Producing

Hey, Stage 32 Community! Over the years, Stage 32 has been a lot of different things to different people. It’s been a community, a network, a family, a mission, a call to action, an opportunity, a refuge, a school, a mentorship, a marketplace, and so much more. This week, in celebration of Stage 32’s recent 1 Million Member Milestone, we’d love for you all to share your answer to the question, “What does Stage 32 mean to you?” All you need to do is upload a short video to your external socia...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! First, 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 around 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. First up, showing the power of a united force in this industry, SAG-AFTRA Presi...

It’s true that the writing sample is the most important part of any query letter. However, you need to spend some time making sure that the query letter is solid as well. First impressions matter, and you can rub agents the wrong way if your query letter isn’t up to snuff. Here are the 10 biggest mistakes screenwriters make when querying. 1. Using A Generic Greeting If you are submitting a query letter, address the agent properly by name in your greeting. It’s unprofessional to use a...

My name is James Kicklighter, and I am a Stage 32 Thought Leader and a multi-award-winning Film Director and Producer. I have been fortunate to direct documentaries (The Sound of Identity), narrative films (Angel of Anywhere), and advertising across the country and around the world.   For the first time in my career, I am now working with representation! I'm managed by RAIN through a connection that I made at a Stage 32 in-person meetup, and my latest film, The American Question, is represente...

Hi, Stage 32ers! While you may have missed out on getting to attend Cannes in person, you certainly won’t miss out on the incredible insights that were shared there! At this year’s Cannes 2023, Stage 32 hosted a fantastic expert panel exploring the importance of representation, equity, and inclusion in film and television production. As well as, the impact of diverse storytelling on audiences, industry trends, and the business of filmmaking. Moderated by Martin I. Petrov (Festival Direc...

When I go out and do speaking engagements, one of the popular talks that I give ends with me asking the audience the rhetorical question, “If not you then who?” To use a term that I like to employ regularly, I’m challenging them to do a self-audit. It’s rather ironic that I’m a publicist and yet the point I’m making to the attendees of these various events is that if they don’t promote what they’re doing, who is going to do it for them? Yes, of course, they can hire someone like me, but you ge...

Many times, when writing a script or a novel, you might consider the task of creating strong secondary characters for granted. That is, you have created a unique and interesting Sci-Fi world or main character that drives the action in your novel or screenplay. This drives the main character to overcome major obstacles and emotional challenges in order to achieve their goal by the end of the movie or novel. Their “Need” or “Desire” to achieve their goal is paramount to achieving a satisfactory...

Hi, Stage 32ers! While you may have missed out on getting to attend the Cannes Film Festival in person, you certainly won’t miss out on the incredible insights that were shared there! Stage 32 was proud to present 6 panels at the Cannes Marche du Film, which we will be sharing with you on the Stage 32 blog in the coming weeks. At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, I had the distinct honor of joining Sami Apra, CEO of Largo Film (Switzerland) and Christopher Morrison, Founder of Reality + fo...

In this era of Zoom pitches, writers sometimes question why they need a written pitch bible for a television project at all. Can’t you just pitch your show in a Stage 32 pitch session or to a contact in a meeting, send over a pilot script, and sell your show? Can’t the rest of the details be worked out later? Who would read your pitch anyway?  Actually, writing a pitch bible may be the most important step you take toward selling your show. Here are five reasons: Concept Does Not Equal Sustai...

No matter what role you play in the entertainment industry (actor/writer/producer/etc), rejection is part of the process. We all hear “no” constantly, but what do you do after? I will guide you through easy steps on how to handle a "no", and how to take new chances. First, let me introduce myself. I am a young Danish girl, who wants to be a screenwriter. At the moment I am not writing anything new, I’m simply rewriting my finished scripts. Other than that, I'm an active member and moderato...