Six months ago, Mark Fischbach (aka Markiplier) was the YouTube phenomenon who grossed $50 million worldwide with his self-distributed “Iron Lung.” Now he’s part of a holy triumvirate with Kane Parsons “Backrooms” and Curry Barker’s “Obsession” — three films that found an audience and a development process inside YouTube. The success of those films also served as the coming-out party for the creator economy and a sign that Hollywood is very much taking notice.
For Markiplier, the last few months have been a study in what happens when a creator with 36 million subscribers walks through Hollywood’s front door and declines to become its creature. He didn’t reject it — in fact, what he found on the other side wasn’t the soulless machinery of creative destruction but people (“some, not all”) who got into the business for the same reasons he did.
However, he also realized he had the ability to become something independent film needs: a matchmaker. He’s using his moment as infrastructure, determined to use the window he opened for himself and hold it open for others.
In this interview, conducted shortly after the June 25 ceremony at the Anaheim Convention Center where he received an award at the VidCon Hall of Fame, he explains why. He also talks about his YouTube distribution deal and why creators know that loyalty to the audiences that built them always comes first.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
IndieWire: What is your world like right now? Is Hollywood still trying to bring you in? Are you pushing them out?
Markiplier: I mean it’s a mixture, right? I’ve had a lot of conversations with a lot of studios that have been both fruitful, and not fruitful. Some people, they understand what’s happening, or they don’t understand, or they think they understand. Honestly, it’s been good to have those conversations because it means that more people are curious about what creators can offer.
I like to be in that place because I want to help other creators to make their projects. I’m already getting that underway with a couple friends of mine. I’m able to kind of play matchmaker — like, I’ve talked to these studios, I think this might be a good fit for you to try to direct your first thing. And that’s been huge, huge to be able to do that. It feels great to kind of be in a position where I can affect change.
You say some understand, some don’t. Where’s the most common place of not understanding?
Probably what people would expect — the larger the company, usually the harder it is for them to get it. But at the same time, sometimes those companies have individuals who really, really understand and are advocating. And who knows? They might have been advocating for a very long time. I get the impossible job of movie marketing. You have to make people fall in love with a thing they’ve never heard of before. It’s really difficult.
Obviously, they want the audience. That drove your success and that’s what got Hollywood excited. Do they understand that as a creator, you have to serve the audience? That it’s not something you can just pick up and go?
I don’t know if there is a perfect understanding of it. There’s more doors opening up to these audiences and I know there’s going to be some predatory companies. The majority of conversations I’ve had with people have been really nice. It makes me realize in the Hollywood engine, there’s still a lot of good people that really want to make art and that gives me hope.
Does that surprise you?
Yeah. Admitting this in person is weird, but it’s true. Even in some of the big, seemingly soulless companies, there’s a lot of really passionate people who want to make art. People get into this industry because they really love the expression of the art and the outpouring of talent that goes into every part of it. They’ve found their niche somewhere on the business side, as opposed to the actual creative side, but all of them love — well, not all of them. A lot of them. A lot of them still love making movies.
For your next film, are you still looking at the “Iron Lung” method in terms of controlling all the things? Or are you willing to let some of those things be controlled by others?
I am willing to let things be controlled because honestly, looking back, I did too much myself. But at the same time, I want to make my own post house. I like editing anyway and I want to shape it in a way that I can leverage technology. I still think there are some ideas that are bigger than what I could tackle myself. Again, it’s that optimism of talking to these companies and being like, oh, there are people that are passionate and really do believe in the process. I want to meet more of those people so I can work with them.
How are things going with YouTube? Have you been happy with the way that’s worked out?
I’ve been very happy. It took a while to get off the ground, but that’s because some of the systems are still old. I still have that itch of like, “Ooh, I think we could optimize it.” But at the same time, I can’t lose sight that I now can help other people get their movies and shows on the platform. I can be in that position again to play matchmaker.
Creators can support other creators. It can become this loop for more and more people to make projects. Not saying it’s going to destroy the other streamers or it’s going to destroy theaters, but it’s another avenue for creators as an individual to put their project forward.
In terms of the changes that need to happen, how much do you think that has to do with not the films, but with the deal-making?
You’ve got to do what’s best for you, but if you’re true to the [audience], they’ll be true to you and they will be there for you when you need them. It’s this currency of loyalty that is so hard to quantify. It’s almost impossible to put a number of value to it because it’s an interpersonal human relationship. Even through the internet, that exchange is there and you can’t tax it too much. Creators all kind of intuitively know that.
You have to pay it back, you have to understand and respect the cycle. You can’t just be so greedy and want money that you need to claw everything out of it. You have to understand that it’s all feeding itself and the next creators need to be inspired to make things. More opportunities to do so, better opportunities for people to see it, more money to be made, more movies to be made, yada, yada.
What are you thinking in terms of what you want to do next? Have you chosen a project?
Not yet. I want to help other people with theirs for a little bit. To test out some of the things I’m saying about building my own post house and learning these processes, but I also want to spend time with my wife and our dogs. We just rescued a dog from Thailand a couple of months ago. Literally just two days ago she had her hip replacement surgery and so I need to get back after this to help her recover.
