will Dodson usually get paid. You can treat them with respect and make their work shine in some amazing products.
Ryan: That is exactly our hope, and when you see some of the names attached to this on the creative side of the films and on the contextualizing side of the authors and academics behind it, there's no reason, in my opinion, that if you love discs, you won't want these. I'm going to do my best to make them highly desirable.
That concludes the second part of our conversation about Antenna Releasing. In part three, we look at their plans for theatrical distribution, including a deep look at how Stolen Kingdom became their first announced title.
Make sure to follow Ryan on Instagram as well as Antenna Releasing on Instagram or your social media of choice.
Learn more about how Antenna Releasing works.
More interviews are available here.
The interview was recorded using Google Meet in December 2025.
The transcript was edited by Matt Long of What’s the Idea Professional Editing.
All photos are the property of Ryan Verrill.