Advice

Happy Wednesday, Creative Army!   Over the last few months, the entire team here at Stage 32 has been working tirelessly to help you stay connected, creative, motivated, and informed. As always, we are committed to bringing you networking opportunities, education and mentoring from top-level industry executives and professionals, and access to decision-makers around the globe all from the safety of your own home.   Since the beginning of the quarantine mandates brought about by the spread...

What is Auteur Theory? Technically, it’s just the idea that a director’s vision is more important to the creative identity of a film than the script. When it comes to the culture of cinema, however, auteurism has evolved into the philosophy that directors with a creative vision powerful and clear enough to define every other element of production will likely make better movies, and are generally more worthy of success and acclaim. Branding is everything in the business of breaking into Hollywood...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I've got my coffee and hand and your weekly dose of content coming in hot - grab your coffee of choice and let's dive right in.  First up, The Hollywood Reporter recently hosted a roundtable discussion featuring executives from the entertainment industry's top companies. This video features Jennifer Salke (Amazon), Scott Stuber (Netflix) Donna Langley (Universal), Jim Gianopulos (Paramount), Tom Rothman (Sony), Alan Horn (Disney), and Toby Emmerich (Warner Brother...

Director Aaron Falvey tells the story of producing and directing his award-winning 2019 short film Death Round Every Bend, and how he got his first feature film Northspur, shot in November 2019. Aaron shares the initiatives he took to get both projects off the ground, and learning the most valuable lesson any director, writer or ‘creative’ could… it’s producers that make a film happen, and you can become your own!   Justin Eade (Left) and Aaron Falvey (Right) make a strong team.   An...

Hello, Creative Army! As you know, back in March, we announced and launched Stage 32 Screenings to help filmmakers who were impacted by the cancellation of their live screenings at such festivals as SXSW, Tribeca and Telluride Mountainfilm Documentary get their films seen to a concentrated audience including thousands of distributors, sales agents, producers, financiers, development execs and more decision-makers here on Stage 32.  Since the official launch of Stage 32 Screenings was announc...

As you may recall back in February, long-time Stage 32 member, blog contributor, webinar teacher, and international film & distribution aficionado, David Zannoni began a series of blogs and vlogs to keep you up-to-date on the business of film across the globe. Today, David is sharing some amazing insights into the world of distribution for independent filmmakers in his exclusive Stage 32 vlog.  What you will learn from David: How do you define "independent film" distribution, specificall...

There are a lot of acting techniques but one is relatively unknown to a lot of people, acting with the elements. Using the elements earth, water, fire, and air you can get into character fast without having to explore the motives of your character's emotions as you do with method acting. Read on to learn how you can make the elements work for you. We have all met the elements in the form of people. We have all seen them in ourselves at some point because we all have a bit of them in us. Did yo...

I get it—you became a filmmaker, or a writer, or an actor because you love movies and television. You weren’t planning to launch a business. But if you hope to build a career in the film industry as a writer, filmmaker, or even actor, then you need to think like an entrepreneur. Otherwise, all you’ll have is an expensive hobby. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s likely not quite what you were hoping for. So, take a deep breath and admit it. You’re an entrepreneur. Especially...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! Here's hoping you had a happy, healthy, and creative week. What is your coffee of choice today? I had my first americano in weeks recently and it was glorious. Let's dive in - grab your coffee because I've got your weekly dose of content coming in hot.  First up, Vanity Fair sat down with real-life astronaut Chris Hadfield to discuss how Hollywood has portrayed space in the movies. Chris talks about the authenticity of the visuals used, as well as the actual scien...

Don't ever give up... That's it... Blog done. Okay, so you want to know where that comes from... Well, I started writing my screenplay two years ago. It's called The Postcard and it is based on the true story of my Great Grandparents. I have wanted to tell this story since my Father told me all about it when I was 11 years old. I've written poems and songs about it, I've tried writing it as a novel over the years, but for some reason, I just could not keep it going and totally gave up.  ...