Stand-In

Set during the Great Depression, the era forces studios to tighten budgets and chase profits while balancing entertainment value. The story follows a banker's move into Hollywood as a studio head, highlighting the economic constraints that shaped film production. Studio politics, relentless cost-cutting, and the pressure of audience expectations define the period.

Stand-In unfolds in 1930s Hollywood on Poverty Row, centered on Colossal Pictures, a fictional studio struggling to turn a profit. Much of the action takes place on shabby backlots and sound stages where budgets and schedules dominate every decision. Poverty Row studios are known for low-budget productions that must hustle to survive the Great Depression. The Hollywood dream factory is depicted as a place of ambition and risk, where workers' lives hinge on a single flop or breakthrough.

🎬 Show Business

Stand-In reveals how film production navigates budget constraints, star power, and creative vision. It shows how ego, money, and politics collide on a studio lot. The sabotage plot and salvage attempt illustrate cinema as a collective enterprise rather than a solitary pursuit.

💰 Money & Power

Investors, buyers, and studio heads wield financial leverage that makes or breaks projects. The sale of Colossal Pictures to Nassau triggers cost-cutting sabotage and high-stakes maneuvering. The film critiques art being treated as commodity and the fragility of creative endeavors under economic pressure.

🤝 Hope & Community

Characters learn to see workers as more than numbers and to value collaboration over cold calculation. Lester Plum's warmth teaches Dodd to balance finance with human impact. The attempted salvage of Sex and Satan and the workers' rally symbolize solidarity, ending with a personal promise as Dodd asks Plum to marry him.