Latest Blogs

By now you've read dozens of articles on the passing of Stan Lee. Me too. But there's one that caught my eye that was written by Stan Lee in 1947 titled: There's Money In Comics! The publication sold for a mere 25 cents, but the information he shared is priceless.   Lee wrote the article for Writer's Digest when he was in his mid-20's. To serve his memory and offer a piece of writing history that can still teach writers something today, Writer's Digest republished the article that shares...

  It’s simple: to be successful as a voice actor, you have to be productive. A recent research report on How to Become a Successful Voice Actor found that voice actors who auditioned 7 or more times per day stood to make up to $20,000 more per year. However, voice actors also face the challenge of having their productivity tied to their ability to be creative on demand. This is not only difficult, it can be downright draining. So what can the average voice actor do to be their most productiv...

I recently attended a panel discussion on writer’s rooms and wanted to share some of the insights offered by the panelists who are two prominent showrunners from network and cable: A streaming network executive, and a production company executive. The questions they answered were: - What do showrunners look for when they hire writers? - What is the process for hiring? - How are rooms different in network vs. cable and streaming? - What if you create a show and the studio wants to bring in an e...

When a writer wants to know the best way to pitch his or her project to Netflix or Amazon, it's important that they recognize something before they even entertain the notion: Know thy people around you, first. During his free webinar, "Ask Me Anything," RB answered this question frankly and thoroughly. If you think your show has the legs to get a meeting with Netflix, there are three key questions you need to ask yourself first: 1) Why you?2) Why now?3) What value are you bringing? Cli...

"Finding out that the rights were available was a small victory in our minds. Yet, we still had to prove ourselves to gain Ron’s blessing. After all, to him, we were just a couple of young, idealistic strangers with a Hollywood pipe dream. We had no track record." Ron Stallworth was a police officer in the 1970's who managed to weasel his way into the good graces of the Ku Klux Klan undercover, convincing them he was white supremacist. Later, he wrote a memoir about his experiences, which cau...

Well, that title caught your attention didn't it?  As you know, the National Lampoon brand was acquired by Palm Star Media last year and the new owners and management have been passionately seeking new comedy voices - We're thrilled that they partnered with Stage 32 and recognized our amazing community of talented writers as the place to find such talent through the Search for Comedy Gold Screenwriting Contest. One word - The writing talent in this contest wasn't good, it was off the charts gr...

Happy Sunday to all.  Hope you're enjoying your weekend.  How about some coffee and complimentary content? First up, for a screenwriter, handling exposition can be a bitch.  In this new video essay from the good people at Fandor, we'll take a look at how some very talented screenwriters managed this very difficult task with cool, calm and creativity. Next, a look at one of my favorite directors, David Fincher, and, namely, how he hijacks your eyes.  Short and sweet, fantastic stuff from the...

Most filmmakers, creatives, and writers involved in the filmmaking industry don't take the time to sit down and write out a thorough business plan. It's a harsh truth that could cause issues. From creating an outline showing how money will be allocated to make the film, to building out what it takes to pay your team, distribution costs, marketing, and every other line item that needs to be considered, business plans are often overlooked for various reasons, including the fact that they can som...

Writing a screenplay can seem pretty intimidating. When have you ever written a 100+ pages of anything, right? But before I go on, let me just say that the info I'm about to offer are tips and strategies that helped me most. Everyone is different and there is no “right” way to write a screenplay.   Thing One and Thing Two from book” The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss.   Now, before you start, remember to always keep TWO BIG THINGS IN MIND: 1) Screenwriting portrayed in movies and TV is rid...

It's almost the most magical time of the year. You know what I'm talking about. All the bright lights, the festive decorations. That's right! Pilot season. Which means we're happy to announce our 4th Annual TV Writing Contest! Stage 32 contests, simply put, are the best in the industry - giving you unparalleled opportunity for exposure. TV is bigger than ever, streaming has allowed more original voices to be broadcast around the world and with the future holding opportunity in an unnamed...