Financing

The entirety of my film experience is with indie filmmaking. To be perfectly honest, most of that experience is making 48 Hour Films. There’s just something about throwing a project together from scratch that thrills me. For years, I’ve wanted to do more. In the last year, I finally got the chance. About a year ago, I read an article about how a person rerouted money in their budget into a savings account for a quarter of a year. They then used that money to make a short film. They real...

I wanted to share my journey as a black filmmaker for Black History Month. Part 1 I started developing my Black Salt franchise over 10 years ago because I was tired of seeing how they depicted black men in TV and film. I create a black hero who was strong, disciplined and people could look up to. I loved martial arts, so I wanted my hero to have mastered Shaolin Kung Fu and be an Interpol agent, where he traveled around the world with great adventures, defeating the bad guys and standing...

Like many, I’m reasonably new to screenwriting. I taught college courses in writing and Goth Lit for 15 years, and when I made the switch to screenwriting, I thought, “It’s writing. How hard could it be? Look at all the stuff that gets made.” I embarked on a journey to learn all I could about writing scripts, something I’d dreamed of doing for nigh-on 30 years. I wrote a couple of sitcoms I thought were awesome and sent them to some managers who accepted unsolicited scripts. I was turned dow...

Since 1976, February has been the official home of the annual Black History Month. A few days into February 2022, I wanted to share a few ways you can help support Black filmmakers, artists, and creatives.  5 Ways to Support Black artists this Black History Month Share Black artists stories and contact information on platforms you have access to. If there are zoom industry meetings/panels you are invited to and they are not diverse contact the host or moderator and suggest a Black artist...

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 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...

Happy Tuesday Creative Army!   My first article as a Fast Company contributor - Three Steps Social Can Take to Foster Community - was published recently and I wanted to share it with you.Having run Stage 32 for over 10 years, I couldn't be more proud of our amazing community of nearly 1 million members and even more so that the business world has recognized our community as the shining example of positivity and productivity anywhere on the planet.   It's been amazing to hear from so many cr...

I wanted to share my experience with other filmmakers on how posting a Stage 32 blog helped me get distribution for my transmedia film project. Part 1 About four months ago in the transmedia lounge, they were having a discussion on transmedia. So, I shared how I was developing my transmedia project Black Salt from comic book to crowd funding for my proof-of-concept film, to video game. Karen Ross, the Community Manager at Stage 32, told me my transmedia journey would make an excellent blog...