Screenwriting

A Love Letter to 2020: Tips and Tricks for creating a Narrative Podcast in 2021 I was going to start this blog with a clever send-up of all my missteps and foibles in the production of my podcast, Piercing Time, of which there were many. It was going to be a funny, wry and rueful story, with all of the tried and true ingredients that charm and engage readers on the page. But then I realized that I wanted to write a different kind of story, one about faith and friendship across continents and t...

Happy February, Stage 32! By now, I think most of the readers on this site know me pretty well! For those who don’t, I’m a screenwriter, a playwright, a director, a producer, a script doctor of growing repute, a game designer, a novelist, and in all respects a worldbuilder and storyteller. By now, I’ve worked as an executive for more than a decade and I’ve written more than 40 feature film scripts.  My personal backstory is a bizarre and twisted odyssey of life-shattering experiences, ranging...

Please, Think About What You Write I understand that times are tough right now. You feel you have to write towards trends. What's hot. What's popular. Where the industry is headed. Believe me, I get it. But, please, I beg of you, for the love of all that is sacred, please do not write more quarantine dramas right now. No romances during a pandemic. No more "Love in the time of Corona" type stuff. Please, for the love of God. We are about to be inundated with this genre and it's infuri...

Happy Monday, Creative Army! Last week, we hosted our FREE Netflix TV Pitch Workshop, and I am thrilled to report that we had 25,763 entertainment creatives (screenwriters, filmmakers, actors) and professionals (managers, agents, development execs, producers) from over 175 countries register for this epic virtual event. Christopher Mack, the Director of Talent Investment and Development at Netflix, provided over three hours of exclusive insider information and tips on how to pitch to Netflix a...

Hello Stage 32 Community! I wanted to share with you the screenplay nominees for the 2021 Motion Picture category of the Golden Globes.  The Golden Globes will take place virtually this year on Sunday, February 28th, 2021. The event will be hosted by Tina Fey, tuning in from the Rainbow Room in NYC, and Amy Poehler, who will be hosting from the Globes' usual home at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angles, CA. Download the ones you find interesting - these links will expire soon! Enjoy! Promising...

Happy Tuesday Stage 32! We recently had the pleasure of chatting with talent manager and producer Brian Dobbins (Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish) about how to break into the entertainment industry. Between his own successful career as a producer and as a talent manager to some major A-listers (Martin Lawrence, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Anthony Anderson are on his roster) Brian has helped countless careers blossom in this highly competitive industry.  In this interview, Brian talks about how he...

Stage 32 + Netflix join forces to bring you an exclusive television pitch workshop! For many, the holy grail of television has become Netflix. It’s a titan in the industry, and with over 200 million subscribers worldwide, no one is creating and releasing original content quite like them. Just look at the recent hit show BRIDGERTON, which has already been seen by a massive 80 million households (!!) since its release. In addition, no other platform has committed to releasing more original co...

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 at StudioBinder recently released a video exploring how cinematographer Roger Deakins (1917, Skyfall, Blade Runner 2045, No Country for Old Men) uses practical lighting in his work. This video explains what practical lighting is, how you can achieve a "natural" look on camera, how blo...

Happy Saturday Stage 32!   As many of you know, our fearless leader and CEO Richard "RB" Botto regularly hosts "Ask Me Anything" webinars. RB's AMA's are packed with inspirational, no-bs shop talk about all aspects of the entertainment industry.    Naturally, there was no better way to say hasta la vista to 2020 and hello to 2021 than with a special Ask Me Anything" F@#$ 2020 Edition from RB. I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of the highlights that are sure to help you conti...

With a New Year comes a reinvigorated sense of purpose. The purpose of Stage 32? To connect, to educate, to elevate. The purpose of the Stage 32 Lounges? To provide a safe and encouraging environment for creatives and professionals to connect, educate, and elevate each other. The purpose of the Member Spotlight series? To show that your Stage 32 connections start with a post, a comment, or a direct message, but they can lead to a meeting, even a creative partnership. It all starts with a convers...