Producing

Hello, readers of Stage 32! My name is Tennyson E. Stead, I’ve been working in entertainment all my life, and I’ve written more than 50 screenplays - many of them as a ghostwriter, which means a vastly disproportionate portion of my writing is both paid and uncredited work. In fact, a huge number of my professional decisions have involved compromises that I think a lot of writers would balk at, and certainly I’m constantly making decisions that draw rigorous, interrogative concern from my collea...

Many writers want to know how long their scripts should be. And the answer is almost always, “Shorter than you think.” This is especially true, dear creatives, as we start out our careers. The other day on Instagram, writer/actor Shawn Parikh laid to rest the excuse “but Aaron Sorkin gets to do it” – namely, write massively long scripts – by reminding us, gently, that we are not Aaron Sorkin. For us mere mortals, 90-110 pages will do just fine. But why is this the case? Why can’t we push to...

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, Stream Wars has put together a great behind the scenes look at the making of Paramount's new film The Lost City. This video features interviews with stars Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and filmmakers Aaron & Adam Nee.  Next up, Lessons from a Screenplay takes a dive into the...

No matter where you are based as an actor, given the state of the industry the past two years you have undoubtedly submitted a self tape audition (or 1,000). If you're based in LA or NYC, before COVID you may have only occasionally been required to self-tape, and when that happened, perhaps you used your cell phone or went to a buddy’s house to have them tape you. I, on the other hand, am based in Atlanta. And in addition to being a full-time actor for almost 20 years, I have co-owned a taping...

For the last few years, I have been working on my screenplay, THE POSTCARD. It is based on the true story of my Great Grandparents and all I wanted to do was write a little thing about their story, that wouldn't take too long, I thought around a 20/30 minute short... Two years later, I'm still writing it.   The postcard my Great Grandfather Harry sent to my Great Grandmother Rebecca from the Titanic in 1912.   I was doing okay, but as I was writing it, I found that if I was going to...

    On the heels of our announcement last week about offering more opportunities to our filmmakers and cinematographers, Stage 32 is thrilled to partner with Pond5, the leader in royalty-free stock media. Together we are combining our efforts to serve the global creative community and give you all the tools you need to bring value to your filmmaking and succeed.           What is Pond5? Pond5 is the world’s largest video-first content marketplace, with over 30 million royalty-fr...

We prep. We plan. We come up with moments before, inner dialogue, the character back history and emotional ties. We’re off book, the pitch deck is set, and then…wait, what!? Plot twist. Something interesting happens the moment we step into the audition room, or the camera hits record. Any of our prep or scene-work often times goes out the window and fear sets in. Instead of letting anxiety get the best of the opportunity at hand, or what could happen into the future — which is the cause of anx...

Making It Soft rolling hills stretch endlessly before my bedroom window. The sky is grey most days, but sometimes it explodes in the brightest blue. Just there, beyond the trees, the Irish Sea thrashes endlessly upon the shore, wave after wave, beckoning… Ah… Ireland. So far away from anything even remotely Hollywood. And just a 5 minute walk from where I live, my little village hosted one of the biggest productions of 2021. Disney came, spent 10 million dollars on set design and left m...

To say we just started our writing careers would be an understatement. Before Carol and I met, we were both heavily involved in our separate writing careers; Carol as an Artist Development coach and founder of The ArtEstate, a boutique marketing firm and myself as a professional Chef and International Food & Beverage Consultant. Carol recently signed a publishing deal on her second book. Although I had never completed any screenwriting, Carol encouraged me to write my stories and follow my pa...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I've got my coffee in hand and your weekly dose of content coming in hot - grab your coffee of choice and let's dive right in. First up, Film Riot shares an insightful video about the hardest lesson they have learned in their filmmaking journey. Additionally, this video answers other filmmaking questions such as how to make your film stand out, whether or not a DSLR is a good investment, and more.  Next up, actor and Stage 32 member Mathew Cornwell has a great s...