Latest Blogs

In December Stage 32 was honored to participate in the Seattle Film Summit held in beautiful Renton, Washington. For 2 days some of the industry's heavyweights descended upon the Pacific Northwest to teach about the industry and meet the fresh talent that exists in the state of Washington. Over the course of 2 days there were many panels and workshops discussing everything from script to screen and the evolution of the industry with players like Netflix and Amazon. There was an inspiring keynote...

On behalf of the entire Stage 32 team, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!    So what are your goals for the year? Have you laid them out? Broken them down? Arranged them in a sensible fashion which will make the journey fun and rewarding as opposed to filled with pressure and anxiety? I'd love to hear what you're looking to attain in the coming 12 months. Further, for those willing, I'd also love if you'd share your strategies designed to set yourself up for success. Let's...

  I'm climbing up on my chair now so you will pay attention to what I'm about to say. Okay...I'm up here...waiting for you to listen. Ready? Don't cast less than great actors in your film! It seems to me that casting is often times a second thought to Indie filmmakers. Then guess what happens? We are subjected to films that are difficult to watch. Even if the script is great, bad actors can absolutely ruin your film. I have seen this occur time and time again. And so have you....

I wanted to take a moment to thank Stage 32 member Sarah Delpizzo for writing an article for her blog "My LA Lifestyle" featuring Stage 32 and our fearless leader, Richard Botto. In the article Sarah has RB take us on a trip down memory lane about the origins of Stage 32, best practices of how to benefit from being on Stage 32 and the evolution of the industry right now. It's a must read for every creative.   "There is a famous saying in the entertainment industry, “It’s all about who you k...

Hey guys.  Welcome to the weekend. Is there anything better on a cold winter's morning than curling up with a hot cup of coffee and a good screenplay?  If you answered "Yes", too bad, that's all I have for you.  For the rest of you, I'm happy to provide you with links to NINE screenplays hoping to get some recognition this awards season. As always, I welcome remarks and discussion in the Comments section below.  But more importantly, this is the season of giving, so hit the freakin' share bu...

It was another incredible year at the American Film Market (AFM). Due to the sheer amount of content being created, purchased and distributed in the current climate, the attendees had a little jump in their step this time around. For the second straight year, I had the pleasure of leading the Producing Studio Films on an Independent Budget panel. This was a lively and passionate discussion featuring both similar and diverging opinions on the current state of indie film producing, film financin...

I reached out to Tiffany Boyle from Ramo Law, whom I met through Stage 32 and worked with on some other projects, I recalled her saying she knew of an animation distributor, so I asked her if she’d send the pitch package to them, she did and they came back with something along the lines of, it wasn’t the type of material they were looking for at the moment. But she did know of another entertainment company that may be interested. She sent it off, and voila´ we are now in agreement to get it goin...

Most of you have no doubt heard one of the sayings along the lines of, 'an overnight success 10 years in the making,' or 'you have to put in 10,000 hours of practice before you are truly ready.' And even if you haven't, if you are in this business (or any creative endeavor) you certainly know the emotional roller coaster of waiting for your work to get noticed in some way, shape or form. So what do you do to pass the time in between those 10 years or 10,000 hours? There are two avenues and b...

  Happy Sunday, everyone. Taking a quick break from speaking and mentoring at the Seattle Film Summit to bring you some insightful and useful content to go with your coffee. First up, Steven Spielberg shares his 10 Rules for Success. Next, the legendary Joe Eszterhas shares his thoughts on screenwriting.  Never a dull moment when Joe is involved. As always, all I ask is that you pay it forward and share this content through your social media (or other) channels. Sit back, enjoy, and...

I wanted to share my perspective as an African born Music Director. I simply found my affinity to music as a young boy growing up in a place where music has no strength. I collected magazines, tapes (this was the audio version of songs at the time) and watched television, enabling me to grow a firm foundation in my area of interest. At that time music was considered as an avenue taken by people who wanted no real responsibilities, plainly it was set aside for people who had no better focus in...