Filmmaking

It is thrilling after all your work on a film, to have the exhilarating experience of a dynamic and successful Q & A at a film festival with a packed audience. Conversely, most of us have experienced the shock of seeing a Q &A where no questions were asked. Worse, is having your short screened with others and ending up the only one not having a questioned asked after hearing, “Well, guys, that’s all we have time for as the next film is coming in”. You Can Pack Those Screenings You can have ja...

Happy December Creative Army! I've got my coffee brewing and some white-hot content coming your way. First up, The Take speaks with some Sundance-official directors about the craft of directing films. They answer questions like: What's your process for working with actors? What are some visual techniques you've used? and more! Next, for all you comedy fans out there, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation recently sat down with the legendary Eddie Murphy to talk about his amazing career over the...

With 2020 just around the corner, we are all speculating potential Oscar contenders. We all have our guesses, but the folks over at Entertainment Weekly have already put together their 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions.  This list details everything from "Top 5" to "longshots" in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay.  Read More: Entertainment Weekly - 20...

In my blogs on “How We Screwed the Showbiz Culture Up” and “Why I Passed On That Screenplay,” I talk a fair bit of trash about how the ethical and creative practices of Hollywood’s development process have strayed from the fundamentals that made this industry strong. By far, the most common and rational response to the ideas I’m expressing in these rants is that “THIS IS A BUSINESS.” If we get caught up in the creative - or even the ethical - needs of our projects and our community, we’re making...

A very Happy Thanksgiving week to you Creative Army! This Sunday, we've got some great content for all you filmmakers out there. My coffee's brewing, how about yours? First on the docket, can your project's title shape how you write your story? Writer/Director Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok, What We Do in the Shadows) thinks so! Learn more in his interview with our friends over at IndieWire.  Next up, film editor Tom Cross (La La Land, Whiplash, First Man, Joy) tells the folks...

For the last two years, I have been working on my screenplay, THE POSTCARD. It is based on the true story of my Great Grandparents and all I wanted to do was write a little thing about their story, that wouldn't take too long, I thought around a 20/30 minute short... Two years later, I'm still writing it.   The postcard my Great Grandfather Harry sent to my Great Grandmother Rebecca from the Titanic in 1912.   I was doing okay, but as I was writing it, I found that if I was going t...

Becoming a screenwriter is a truly incredible process, that will challenge you, reward you, disappoint you, but never bore you. That being said, it’s important to go into this path with eyes wide open, and know the truth about being a screenwriter. These are the top 5 myths about being a screenwriter that you should know first. Myth #1 - It Doesn’t Involve Much Writing Although screenplays are short, usually from 90 to 100 pages, with a lot of empty space on the page, they can actually be mu...

Getting paid for being a filmmaker is an art form and rarely taken to heart, so artists starve for their craft. This image of the "starving artist" must not and should not be perpetuated. Most people believe that the work of a writer, a producer, a filmmaker is based on passion alone, and as a result it is assumed that all artists are meant to work for free, or to get paid later, because their passion for the craft will make them accept work under any condition, including the freebies or the inf...

Probably the most coveted of all Hollywood’s many careers and titles, more widely sought after even than the dream of becoming a movie star itself, is the position of “idea guy.” Someone has to be doing this job, according to popular wisdom. What’s more, all the remakes and adaptations we see in theaters today make it clear beyond doubt that this person, whoever they are, is doing a pretty terrible job. If someone is going to sit in a room all day, getting paid millions and millions of dollars a...

Good Morning Creative Army! Here's to another cinematic Sunday here at Stage 32. We've got some hot new content for your today. Got your coffee ready? First up, our friends over at Film Riot teach the subtle art of making cinematic end credits. Have you ever heard of a "snorkel lens"? These handy little lenses effortlessly ensure a cinematic vibe. End credits are an often overlooked footnote to an otherwise amazing film, watch this video to make sure your film ends with a bang. Secondly, w...