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Are film directors getting older?
I analysed 4,690 director credits across 4,203 movies to examine how the age of film directors has shifted over nine decades of cinema.
Jun 11
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Stephen Follows
16
1
3
How much of a film festival's income comes from entry fees?
I pulled the tax returns of every US film festival I could find, going back a decade, to work out how much of their income comes from filmmaker fees.
Jun 8
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Stephen Follows
22
3
2
Does a famous cast mean a better film?
I crunched the numbers on 2,756 films to see if there is a connection between how audiences and critics rate them and the cast’s star power.
Jun 4
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Stephen Follows
25
3
3
Do famous actors pay off at the box office?
I studied the data behind 3,052 films to look at whether having a famous lead actor actually helps as much as the industry believes it does.
Jun 1
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Stephen Follows
30
11
5
May 2026
Why is there less sex in movies?
A new video from me, under The Film Data Scientist banner, examining the long-term decline of sexual content in mainstream cinema.
May 29
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Stephen Follows
16
1
1
Nine takeaways from the 2026 Cannes Marché du Film
I spent a week walking the 2026 Marché du Film, talking to buyers, sellers, financiers and programmers. The headline numbers were record-breaking, but…
May 18
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Stephen Follows
38
1
6
Why movie clichés are GOOD, actually
I ran the numbers on over 72,000 films to find the most reused lines in cinema, revealing how movie clichés are born, spread, and die.
May 14
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Stephen Follows
19
2
1
Does winning Cannes actually help a film at the box office?
I crunched the data on every main competition film from all three festivals over the last 35 years to see if winning Cannes, Berlin and Venice helps the…
May 12
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Stephen Follows
23
2
April 2026
What does the Marché du Film 2026 programme say about the film industry?
I gathered every conference session at the Marché du Film over the past three years (742 events, 1,664 speakers) to see who turns up, who walked away…
Apr 30
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Stephen Follows
18
2
What the data says about who should be the next James Bond
I scored 460 British and Irish actors against six decades of Bond casting decisions to see who actually fits the brief, and where the audience and the…
Apr 27
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Stephen Follows
30
6
3
Which film directors have the most consistent visual style?
I crunched the data on the films of 190 directors (who had made at least four movies) and calculated 'When you line up a director’s films, how much do…
Apr 24
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Stephen Follows
20
1
What do Cannes first-timers get wrong?
Drawing on 575 Cannes veterans, the 2026 rules and a decade of caught-out first-timers, this is what you need to know if you're heading to the…
Apr 21
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Stephen Follows
24
2
3
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