Filmmaking

I know a lot of people who live very small lives in very small places. The one I actually know the best is me. I’m the woman who was scared to not only leave her home state but also her town until I hit my 40’s. I was scared to fail at everything, including getting from A to B in a car. So I sat, safe, in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. A divorce thrust me into a new life and I realized if I didn’t take risks that led to failure I was going to disappear off the radar, broke and alone. My first st...

What does it take to become a director or assistant director on the set of some of the biggest Hollywood features out there? Stage 32 caught up with Joel Nishimine at Filmcon. Joel Nishimine has been an AD on films like The Last Exorcism and The Curse of Chucky. Right now he’s working as an AD on Living Among Us (2018). So he knows horror. But he also knows getting on set as a crew member isn’t so horrible, so long as you take the actions necessary to put yourself in front of people. When...

Welcome to another edition to Coffee & Content.  Hope you're all enjoying your weekend! First up this week, it's no secret that Pixar has a knack for telling great stories.  But how does the magic happen time and again?  How about a TedTalk on the subject?  Danielle Feinberg, Pixar's director of photography, creates stories with soul and wonder using math, science and code. Go behind the scenes of Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Brave, WALL-E and more, and discover how Pixar interweaves art and scien...

What does it take to make a pilot? Indie filmmaker Dana Marisa Schoenfeld has been down that road more than once. If you're new to the indie pilot world, this list just might help you pull your thoughts together. What's more, if you have a shoestring budget, this list might make you swoon. Stage 32's Joleene Moody interviews Schoenfeld to get the goods. ITVFest, Vermont 2017 When I attended ITVFest in Vermont last October, I bravely stepped out to network with other content creators. From wr...

It takes courage to do what most people aren't willing to do. So when filmmaker Chris Bournea set out to create a documentary about professional African-American female wrestlers in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, he knew courage was only the beginning of what these women had to struggle to find. In today's Stage 32 Blog, Bournea talks about the making of the documentary, the women who wrestled in the ring, and the money-hungry men who promoted them. When you do media interviews for a movie you’ve made...

Happy Sunday, everyone.  Hope you're all well rested and ready for some quality content. In this edition of Coffee & Content, we begin with the comedy of the Coen Brothers.  For my money, no filmmakers have embraced a wider range of comedy over the last 30 years than the Coens.  Sometimes darkly funny, other times broadly humorous, the Coens manage to mine laughs out of just about any scenario.  How do they get it done?  Our first video deconstructs the ins and outs of what makes it all come t...

I first met Alysia Reiner at SXSW about 5 years back.  I was immediately taken by her energy, spirit and determination.  We spoke for a long while about a life pursuing creative success and best practices on navigating the business.  We discussed how the most successful creatives find ways to eat excuses for breakfast and figure out how to control more than they relinquish.  Alysia has been a huge fan of the Stage 32 mission and has contributed to the platform in many ways including blogging (...

When you have a completed script in hand and need to decide how you're going to go out into the market, there are many options to consider. Our fearless leader, RB, sat down with award-winning director/producer Michael Polish to talk to him about breaking into the market once the script is done. Today, we're featuring it today on the Stage 32 YouTube page. To get more incredible content from some of the best minds working in the industry today, be sure to head over to our YouTube page and clic...

Well, we are now officially past the mid point of 2018. Incredible. Wasn’t it just yesterday we were all discussing our goals for the year? I thought now would be a good time to do a mid-year check-in and see how you’re all doing thus far. Are you on track? Do you need a push? Did you change direction entirely?  Let's talk about it in the Comments section below. And, of course, if there is the opportunity to assist another member of the community toward accomplishing his or her goals, be sur...

Hello, creative army.  Happy Sunday. Earlier this week, I published a blog called First Time Screenwriter at 41, Oscar Nominated at 46 which chronicled the journey of arguably the hottest screenwriter on the planet, Taylor Sheridan.  The blog was extremely well received (give a read through the comments section for the wide variety of opinions and personal stories) and served as a source of inspiration and motivation for many. It also led to me receiving numerous emails asking me to post some...