Networking

Not everyone who lives in Hollywood is from Hollywood. The industry is mixed with folks from all over the world who want nothing more than to fulfill a dream. Making the move is a massive decision, and can ignite a number of mixed feelings, including (but not limited to) excitement and absolute fear. These feelings fester from the moment you cross the city limits. Once in, you look around and you ask yourself, "Now what?"What was once a place that seemed so far away and out of reach is now a rea...

For the past few years we've been doing a mid-year check in to see where all of you are at. What kind of projects are you working on?Have you been killing it with auditions?Where are you with writing? Networking? Pitching? Let's take a minute to do a mid-year check-in and see how - and what - you’re all doing thus far. Are you on track? Do you need a push? Did you change direction entirely?   Let's talk about it in the comments section below. And, of course, if there is the opportunity...

Movies and TV habits are changing with the advent of streaming video services, including Netflix. So what does that mean for writer's looking to pitch to executives? Does streaming now create two different avenues for pitching? Or are the markets the same? Stage 32 CEO Richard "RB" Botto & Director of Script Services Jason Mirch address this question in the FREE webinar "Ask Me Anything." Listen as the duo discuss how writer's should approach these markets.   Click Here For RB & Jason's...

Though filmmaking and production are an art and a craft, they’re also a business, especially if the project is a commercial or industrial. So being as professional as possible in your written communications to talent is important and will further your working relationships. Your goals should be to make it as easy as possible for actors (and crew) to work with you and show them you know what you’re doing. 1) Ensure All Communications are Well-Written and Clear What you write and send into the...

Extra, extra! Read all about it!I wasn't always such a twisted and depraved soul. In many ways, it was the world of background acting that opened me up to the fun and fascinating film industry and all the sordid bits that entails. For those who are curious about what goes on behind the scenes or want to get involved, let this serve as an introduction (or perhaps an admonition) to those considering making the leap into the wild world of background acting. For the legions of people who know m...

I had a professor who worked on the show Prison Break and I went to visit him on the set one year. I was on the call sheet! Intern. First day of the shoot, my professor, the director of the episode that week, asked for me to get him a “coffee.” All right. Coffee. Um...I don’t drink coffee. Nor did I at the time. My past experience with coffee was nil. Perhaps if I had thrown it down my gullet in high school, I could have elevated to a loftier university than Arizona State, but I digress. I...

I entered 2019 completely broke. I live for free in a guest house with my fiancé, so my expenses equated to my insurance and groceries. I couldn’t afford them the following month. That’s how broke I was. I never thought I’d be that person. Why was I broke? it wasn't long before I realized my lack of cash was anchored in the false argument of ART VS. COMMERCE. How did I get in this position? I had a movie that was premiering on SHOWTIME in two weeks, DVDs were in Walmart, eight projects produc...

Being a performer in the 21st Century is hard. In the 20th Century, we were taught to learn & think like soldiers & factory workers, not like innovative, self-determined entrepreneurial entertainment professionals. You can thank the 19th Century Prussian educational model for that. Shows like A Chorus Line taught us that us if we’re not a star, we’re a loser.This is simply not true. To make things even harder, the barrier for entry to the entertainment industry is lower than ever. As a...

I have a goal. It’s to help you become successful networkers right here on Stage 32. See, lots of us claim we want to network and connect, yet we don’t do much about it. Maybe on Monday we send a message to someone to say hello. On Tuesday we might start a thread. On Thursday we might join the conversation on someone else’s thread. But if no one responds or seems to care about our existence, what do we do? We quit. We decide that networking here doesn’t work and we exit stage left. Wel...

With ebbs and flows and highs and lows, every one of us asks ourselves from time to time, "How Do I Stay Motivated as a Creative?" Stage 32 CEO Richard "RB" Botto answers the question during his free "Ask Me Anything" webinar. And what's more, he offers how screenwriters should handle script notes, especially in the beginning of their screenwriting career.     Click Here For RB's Advice!           Remember, if you haven't subscribed to our YouTube page, make sure you do so you don'...