Freelance vs Roster Directors?
- James Keblas
- Apr 15
- 2 min read
The roster model is broken for most commercial film directors, production companies, and agencies.
That’s the premise of this episode of Crossing the Axis, where I talk with Luke Lashley—EP and founder of departure—about why he walked away from the traditional model and fully embraced freelance.
Luke doesn’t hedge his beliefs and he doesn’t romanticize how things used to work. And it’s not that he’s trying to be provocative, but rather he’s just being refreshingly honest about how we all know many rosters operate today:
Exclusivity that limits opportunity and warps priorities.
“Fake” rosters with names on a site but no contract, no clarity, and no real commitment.
Hybrid models that pretend to be exclusive but still pitch freelancers on the side.
None of it works particularly well. Not for the director, not for the client, and not for the EP. It just creates confusion, false expectations, and a broken sense of who’s being represented and why. Luke calls that what it is: a muddled middle that doesn’t serve anyone well.
In our conversation, we break down:
Why “fit” is now the deciding factor—not prestige, not affiliation
How the client (an agency) doesn’t care who reps the director—only that the reel proves it can deliver
What directors can do to stay visible, trusted, and in demand without a roster
This episode isn’t a takedown. It’s a reset.
For the handful of production companies actually delivering on their exclusivity promises, good. Stay the course. But for everyone else—especially the directors stuck in the middle—this is a wake-up call. You may already be freelance. You just haven’t claimed the freedom yet.
And once you do, the next question is how to thrive. We get into that too and offer some clear, practical advice on how to succeed as a freelance director, such as:
How to write a tight, effective email introduction that actually gets a callback
What kind of reel sells (hint: it’s not a montage)
And how to run your own biz dev process without overcomplicating it
If you’re freelancing, thinking about freelancing, or realizing that maybe you already are… this episode is worth your time.
