Filmmaking

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Let’s kick things off with a huge shoutout to everyone who has already jumped into this month’s Introduce Yourself Weekend. Thousands of creatives from around the world are connecting, sharing their stories, and building relationships that will lead to collaborations, opportunities, and lifelong friendships. If you haven’t yet made your introduction, you’ve still got time! Head over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge before the weekend wraps. Be bold. Introduce you...

Welcome back to TALKING BUSINESS: Insights from the Independent Film Industry, hosted by Stage 32 Certification International Liaison, Thought Leader, and Business Consultant David Zannoni, of Freeway Entertainment and Zannoni Media. In TALKING BUSINESS, I sit down with top professionals from across the entertainment industry to uncover the business behind the art—from film financing and deal structuring to distribution strategy and international co-productions. Whether you’re a producer, inve...

The Dirección General de Cine (DGCINE), the Film Commission of the Dominican Republic, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Stage 32 Certification—an initiative aimed at strengthening the professional development of the local audiovisual workforce. This collaboration will provide broader access to internationally recognized, industry-endorsed training for Dominican talent. Individuals who complete Stage 32’s certification programs will be included in a global database of qualifi...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or simply dreaming up your next big idea, I’ve got some inspiring content to fuel your passion and keep you moving forward. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. Let’s start with this brilliant video essay from FilmStack: When An Actor Was More Than Just Funny- Ben Stiller In the 2000s, Ben Stiller was everywhere. That was the golden age of the studio comedy, when the Frat...

The Spark That Lit the Fire For a decade, I’ve been chasing stories. Short films, music videos, commercials, you name it. But lately, I’ve had an itch for features. I’ve wanted to go big. Enter Pure Vortex, our first no-budget comedy feature, born from a crazy idea and a lot of guts. Early this year, Branden Garrette, a buddy of mine, also a Stage 32 member who I met on the platform, dropped an idea: “If we want to make a feature, we’ve gotta do it ourselves.” I grinned. “I’ve got a screenpla...

This is the second in a series of blogs about the making of my passion project “Stories”. If you missed the first one, you can click here to catch up! Once again, let me start off by saying that I am NOT an expert at any of this. I've only been doing this acting/filmmaking thing for five years. I've retired twice and don't really have to work anymore, but I do drive Uber to get out of the house on occasion when I'm not making something. Having said that, I’m not opposed to learning from o...

If you’re a world-builder, someone who spends time thinking through the rules, history, architecture, politics, fashion, lore, and lineage of your universe, you’re already on the edge of something massive. But what if I told you that you don’t have to limit that creativity to just one screenplay, one novel, or one limited series? What if there’s an entire professional lane designed to take the stories you love building and stretch them across mediums in a way that deepens the experience, builds...

Happy Monday, Creative Army! For the past decade, it’s been one of the greatest honors of my career to watch the Stage 32 Short Film Program evolve into one of the premier discovery showcases for emerging filmmakers around the globe. This year, I’m proud to announce that we are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of our Stage 32 Short Film Program with a worldwide premiere at the 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival, one of the most prestigious Oscar-qualifying fests in the world. This program has al...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or simply dreaming up your next big idea, I’ve got some inspiring content to fuel your passion and keep you moving forward. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. First up, check out this week’s featured video: The Hollywood Reporter’s Drama Actor Roundtable. This incredible panel features Adam Scott (Severance), Cooper Koch (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), Dieg...

As we move further into summer, this is a good time to check in with your creative work—and with yourself. How are you doing? Perhaps you have had a productive season, or maybe you've been navigating uncertainty. Either way, take this moment to reflect. This month, I want to talk about gratitude. It is one practice that can redefine your creative journey. Though, not the kind you express at the end of a triumphant moment. Instead, the kind that shows up in the middle—the messy, uncertain, stil...