Filmmaking

FOMO: (Fear of Missing Out) – that anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media. Have you ever found yourself scrolling your Instagram or Twitter or Facebook for hours, lingering on those posts where mega deals are entered into by your fellow Artists? Or as they go LIVE on their Social to show off being on set on a film or tv show? Are you feeling dejected when friends, your fellow artists, or even total stran...

I started writing when I was a kid in elementary school and haven’t stopped since. What drove me to writing? I’m a creator, storyteller and my life experiences and love of the craft put me on a path to write, write, write! I’m a published poet and actually wrote a Shakespearean Sonnet. Yeah, I did that! I wrote my first novel and published it back in 2013. What got me into screenwriting was when I ‘faxed’ a note to Producer/Creator Jeri Taylor (Star Trek Voyager) back in the mid ‘90’s. What I...

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, our friends over at StudioBinder have a series called "The Director's Chair" where they highlight key tips from successful film directors. In this episode, they feature Wes Anderson (The French Dispatch, Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox) and his unique and distinctive style. They cov...

Creativity requires you to stay present and connected with all that you are - your talents, skills, and vision, as well as your feelings, thoughts, and inspiration. Your most private experiences and aspects of your internal life all come together and, one creative moment at a time, they become your art. As an artist, you know what it’s like when you merge with your art. You and your art flow together and become one. It almost feels like magic. You enter into a state of creative bliss and exper...

Happy Thursday Stage 32! I have a special treat for you today from long time Stage 32 member and Producer Bradley Gallo (WILD MOUNTAIN THYME, GREEN HORNET & KATO, THE CALL, MR. RIGHT). Bradley recently wrote an amazing blog for the Stage 32 community about The Making of "Wild Mountain Thyme" Starring Emily Blunt & Jamie Dornan. As part of that blog, I had the supreme pleasure of hosting a video interview with Bradley about his storied career as a producer.  Today, I am delighted to share...

    The 7 Items You Must Include in Your Netflix Pitch Document   On Medium by Richard "RB" Botto These days, every writer and producer believes they have the perfect show for Netflix. It’s by far the most common statement I hear in my day to day running Stage 32. Getting in front of Netflix isn’t an “if you build it, they will come” proposition. Quite the opposite. The competition is massive and there’s only so many pitches execs can hear in a day. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a...

It’s crazy! I never really honed in on writing until I was getting serious about animation. I was all about the illustration and making things move side, but then while I was doing that, I realized,”Oh man, I actually should write out actual episodes!” So I wrote out a pilot for my animation, Reap’d, which I’m currently pitching left and right on Stage 32. Coming from a digital arts background I never really practiced writing, but I guess in a sense, I’ve always been a story teller. As a kid...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I've got my coffee in hand and your weekly dose of content coming in hot - grab your coffee of choice and let's dive right in. First up, The Tonight Show recently interviewed Nicole Kidman about her recent role play Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos. Nicole talks about the complexity of playing such an iconic person - and the different approaches to playing the off screen version of "Lucille" versus playing "Lucy" as depicted on I Love Lucy.  Nex...

A couple of steps are preached within the screenwriting sector that newbies need to follow before finding their feet in the industry. Many screenwriters have been frustrated out of their passion because they’ve done everything they are asked to do to no avail. They’ve followed the process verbatim and are yet to land anywhere or anything meaningful. This can be frustrating, mainly because it forces the screenwriter to think that their success and breakthrough in Hollywood aren’t in their hand...

At age 17, my artist-father was taught a mantra. ‘Near enough isn’t good enough. It has to be perfect.’ So he slaved for his mentor, re-doing work over and over again until one day, the mentor was moved to tears and whispered; ‘now it’s perfect. And that’s near enough.’ But the damage was done. Over 60 years of painting, dad couldn’t bring himself to have an exhibition. Nothing was perfect. It robbed him of so much joy and satisfaction and held him back from moving forward in life. I inheri...