Hollywood’s Freelance Revolution Is Coming for Everyone
November 8, 2025 6:54 PM Subscribe
Or where does the structure go when you outsource all the jobs In the 1950’s, Hollywood began to shift away from signing long-term contracts with talent and crew and toward a guild-based system based on expertise and reputation. Filament CEO Tony Haile argues we’re repeating that cycle across the knowledge economy and shares what’s next. Here’s the rub: where Hollywood had decades to complete the transition, the rest of us have two. (Maybe.)
The Premise Haile opens with a look at what ha…
Hollywood’s Freelance Revolution Is Coming for Everyone
November 8, 2025 6:54 PM Subscribe
Or where does the structure go when you outsource all the jobs In the 1950’s, Hollywood began to shift away from signing long-term contracts with talent and crew and toward a guild-based system based on expertise and reputation. Filament CEO Tony Haile argues we’re repeating that cycle across the knowledge economy and shares what’s next. Here’s the rub: where Hollywood had decades to complete the transition, the rest of us have two. (Maybe.)
The Premise Haile opens with a look at what happened in Hollywood after the studio era, framing it as a kind of mirror for today’s AI-fueled economy. In the 1950s, when MGM and other studios dropped their long-term contracts, they replaced internal teams with flexible project crews.
But here is what matters most: structure did not disappear. It just moved.
Guilds and craft associations stepped in to set standards for quality, roles, and workflows so freelancers could still work together at scale.
And now in the AI era... Haile argues we are seeing the same cycle repeat across the broader knowledge economy. With AI and global uncertainty in play, companies are shrinking their full-time staff and leaning on networks of specialists. Every time a company restructures for speed or flexibility, it pushes coordination outside the organization. But the need for structure does not vanish. It just shifts. And where does it go? History suggests it lands in collective systems: organizations that create trust, offer training, certify skills, and help people find each other.
It’s not all doom and gloom Before you write this off as another “AI is coming for your job” post, pause and take a breath. That is not Haile’s argument. He is not saying everyone will end up freelancing.
His point is more subtle: once you hollow out the firm, you have to rebuild the scaffolding somewhere else. Whether that new scaffolding turns out to be exploitative or empowering will depend on what replaces the employer’s old systems.
So ... are we all going freelance in two years? (Spoiler: No) I’ll share my own opinion in the comments.
Related articles:
- I strongly urge you to read Tony haile’s original article)
- Quartz: “The gig economy is a disaster for workers. Hollywood’s unions can help them to learn to fight back”
- Not Boring by Packy McCormick: “The Cooperation Economy”