Inspirational

Katie O'Reilly is changing the way the world views people with disabilities. She's writing them onto the stage, leaving their disabled stories out and normalizing them with the same hopes, fears, dreams, and realities that any other human being would face. A hearing-impaired actor uses sign language during a stage performance. The playwright said, "Disabled characters are often metaphors or tropes, representing very negative aspects of what it is to be human. So you’re evil personified, or...

  “Luck” Photo by Erwin More of More Medavoy Every now and again when I hear people talk about actors, it’s not unusual for them utter the word “luck” to reference the reason for the actor’s success. I pause for a moment and then tell those people what luck really is. “Luck is being prepared when opportunity arrives,” I say. “You may not create it exactly, but you sure as hell execute it.” There will always be things that fall outside of your control. But as an actor, it’s crucial that...

  Chris Moore is one of the most respected producers and sought after speakers in Hollywood today. From Good Will Hunting to American Pie to the Oscar winning Manchester by the Sea, Chris has carved out something rare in this business, a long lasting and lucrative career with huge projects spanning multiple decades. Additionally, as the founder of Project Greenlight and The Chair, Chris has been at the forefront of champion independent filmmakers all across the globe. It’s no wonder why...

What's up, Creative Army? Another Sunday, another edition of Coffee & Content.  Let's kick it off. First up, as you know, most industry readers give a screenplay about 5-10 pages before deciding whether they want to soldier on and spend the next 90-120 minutes of their lives with your story.  So how can you assure your screenplay sings from Page 1?  TOMKAT content provides some insights and some examples to back 'em up in their Writing the Perfect Movie Opening video. Next, I've featured m...

It happened. You lost it. Your passion and motivation are gone. We've all been there. Whether you have writer's block or are in an acting slump, it seems hard to get through it. I've been there too and I want to share the lessons I've learned because of it. Creators create and when that fire withers away, it can be life changing and painful. For me, it was devastating and debilitating. I couldn't cope. It took me ten years to find my footing, after losing everything. I left a great University an...

Monday, August 20th, 2018 - I got home at 10pm last night. I woke up at 5am that morning not knowing how my day would turn out. It was a beautiful mid-August morning with the hot sweltering heat and humidity of the past couple months finally breaking with a perfect weather day. However, myself and 18 other actors and crew members wouldn't be outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather. We were inside an air-conditioned vacant office in Plainville, MA instead, attempting an impossible feat. From left...

Greetings from sunny London.  It's been an inspiring last few days screening our 3rd Annual Short Film Program at the Raindance Film Festival and shining a light on the incredible filmmakers who won this year's competition.  More on that soon, but for now, let's get to the Coffee & Content. First up, last week's Goodfellas Script to Screen proved to be extremely popular, so I figured I'd double up this weekend with a look at Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher's work with The Social Network. Thin...

Some of you have seen the power of connecting right here on Stage 32.Some of you are still discovering that power. Here is one story of how Stage 32 connections are changing the way we move and connect with other creatives in the film industry. More Than a Hello When Stage 32 decided to become the networking partner for the first ever VIP Film and TV Summit in Washington D.C. on August 25th, 2018, we had no idea that our fast-growing social and education network was a big part of how event...

Happy Sunday to all.  Let's jump right in. First, from the guys at Script to Screen, it's a look at the famous bar scene from Goodfellas.  Get your shine box and settle in. Next, from our friends at Apture, it's 4 Cinematic Lighting Setups for filmmakers. Finally, over the last 7 years, I've received hundreds (literally) of DM's, emails, etc, asking me for recommendations on books, movies, scripts to read, workout equipment, diet and supplement advice and other things I'd rather not mentio...

More women. More minorities. More diversity. These are the rumblings both on and off set at a television series being created near you. (Or not near you, but still being created.) According to a study completed by the Directors Guild of America, the number of women and minorities seeing employment in television creation has increased. Is there room for improvement? Always. But as it stands now, the DGA found that over the past nine seasons, 82 female directors accounted for 41% of first time...