Filmmaking

Romantic Comedies are officially back! Rom Coms are quickly becoming the hottest genre on streaming, and bouncing back in the theaters. Netflix and Hulu have been capitalizing on the rom com fever with hit projects like TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVE BEFORE, YOUR PLACE OR MINE and WEDDING SEASON. TICKET TO PARADISE hit theaters earlier this year to resounding success. Television has quickly followed suit with shows like EMILY IN PARIS and SEX EDUCATION blowing up on social media. Stage 32 won't let y...

Documentaries have been produced since 1922. They were always considered the educational part of moviemaking; not entertainment. That has all changed. We are in the Golden Age of Documentaries. Prominent directors are using the documentary format to tell their stories. My documentary Homecoming: Veterans, Wives, Mothers was up for a Daytime Emmy in 2021. I need to say this format is one I use when I think a topic merits the documentary style. Most of my work is producing and directing Emmy-nom...

Hello Creative Army! Read any of the trades right now and our industry is in a rapid state of change. The entire Stage 32 team is on the phone every day to keep their fingers on the pulse of what's happening. It's an exciting time for you as a content creator - whether you work in film, television, or digital - and it's equally exciting for content makers because the world has opened wide to international voices traveling beyond borders. We are seeing more and more diverse and international...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. First up, we're getting inspired with this video from British Vogue, interviewing tons of household name actors on how they view the industry and their careers. I think one of the most important questions asked was when the person felt they had "made it." For many of them, they never feel like they have,...

I honestly believe the path to success is driven simply by action. It doesn’t matter how amazing/terrible you might be at something, without action, you won't experience any growth and you won't progress toward your goals. Your dreams will never be realized and you’ll go through life always wondering what could’ve been. It’s not enough to want something in this life. Nobody is going to give you anything, you have to be willing to fight for it and you have to do so through action. Ideas are a d...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. First up, we're looking at one of the most challenging elements of storytelling that screenwriters and filmmakers face: theme. This intangible piece is the heart of any story, bleeding into the plot, the character's emotional arc, and the visual choices creatives make. In this video from StudioBinder, th...

A few years ago, I and a producer chum were sitting in a cafe in London, observing the interesting customers it attracted. It wasn't just any cafe: it was a Poetry Cafe with a downstairs space for concerts, open mic nights, and so on. The people we saw coming in, sitting in corners, hiding under their hats, reading, or discoursing at length about whether or not there was quinoa in this or that dish .... it got us scurrying into our notebooks and exchanging anecdotes of various cafe experiences....

Artificial Intelligence has been getting a lot of attention recently, especially in the film and animation industries. In some circles, there is excitement over the possibilities artificial intelligence presents, on the other side of the fence, there is anxiety and major concern. The truth is everyone should be concerned, whether you are an actor, director, cinematographer, writer, musician, or editor, and the buck doesn’t stop there. It affects all roles in the pipeline. However, the concern ma...

Many people have asked me what acting has to do with stunts. Well, everything. We are not just stunt people. We are not simply daredevils hungry for the next big thrill or buzz junkies craving our adrenalin fix. We are actors who perform stunts in character. It does not matter whether it's doubling or a role with no lines. It's still a performance, and it still needs a believable and three-dimensional character. That said, what is stunt acting? What is involved in the process? What is a stunt ac...

This blog will focus on the feature film categories, specifically Best Feature. Hopefully, a future blog on the TV entries can happen before the 2022 Annie Awards ceremony happens in February 2023. The list of Annie nominations came out last week, and I think I’m more excited about the Annie Awards this year than I have been in a long time. Here are the Annie Awards Best Feature Nominees: Disney and Pixar's TURNING REDGuillermo del Toro's PINOCCHIOPUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH (DreamWorks)TH...