Advice

Nothing beats the art of brilliant filmmaking. Fortunately over the last couple of weeks we at Stage 32 had the opportunity to view remarkable filmmaking at the 68th Annual Cannes Film Festival. Our good friends over at Film4 had four films in Competition this year including Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth and Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth, Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster (which was awarded the Jury Prize), and Todd Haynes' Carol (which Rooney Mara won Best Actress). They have a remarkable talent for working...

I grew up in a crofting and fishing family in the village of Lochinver in the Scottish Highlands. It’s opposite the Summer Isles (the setting for The Wicker Man). You can’t help but be moved by the rugged landscape. Every hillock and glen has a Gaelic story. Sure, there's water kelpies (shape-shifting spirits) and huge black dogs with eyes like peat fires that haunt bogs and lochs, but it’s also the land of Dolly the Sheep and John Logie Baird! I started off my artistic journey painting and sc...

It’s an honor and a privilege to be asked to write a blog on this forum with esteemed professionals across the globe visiting this popular and ever-growing site. I am probably the first Native American that has been asked to do this on Stage 32 and hopefully, many others will follow. So if this is the case, then I feel an additional sense of pride and responsibility to be able to convey something that is perhaps useful or informational. Most of the time I shy away from talking about myself,...

Once upon a time, many years ago when I was an upcoming young actress, I was watching a television talk show interview with the famous comedian Carol Burnett, who was asked about her early years in the business. She pointed out that in those days, the network executives kept her show on the air because they felt that it was good and that she would eventually succeed, which she did magnificently. “But now,” she said, “ratings are all-important, and a show that is slow to win an audience is quickl...

At the TriBeCa Film Festival 2015, Stage 32 paired up with Film Interchange for a fantastic Filmmakers Lounge. During the evening, we had two excellent panels on using social media as a filmmaker and crowdsourcing & crowdfunding your film, which included industry executives from Stage 32, Film Interchange, Indiegogo and Seed & Spark on the panels. Over 400 Stage 32 members RSVPed for the event and it was a smashing success. However, we know not everyone was able to attend our Filmmakers Lounge...

A lot of screenwriters owe their initial success to film festivals, pitch sites such as Stage 32’s Happy Writers (isn’t that an oxymoron?) or just dumb luck. I owe mine to two things – the inability to hit a 95-mile per hour fastball and the mob. In the following tale of how I lost my screenwriting virginity in LA, I have not included anyone’s names to protect the not so innocent. My latest production When I realized I couldn’t hit my weight, 162 pounds in a soaking wet unifor...

Last month, the awesome owners of Film Courage came to the Stage 32 offices to interview our CEO, RB Botto. The wide ranging, over 3-hour interview covered a plethora of subjects including screenwriting, filmmaking, acting, distribution, indiefilm, the state or the industry, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, social media, and networking in person, online and outside of LA to name a few. Film Courage has begun releasing the interview in segments and we're happy to announce that we'll be bringing th...

I’ve only been with Stage 32 for a few weeks, but I’ve already connected with a lot of great people. This is an amazing site that leads to great opportunities in the industry. I absolutely love it here and I would like to thank Andre Corrales for inviting me to write this blog. I left school at 16 and went straight into the workplace. I didn't want to go into further into education, because I had been relentlessly bullied my whole school life and I couldn't face studying any longer. At school,...

When Stage 32 invited me to write a blog about screenwriting, I thought, “what better way to share my story and advice than by interviewing myself?” So... cue opening music and FADE IN: Screenwriting Blogger Self: Marla, what drew you into the world of screenwriting? Marla J. Hayes: The first movie I ever saw. I must've been around 12 when my parents took me to see The Sound of Music. The opening vista made my jaw drop. I was glued to my seat. I wanted to make the same things happen with m...

I started my journey into acting and filmmaking in 2007 as an actress. I found myself interested in all facets of filmmaking because, honestly, being in front of the camera just was not enough for me. I wished to contribute much more to every production I could come to be a part of. This would eventually lead me towards editing and more specifically – becoming a demo reel editor. A lot of my peers at the time didn't see a reel as being a necessary tool to market themselves. Meanwhile, I was ge...