Advice

Preciously few screenwriters strike gold with their first scripts, such as those written by Sylvester Stallone (Rocky), Kevin Smith (Clerks), Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich), Kimberly Smith (Boys Don’t Cry), and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting) among a dozen other gifted writers. Most screenwriters take a circuitous route to “getting their first feature film produced.” I thought it would be instructive to share the story of my journey in hopes of gathering diverse stories...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I've got my coffee in hand and your weekly dose of content coming in hot - grab your coffee of choice and let's dive right in. First up, Outstanding Screenplays has compiled ten screenwriting tips from writer/director Jon Favreau (The Mandalorian, Iron Man, Chef). Jon's advice covers everything from struggling through your first draft to finding a relatable element to the hero that you are writing, and much more.  Next up, Indy Mogul has a great video about how...

“CINEMA IS A MATTER OF WHAT’S IN THE FRAME AND WHAT’S OUT.” - Martin Scorsese The point of view of our creations starts with our personal worldview. How do you approach new contacts? Old teammates? Scripts, projects, edits? Here at Stage 32, we welcome. We invite and encourage. We may even suggest or request, all to set the stage for positive, productive relationships. Opening up a frame into "you" or "your craft" is an invitation to start an authentic conversation. If you have a lengthy...

“I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” Paulo Coelho Before I dive into the making of my latest rom-com “Will You Be My Quarantine?”, we have to rewind a few months to… April 2020: The Idea My hair needed washing, I needed a shower and I had no idea what to wear! Lucky for me this wasn’t a date in person, it was a zoom date. So on went a cute hat to cover any visible grease. I positioned myself sitting strategically in the best light. And voila! I looked all...

Long-time Stage 32 member, blog contributor, webinar teacher, and international film & distribution aficionado, David Zannoni has series of exclusive Stage 32 blogs and vlogs to keep you up-to-date on the business of film across the globe. Today, David gives an update on virtual film markets and networking opportunities in 2021. You will learn about: Navigating virtual festival platforms What the virtual + physical festival landscape looks like in 2021 How to network at virtual festivals...

None of us live in a bubble. Neither does the creative process. In movies, the development of the story is usually the longest part of the process. It makes sense. Getting the plot and characters developed must happen before a single word is typed into your favorite script writing software. Index cards may litter your floor or maybe you are one of the lucky ones who can see the entire story in your head – you are rare.  At this stage, there is the fewest number of people involved as well and...

A few months back, still on a pandemic and recently moved to Atlanta, I had the crazy idea of self-producing my first short film. I did not know which script I was actually going to use, or the team and budget I needed for it, but with a new profile on Stage 32, and some debatable resourceful skills, I went for it! These are some tools I used from Stage 32, to help me along the way during the pre-production and production process. The Diverse Lounges I love how Stage 32 offers so many differe...

Happy Saturday Stage 32! I hope you all had a beautiful and creative week. I was catching up on the trades this week (following the very sage wisdom of our founder and CEO Richard "RB" Botto: Always read the trades and know what is going on in the business of entertainment!) and I came across an article from Deadline Hollywood about the Emmy-Nominated Comedy PEN15. In another installment of the Deadline series "It Starts on the Page", this article shares the script for episode 203 (Season 2,...

I remember making my first short film, I had just broken up with a girlfriend and was desperate for a promotion at work. How about that for a perfect storm of motivation? My boss dangled a carrot, saying if I made something and it got into a festival I’d get the position I wanted and inspiration was provided by a messy break up and a slew of nasty voicemail messages left on my phone, this was pure emotional and creative gold. At this point in my career, I didn’t know anything about festivals...

I've long since been on a writing hiatus. Call it treating myself, call it writer's block. Call it what you will. What's important is that I am taking a mental health break on my own terms. This is necessary every now and then. Yes, it can be seen as lazy. Yes, it can be seen as a lack of creative energy. What I call it is: essential. There was a time in which my output was off the charts. Quite possibly unhealthy levels of writing. Of course I write because I enjoy it. But, I had reached a cert...