Filmmaking

An average independent film project deals with a multitude of contracts. Agreements are entered into by the production during all the stages of film’s “life cycle”. In this article we will mention a couple of the most important agreements that the producer should take into consideration during development, production, and distribution. Also, we will look at financing, residual obligations, and agreements which are fundamental to make sure that the film is completed successfully and that rev...

Happy Wednesday Creative Army! As you know, Stage 32's continued mission is to democratize the entertainment business and the industry is taking notice in a big way. We are incredibly proud and honored that Stage 32 has been featured recently in Forbes Magazine, Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, and now we are thrilled to be featured in Benzinga.  Money, money, money, money. Raising financing for films and other creative projects is always a challenge. That’s why we were thrilled that over 26...

At my kids’ school, they’re putting up two new buildings, and I had the chance to watch them pour the concrete for the walls as I sat waiting in the carline the other day. What was really remarkable to me was the fact that in order to get to this step, they’d first had to assemble an entire framework that served as the mould for the walls. They’d basically built a building to build the building, in a manner of speaking. And then (because I’m a writer who likes thinking about the process of wri...

I wrote my first book at the age of nine, a pastiche inspired by Ben and Me, a favorite book about Ben Franklin and his sentient mouse companion. I can still recall the joy I had in simply putting words to paper, words that would conjure images in my mind as I wrote them. And that is the way I continue to write today, as if the story were a movie in my head, scenes rewound and replayed as I re-read and tweak them. I once read somewhere that not everyone visualizes what they read, that for some p...

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, Behind the Curtain has a great interview with Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Star Wars: Episode VIII, Looper) about his writing process for Knives Out. Specifically, Rian talks about how he approached writing a modern whodunit, his experience as a writer/director, and more. Spoiler alert: if you haven...

Creatives usually don’t like being limited or bound by time. Expressing your creative thoughts through words, imagining worlds, coming up with plots and twists, and giving life to characters isn’t something you should rush. But what happens when you face the challenge of rewriting the screenplay? This task usually comes with a deadline that you need to respect. You can be the most talented screenwriter but if you don’t act respectfully towards the people who are willing to bring your play to l...

Independent filmmakers: the most important rules of marketing are to start early and keep focused on your target audience and how to monetize those consumers. What is the point of making a movie and no one knowing about it? – Marketing is the key. Marketing is a very important element in the world of film. In fact, studios are marketing machines and focus a great deal of time on marketing. Independent filmmakers should learn from the majors as they truly understand marketing. Although the wo...

Happy Thanksgiving, Creative Army! On behalf of the entire Stage 32 team, I'd like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. This year, we have welcomed hundreds of thousands of new members to our growing, creative community, and we are beyond honored to provide each and every one of you a safe haven  to connect, be inspired, and come together to make art. We are all extremely grateful for the members of this community and for the incredible relationships and friendships that have blo...

There’s no doubt about it—self-tape auditions are all the rage and certainly here to stay. And, with pilot season fast upon us, the timing is perfect for talking about what makes a self-audition submission likely to succeed. A quick Internet search will yield an abundance of self-tape how-to articles and videos, which is great, and I encourage you to watch and read them. But they mostly focus on the technical aspects of the process (cameras, lighting, sound, setup) and far less on the actor’s...

I've worked with a lot of big-name talent, developed movies from best selling books from Stephen King to Ann Rule, and optioned and developed a few Opera Book Club picks including Songs In Ordinary Time, Jewel (won the Humanitas Award), and Midwives. I have worked with and developed projects for Warner Brothers, Sony/Tri-Star/Columbia, Mark Harmon's Wings Productions, and more over the past 30 years of my career. Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of screenwriters in all stages of the...