Financing

Hello Stage 32! As you know, it has been the good kind of crazy all week here at Stage 32. On Monday, we announced that we are screening official selection SXSW 2020 films that have been affected by the cancellation of the festival last week. If you are new to the party, you can find the announcement here, the amazing media support here, the epic Stage 32 and indie film community rallying here, and the continuing media blitz here.  So here we are, Friday, March 13th, 2020. The day filmmakers...

Hello Stage 32! As you have likely heard by now, Stage 32 is screening the films affected by the recent SXSW cancellation (more info here, here, & here). The response has been magnificent, and we here at Stage 32 are in awe of the boundless support the entire world has for independent film. When we first made the announcement on Monday, Variety, Screen Daily, IMDb, and Broadway World were quick to share our message. Since then, we have had over 50 publications, blogs, and fellow entertainmen...

Hello Creative Army! We really need your help in spreading the word! As you have likely heard by now, the 2020 SXSW festival was canceled due to concerns about the health and safety of attendees and the Coronavirus. As filmmakers, producers, screenwriters, and actors ourselves, all of us at Stage 32 are devastated for everyone impacted by the cancellation of SXSW.  Over the last few days, we have heard from hundreds of Stage 32 members who played a part in the films impacted by the cancell...

We've all had that script or project that we have poured our hearts, souls, and time into. You do the Hollywood hustle networking game and finally, land that big pitch meeting. You passionately pitch your project and eagerly await the executive's praise. Instead, they ask you point blank "what else do you have?"  This question is a staple in any pitch meeting, so it is imperative to know how to answer it when the time comes. Stage 32 CEO Richard "RB" Botto and Director of Script Services Jason...

Happy Wednesday Filmmakers! This week, we are thrilled to present the debut vlog from long-time Stage 32 member, blog contributor, webinar teacher, and international film & distribution aficionado, David Zannoni! Over the course of this year, David will be bringing Stage 32 exclusive insights, tips, and tricks from his adventures in the business of film across the globe.  Today, David is reporting from the European Film Market & Berlin Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. Click below to learn t...

With each passing year, original streaming content becomes more and more popular. As filmmakers, we are all secretly (or not so secretly) vying for a coveted slot on the golden geese of streaming: Netflix and Amazon. So, how do you pitch your project to Netflix or Amazon? Stage 32 founder and CEO, Richard Botto, answers this question thoroughly and frankly in his free webinar, "Ask Me Anything".  The head of Netflix television programming reportedly hears roughly 60 pitches a week. Before yo...

The movie industry is not just about creating what pleases you. It’s about creating entertainment that will delight an audience. The major studios put a lot of money into big movies seeking to serve a huge international audience. Independent filmmakers often target much smaller audience groups, but they have a target. Before you put one word on paper you need to consider who your potential audience is and how you can expand that audience. If you spend $5 million making a movie for a $10 milli...

Many people, even in the film business, don’t know the difference between a development producer and line producer. In this article, we are going to dive into different types of producers in film production such as development producer, line producer, executive producer, assistant producer, and co-producer. Then we will talk about the role of creativity in film and how it is practiced. Development Producer and Executive Producer in Film Production A Development producer is responsible for br...

Last year I wrote the blog post How I Shot a No-Budget Ghost Comedy Feature in One Week. The TL;DR of it is I’d been dying to make a movie, I’d been writing a lot and waiting on news, got sick of waiting, so I wrote a script, assembled a team, rented a house, fed everyone, and then shot the thing with very little sleep. I also amassed a fair amount of credit card debt. Why? Because this is what I love and I wanted to do it. I’d tried crowdfunding campaigns in the past, but I was never successf...

Yesterday, we were thrilled to announce that Stage 32 CEO RB's book Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers: Indie Film and The Power of the Crowd is the textbook for the first-ever crowdsourcing class to be taught at a major US university! This triumphant news is the product of a powerful industry relationship that has been years in the making between RB and fellow filmmaker, Marty Lang.  Now, it's time for you to meet the actual students from University of Central Arkansas who will be taking Marty's cl...