Filmmaking

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...

The celebs are prepping with their glam squads and the Dolby Theatre is getting ready for one of Hollywood's biggest nights. That's right - the 92nd Oscars® are right around the corner on Sunday, February 2nd, 2020.  Here at Stage 32, we are thrilled to embark on our 8th Annual Oscars Contest. Every year, we give our community the chance to test their industry knowledge and submit their guesses for the top filmmakers in the industry. Who do you think will go home with the coveted statues this...

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...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I hope you are having an epic and productive 2020 so far. I've got my freshly brewed coffee and some great content for you today. Let's do this.  First off, let's check in with our friends at The Hollywood Reporter. As you are likely familiar, THR presents amazing roundtable discussions featuring industry titans from all fields in entertainment. Today, let's see what some of the leading ladies of television's biggest comedies have to say. You will hear from none o...

Making a movie is an endlessly exhilarating and exhausting journey. As filmmakers, we study our favorite films, we read lots of scripts, and we do our best to knock pre-production out of the park so shooting can go as smoothly as possible. However, as almost any veteran filmmaker will tell you, making a movie almost always takes more time and money than you bargained for.  When it comes to directing your first feature, there are bound to be some surprises throughout the process. Fortunately, t...

On New Year's day, Richard Botto challenged us as members of the Stage 32 community to discuss our strategies for 2020. The point of Stage 32 is to help members see new possibilities to expand their craft, make connections and produce entertainment that audiences love.   What strategies are you planning on implementing toward reaching your goals? I'd love to know more about them, and I'm sure others in the community would as well." - Richard "RB" Botto, Founder and CEO of Stage 32   I...