Inspirational

Happy Sunday Creative Army! First of all, congratulations to all of you who have already participated in our monthly Introduce Yourself Weekend! Thousands of connections have been made between entertainment creatives and professionals from every corner of the globe. Whether you are a long-time member, or brand new to Stage 32, take a moment to pop over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge and say hello before the end of the weekend. Bonus! If you are attending Cannes this week, Stage 32 is hosting...

Following up from my previous blogs, “Finding Your Creative Tribe” and “Building Safe Spaces”, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the very individual process a professional creative must go through in order to be present for their “tribe” or be strong enough to lead a team. Especially since doing the work for yourself, BY yourself is essential. It is the foundation of everything else we create. Consider for a moment when you visit a doctor. It is certainly their job to help analyze what a...

Months ago, I wrote a piece for the Stage 32 blog called “5 Ways to Use IMDb to Research Your Way to the Top”. That is still the foundation of getting the most out of IMDb. However, since then, IMDb has added more resources to its Pro element or things we didn’t cover before. 1. TRAILERS If you are one of those people that get to the movie theater early to catch the latest trailers, and it's one of your favorite things about the movie going experience- I’m right along with you. However, wha...

At one of my many day jobs, I worked in communications for one of the world’s largest banks. Not my dream job, but I had an office, so that was cool. When I wasn’t pasting press clippings into photo albums with solid gold covers for a former chairman (a real thing that happened), I got to work a fair bit with the CEO. It’s de rigueur to demonize bankers, but this guy was actually very decent. I was with him on one occasion when he gave a speech to employees. He told a story about how he regula...

Three Things in the Entertainment Industry You Shouldn’t Take Personally On Medium by Richard "RB" Botto It’s tough not to take things personally when you’re a creative. Writers, directors, actors, cinematographers and other film and TV creatives are emotionally invested in their work, while putting in a massive amount of time and effort in creating their art. This makes hearing negative feedback or a simple, but impactful “no” feel like a crushing setback. However, most interactions don’t...

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 recently released a fascinating video about how Christopher Nolan shot the iconic spinning hallway scene in Inception. They dive into the cinematography, rotating set design, and stunts that went into creating such a unique and visually interesting scene - without...

It’s a fact of writing that projects need multiple drafts. But that’s not what I’m talking about in this article. Instead, sometimes you might need to completely take apart a project, throwing out every previous draft, and starting over. Sounds extreme? It is. But it’s something I recently experienced. To properly explain this, I have to give you some background on the project in question. I’ve been working on the sequel to my third book since 2017. At the time, I was ambitious that I w...

Keeping in mind the old expression that “it takes ten years to become an overnight success,” as much as we all would love a shortcut, a golden ticket, a Fast Pass, the truth is that you DO have to put in the time and get the reps. BUT, the good news is that along the way you’re starting to build the foundation to eventually make a successful pitch from, to whoever it is that you’re trying to get in front of. I’m not only talking the talk, but walking the walk, having recently seen a culminatio...

On a daily business, often questions come up about calculation and payment of Residuals. If Residuals are not paid by the Distributor (often a studio or a major distribution company) and Residuals are not paid from the budget either, how does the Production Company comply with its Residual obligations? In independent film and TV, two parties are essential in the process of calculating and paying Residuals: the Collection Account Manager or CAM, and the Payroll House. In this article we w...

You've made a short film. You've put in your time, effort, blood, sweat, tears, and perhaps even some serious money into your project. Your goal isn't only to get your film seen, but to get it seen around the world and by people who can make a difference in your career. Would being screened by an Oscar qualifying film festival matter? How about having it screened for over 1,000 executives including managers, agents, producers, film financiers and more? Look no further. The most prestigious s...