Filmmaking

  "Stage 32: Lynda.com Meets LinkedIn For Film, Television And Theater Creatives" Stage 32 Founder & CEO, Richard Botto · Photo credit: Joseph Love   Our fearless leader, Stage 32 Founder & CEO Richard Botto was featured in Forbes today. We are extremely excited to have such distinguished recognition for all the work we have been doing for creatives all around the world. A sincere thanks goes out to Forbes writer Sarah McKinney, who, as a creative herself, understands the p...

When I was first asked to do a blog entre for Stage 32 I thought, easy, I’ll get this done in no time, I’ll get this out before they can even release the next Marvel Superhero movie (it’s another Daredevil, right?) But then I realized, I have to give the awesome members of the Stage32 commuity something good. They deserve to hear some real-life experience, not one of your (insert Ben Stein impression here), “The state of film today is blah blah, tent-pole, blah blah, overseas markets, blah bla...

A quick interruption to our Weekend Blog for a small news bite.   Our CEO was recently featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal. Much thanks to journalist Gina Hall for her coverage!     Stage 32 CEO connecting writers with representation via Skype It's not a huge secret that Hollywood has run out of unique ideas. With countless sequels, prequels and spinoffs, the studio system looks like it will mine comic books until they exhaust audiences. But what if content creators...

Hello all.   We have now posted the video of last week's first ever On Stage With RB, hosted by our Founder & CEO, Richard "RB" Botto.   We opened 1,000 spots for this exclusive Stage 32 Next Level Webinar.  At the peak, 989 Stage 32 members from 77 countries were in attendance!  Thanks to all who showed up and asked such amazing questions.   All in all, RB spoke for 2 hours including a 20 minute tutorial on how to best utilize Stage 32 to create meaningful contacts, find work, post projec...

Chapter 3: “Wait, I have a couple of things to tell you” Two years later, I was called in to work on another of Paolo Sorrentino’s films. Pre-production had already begun on a film that was much 'bigger', more expensive, ambitious and complicated that his previous projects: Il Divo (The Celebrity), the story of one of the most controversial and fascinating figures in the history of the Italian Republic, Giulio Andreotti. It was a gesture of respect, a considerable sign of trust. I accepted wit...

Chapter One: The Swing “Andrea, I thought about it and had this idea: you should make the professor appear on a swaying swing, the ropes all covered in colorful flowers. Mounted over the student’s bed. In a voice over, have her conjugate a verb in Greek, just before her stretched-out legs come into the frame,” he told me, pleased as a little kid, “you’ll see how much better it works. The rest is fine as it is.” But that happened the year after. First we have to take a step back. It was h...

I was a guest on Ashely Scott Myers fantastic podcast, Selling Your Screenplay. Ashley and I discussed all things 32 past, present and future, how I used the site to land options and development deals, managers and agents, the state of the industry as it relates to screenwriters and filmmakers, and much more. I hope you enjoy and welcome your feedback! http://www.sellingyourscreenplay.com/podcasts/sys-podcast-episode-012-an-interview-with-screenwriter-producer-entrepreneur-and-ceo-of-stage-3...

Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they’re yours. -Richard Bach Excuses. Sometimes the most creative thing we do as creatives is make creative excuses for why we can’t be creative (trust me, it makes sense.) Over our last few Happy Writers / Stage 32 Online Pitchfests, we’ve had some amazing success stories. Today I’d like to highlight one of them courtesy of a creative who never argued for his limitations and only made excuses to keep on creating and believing in his skill...

In publishing, you hear the word NO a lot. From your own critique partners and beta readers --"NO, this scene doesn't work." From agents -- "NO, this isn't right for me to represent." From editors and publishers -- "NO, we don't have room in our line for this."  Sometimes, NO is a good thing. For example, when your scene could use a little more work or when you're career is heading down the wrong path that isn't right for you anyway. But sometimes, NO has nothing to do with your book and your...

The crowdfunding revolution has taken hold and is showing no signs of slowing down.  Seems as if every creative you run into from actors, to producers, to playwrights, has a campaign rolling.  This past weekend, while speaking at Screenwriters World West, I was fascinated by how many aspiring screenwriters wanted to talk to me not about landing a manager or hooking a producer, but for tips on how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. And why not?  Seems simple enough.  Write a killer syno...