Filmmaking

As the COVID pandemic started to wreak havoc around the world two years ago, the wheels of the film industry came to a grinding halt. This was a unanimous decision by the industry although not mandatory as film was deemed an “essential service.” Facing the challenges of the pandemic, the question for filmmakers was how to return to work in this brave new world? As a producer based in Vancouver, Canada, I worked on the last show here to complete principal photography before the shutdown. As...

Happy Wednesday Creative Army! I hope you are having a beautiful and creative week so far. Today, I have an exciting and inspirational podcast to share with you! Recently, Stage 32 CEO Richard "RB" Botto was a featured guest on the business & finance podcast Life Blood.  In this episode, RB and podcast host George Grombacher talk about the creator economy, how to make authentic and invaluable industry connections, how the entertainment business and traditional barriers to entry have change...

We all need a little help, every now and then. One of the greatest things about being a writer is that there are so many tools out there designed to help us. The problem is, people don’t know they exist. When you’re a writer, you have to be a Jack (or Jill) of many trades and learn not just about writing, but about editing, and the business itself. It’s all part of honing our craft. And while, at times, the task may seem daunting, I’ve discovered a lot of online resources that I’ve found to...

I can see the first sunshine after days of rain so I’ll put off writing this blog. I want to go outside for a walk. But I’m also using a technique that harnesses the power of procrastination to get the blog in my head so I can ruminate on it while walking. The terms ‘rumination’ and ‘procrastination’ come with a lot of baggage. Procrastination is defined as: ‘the action of delaying or postponing something knowing full well the negative outcomes of doing so’. That can cause a lot of anxiety m...

I watched my first horror movie with my father when I was eight. He tried his best to distract my eight-year-old self from the horror with a hilarious running dialogue throughout the movie, although I still ended up in bed that night with my parents. My father is gone now, but my love for horror and comedy runs deep and about four years ago, I thought I’d try my hand at putting the two together on paper. I had no clue what I was doing. I had always loved writing but I came from a short story...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! As you may know, it is Women's History Month and this coming Tuesday is International Women's Day. In the past 10 years here at Stage 32 we have had the supreme privilege of working with thousands of powerhouse female voices in entertainment. This week, on International Women's Day 2022, we are partnering with Female Voices Rock film festival to bring you an exciting panel and networking happy hour celebrating women in entertainment. Our panel includes: Robyn W...

In Stage 32's continued effort to democratize the industry, we have partnered with Female Voices Rock for another thrilling virtual event to shine the light on women in the entertainment industry. On March 8, International Women's Day, some of the industry's female leaders will be coming together to host an inspiring webcast celebrating women in entertainment. The panel features four powerhouse female voices of entertainment, including: Robyn Watson - Gannett, VP of Corporate Communications...

Hello Stage 32 Community! For the past 15 years I have been working in the entertainment industry, specifically on the international stage dealing with distribution. Naturally, a lot has changed in the industry over the past 15 years, even more-so in the last two years with the pandemic.  Like Stage 32 CEO Richard Botto often says, we are in the middle of a content gold rush - meaning the need for content is greater than ever and networks and streamers alike are looking to fill out their sch...

Happy Thursday, Creative Army! Following the success of our Stage 32 + Netflix TV Pitch Workshop hosted by Netflix's Christopher Mack, we are proud to have officially partnered with Netflix to bring our community even more free global entertainment workshops. These workshops have now been attended by over 150,000 film, television and digital creatives and pros and continue to make global waves with each passing day. Through this long standing relationship with Netflix, along with my conversa...

Hello, Creative Army! Last month, I was asked by Darren Geeter, a fellow creative and producer at CNBC (and all around great guy), to participate in a long form story regarding the decline in award show ratings and status not only within the industry, but with the public as well. This was a wide ranging interview spanning all aspects of the awards process including what being nominated truly means for talent, production companies, studios and streamers in today's environment. The report aired...