Latest Blogs

I had been trying for years to find someone to collaborate with on a screenplay. After all, collaboration is what filmmaking is all about, so why not collaborate on the very writing process that gets it all started. But I always seemed to run into the same problem. I would be more interested in the idea than the other writer and they would soon drop out, leaving me to finish the screenplay by myself. That all changed when I saw a post on Stage 32 by J.G. Blodgett titled 'Collaboration'. The ide...

  Hey guys. Wanted to share this photo RB posted on his Instagram account (@RBwalksintoabar) last week. It's the final proofs for his upcoming book, Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers, which is being published by Focal Press under the American Film Market (AFM) Presents banner next month.  This book was the result of over 100 interviews and 2 years of research and writing (and, boy, do we know, we had to live with it all in the office!) It will be a must read if you are looking to build or...

The most popular horror and thriller contest in the world is back! 8 of our contest finalists have been signed, optioned, placed in development or staffed! If you have the next Annabelle:Creation, It Comes at Night, Split, Conjuring, Saw, 47 Meters Down, Kidnap, The Cabin in the Woods, Atomic Blonde, The Shallows or Get Out ready to be unleashed, you need to submit your script to our 4th Annual Search for New Blood Screenwriting Contest. This is the contest that has launched the careers o...

The 2nd annual Stage 32 Comedy Screenwriting Contest brought in some incredible talent from all over the world. Our judges, who were from Paradigm Agency, Vertigo Entrainment, Lionsgate's LOL Network (Kevin Hart), Big Beach Films, Romark Entertainment, New Wave Entertainment and MXN Entertainment all told us how funny the finalist scribes were. We're excited to feature our Grand Prize Winners, an incredibly talented writing duo from Los Angeles and Las Vegas,Anthony Guidubaldi & Keith Strausbaug...

Happy Sunday to you all. Today, I have two tremendous videos for you to enjoy with your java.  First up, it's a look at some screenplay lessons from Ex Machina.  I know we have a ton of writers on Stage 32 who have very mixed feelings about this script, so I hope to see some debate in the comments section! Next up, a look at how film editors think and cut by feel.  I absolutely love this video and think you'll find it fascinating as well. Personally, I think this content pairs best with a...

This weekend we premiered the 2nd Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program in Los Angeles at the 2017 Hollyshorts Film Festival. In one word, it was inspiring. We had the pleasure of showcasing a program of 7 films representing 4 different countries - all with varying creativity. The audience included Stage 32 members and executives from Lionsgate, Samaco Films, Whitewater Films, Kodak, Legion M, CAA and more who all told us how blown away they were with the talent here in the Stage 32 community. Af...

This March we completed a short film called 'In Loving Memory' in India. Like any international independent project, the story of its creation has not been an easy one and I would like to share it with you. It was an ordinary day in winter 2016, when a young man named Chandradeep Das added me to his network here on Stage 32 and after a few messages he told me about his script that he was going to shoot in India. At that time my business partner Rinat Yulushev and I had been considering opportu...

Is it just me, or does it feel like Hollywood is set up to make you fail? Obstacle, after obstacle... Rejection, after rejection... It's *almost* not even worth trying. and I can say 'almost' because those of us who still believe in the magic of our dreams, have a passion so strong that we are going to go for it, despite all of the hardships we hear about. If you are one of those people, like me, I want you to really listen to what I'm about to tell you. Because you could be doi...

Greetings from Hollywood. It's been an amazing two weeks at the Hollyshorts Film Festival.  Not only did Stage 32 help program a number of the informative and inspirational panels at the festival, but last night we had the LA premiere screening of our Short Film Program.  7 Stage 32 filmmakers had their films shown to a crowd peppered with industry executives.  The response was overwhelmingly positive and many of our filmmakers walked away with meetings and further interest in developing their...

As a producer/director, I'm asked to read scripts all the time. What I mostly encounter are scripts that aren't ready for production. No even close. How do you know if your script is production ready? Here are nine questions to ask yourself about your script:     1: Does your screenplay use a Three-Act Structure? The Three-Act Structure is a classic hero's journey that divides your story into three parts (or Acts); Setup, Confrontation and the Resolution. I'm recommending this approach...