Advice

Back in October, I sat in my chair and started a journey that really put a lot of things perspective. It was an adventure I never really thought much about. I love music - it’s in my blood. So, when I stumbled on the 21 Days of VGM challenge a while ago, I thought “Oh, I got this.” Making music every day isn’t so bad. Easy. However, I got a rude awakening. It seems simple right? Sit down, get some notation paper or open your DAW and make about 16 bars of music every day and to be honest, it wa...

Call me J.C. It was called "National Screenwriter's Day 2020 with Stage 32 & ScreenwritingU". A mouthful for certain, but it was also an eye-opener for me and worth every moment of it. President of ScreenwritingU Hal Croasmun, Producer and Stage 32 Director of Script Services Jason Mirch, Stage 32 Founder and CEO Richard Botto, and Literary Manager Krista Sipp brought me screamingly up to date about the status of the screenwriting industry today. Doubtless, all of you already knew about what...

In 92 years of Academy Awards, only twelve foreign films have been nominated for the coveted "Best Picture" award. However, two of those films, Roma and Parasite, were in the past two years. Now, more than ever, America is looking to the rest of the world for amazing cinema.  Bong Joon-Ho, director of the 2020 Best Picture nominated Korean film Parasite announced in his Golden Globe award speech “once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more a...

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU! Wishing you all an abundant New Year filled with love, joy, and success! Twenty days into the New Year, I’ve taken stock of where I’ve been, where I am right now and where I want to be. I have decided that lamenting the past and worrying about the future is a huge waste of time and being a septuagenarian, one does not have the luxury of squandering a moment. That made me think about my relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. Doors will remain open to family, n...

Good morning Creative Army! We are already well into 2020, I hope everyone's year is off to a creative and productive start. As filmmakers, we always want to be learning from our fellow filmmakers' successes (and missteps). This is exactly why this is my favorite part of the week: Coffee & Content. So grab your coffee and get ready for some Grade-A content.  First up, our friends over at The Hollywood Reporter sat down for a conversation with two of animations hottest filmmakers, Josh Cooley...

Download the ones you find interesting - these links will expire soon! The Writers Guild Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, February 1st, 2020.    Best Original Screenplay 1917 Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns   Booksmart Written by Emily Halpern & Sarah Haskins and Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman   Knives Out Written by Rian Johnson   Marriage Story Written by Noah Baumbach   Parasite Written by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won   Best Adapted...

Happy New Year Stage 32 family. As many of you are writers, I am here to share my insights and tips on directing. Some of you might venture into directing your own content or running your own show for the studios one day, it is good to remember some of these things I’m about to share with you.  Now, a disclaimer: I have directed a couple of short films in my lifetime, and these are just my own opinions based on personal experience. There is more than one way to skin the cat when it comes to di...

  “Based on a True Story.” Five very powerful words. But also kind of complicated… Yet, despite the complications and often polarizing reviews when “true stories” debut, there’s no denying there’s something about a “true” story that’s value-added. The voyeurism intrinsic to our psychology is essential to engaging with Narrative, and those five words enhance the marketing, anticipation, and audience experience. Take the decades-long success and spinoffs of Law and Order, which used “ri...

Read the screenplay nominees for the 2020 Oscars®.Download the ones you find interesting - these links will expire soon!The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2020. Best Adapted Screenplay    The Irishman Written by Steven Zaillian   Jojo Rabbit Written by Taika Waititi   Joker Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver   Little Women Written by Greta Gerwig   The Two Popes Written by Anthony McCarten    ...

Several years ago I decided that I wanted to get a degree in film and television from the highly competitive film school at New York University. There was one major obstacle though... I was a high school drop out. What are the odds of my being accepted into this school and program? Not very good, but I decided (call it naivety, blind faith, insanity or whatnot) it was not only possible, but it was going to be my reality. I put one foot in front of the other, busted my butt as if it were life or...