Filmmaking

Hey guys.  Welcome to the weekend. Is there anything better on a cold winter's morning than curling up with a hot cup of coffee and a good screenplay?  If you answered "Yes", too bad, that's all I have for you.  For the rest of you, I'm happy to provide you with links to NINE screenplays hoping to get some recognition this awards season. As always, I welcome remarks and discussion in the Comments section below.  But more importantly, this is the season of giving, so hit the freakin' share bu...

It was another incredible year at the American Film Market (AFM). Due to the sheer amount of content being created, purchased and distributed in the current climate, the attendees had a little jump in their step this time around. For the second straight year, I had the pleasure of leading the Producing Studio Films on an Independent Budget panel. This was a lively and passionate discussion featuring both similar and diverging opinions on the current state of indie film producing, film financin...

I reached out to Tiffany Boyle from Ramo Law, whom I met through Stage 32 and worked with on some other projects, I recalled her saying she knew of an animation distributor, so I asked her if she’d send the pitch package to them, she did and they came back with something along the lines of, it wasn’t the type of material they were looking for at the moment. But she did know of another entertainment company that may be interested. She sent it off, and voila´ we are now in agreement to get it goin...

Most of you have no doubt heard one of the sayings along the lines of, 'an overnight success 10 years in the making,' or 'you have to put in 10,000 hours of practice before you are truly ready.' And even if you haven't, if you are in this business (or any creative endeavor) you certainly know the emotional roller coaster of waiting for your work to get noticed in some way, shape or form. So what do you do to pass the time in between those 10 years or 10,000 hours? There are two avenues and b...

  Happy Sunday, everyone. Taking a quick break from speaking and mentoring at the Seattle Film Summit to bring you some insightful and useful content to go with your coffee. First up, Steven Spielberg shares his 10 Rules for Success. Next, the legendary Joe Eszterhas shares his thoughts on screenwriting.  Never a dull moment when Joe is involved. As always, all I ask is that you pay it forward and share this content through your social media (or other) channels. Sit back, enjoy, and...

I wanted to share my perspective as an African born Music Director. I simply found my affinity to music as a young boy growing up in a place where music has no strength. I collected magazines, tapes (this was the audio version of songs at the time) and watched television, enabling me to grow a firm foundation in my area of interest. At that time music was considered as an avenue taken by people who wanted no real responsibilities, plainly it was set aside for people who had no better focus in...

Our fearless leader, RB, spent some time with Stage 32er Dave Bullis on his uber-popular filmmaking podcast recently. On the podcast, RB and Dave discuss a wide variety of topics including:     1. Why RB thinks it's never been a better time to be a content creator   2. How do you get studios attention?   3. What does star power mean now?   4. With so much content being created and competition, how do you find your tribe (aka audience)?   5. The power of community from film to you...

If you're a writer, director, actor or producer, I have good news for you. Science fiction can put you on the map! First off, a definition. By science fiction, I'm also including fantasy and a certain kind of horror, that with a magical or mystical element. And here's my definition of science fiction vs. fantasy: science fiction is any fantasy story where the fantastic element is given a technological or pseudo-technological reason. Of course, there are many other possible definitions. My fa...

Happy Sunday, everyone.  To all those celebrating, I hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend. A little cloudy and cool where I am today.  Seems like a perfect time for an Italian dark roast and some film related content. First up, from our friends at Film Riot, I have a look on how to add depth your filmmaking (and storytelling) through visual subtext.  Next, tips, tricks and advice from some successful screenwriters who have had films play at Sundance.  And as a bonus today, I am addin...

On behalf of the Stage 32 team, I'd like to wish all celebrating a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We are all extremely grateful for the members of this community and for the incredible relationships and friendships that have bloomed over the years.  Truly, we feel blessed. As I've mentioned in past Thanksgiving blogs, I like to use the end of each Turkey Day for some quiet reflecting on the year thus far.  What was I hoping to accomplish?  What can still be done with the month remaining?  I find th...