Screenwriting

It was lunchtime on a Wednesday afternoon. Finished eating at my desk, I sat in my car, in a nearby parking lot, about to crack open a book that would help change the direction of my life. A book so powerful that it would open my eyes, helping make things clear that I once couldn’t see. A book on screenwriting. Reading Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field was the first time I had been introduced to three act structure and specifically the hero’s journey. I had made two sho...

You’ve heard the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none”? I’m going to start with something controversial, I hate that quote. This quote has been preached to me on many occasions throughout my career and I can imagine it will continue for the rest of my years. Why this quote? Because my creativity is hard to grasp, I do many things, and can do many things well, does this sound like you?. Your creativity doesn’t fit in the societal norms of occupation, the idea that we decide to be or do o...

How To Wake Up on the Right Side of the Writer’s Desk: Ideas on how to get re-motivated to work on that script you’ve been ignoring this entire pandemic. If your quarantine has been anything like mine, then all the grand plans you had for finishing that script, taking that online class, and working on your yoga game have turned into finishing that pint of ice cream, taking that random personality quiz, and working on your watching everything in your Netflix queue game. It’s sucked. You want t...

CONGRATULATIONS!   HERE ARE THE WEEK 5 WINNERS!   FORCES OF DECADENCE by Phillip Hollins "A military cop chronicles a series of incredible events as a lawyer preps a high-profile international smuggling court-martial involving an attempted assassination case against one of the most decorated Green Berets in U.S. history."   THE NIGHT WITCHES by Steven Prowse "With wood and canvas biplanes, no radio, no lights, no defenses and no parachutes, just bombs, these WW2 pilots terrori...

Back in 2006, a buddy of mine had an idea. He loved horror movies, he knew someone with a camera, and he had been writing horror-themed stories since he was a teenager. He’d also been acting in theater productions around the region, and figured he could get a few people together for a weekend here and there. And that’s exactly what he did. He turned one of his stories into a script. He pulled a few folks together. He started filming. Many people do this sort of home-grown filming now, but a...

Black Creek originated as a writing exercise during quarantine. Now, it’s an independent TV pilot with network actors, Sundance Fellows, and a cutting-edge health and safety solutions company attached. Michael Goitanich and Connor Pannell, the Canadian/American co-production duo behind Black Creek, discuss what they learned throughout production, virtual post-production, and their plans for distribution. This article focuses on what we learned during production, to learn how we handled pre-pro...

One of the things I’ve noticed as I’ve created books and scripts is that no matter what the project is or what your role in the project is, you leave a piece of yourself in everything. We can’t help it. Any undertaking leaves a piece of us, a signature of sorts. With filmmaking, projects come and go and sometimes, you have to walk away. Sometimes, it’s before the project sees the light of day. And to be honest, that’s when it can be the hardest. Today, I’m going to share my experience and...

Good morning Stage 32 Creative Crew! I hope you had a fulfilling weekend and carved out some time to introduce yourself to the Stage 32 community during “Introduce Yourself Weekend” while enjoying the remaining days of summer. If you did not get a chance to say “Hello” yet, there is still time! Can you believe in this whirlwind year, we have blazed right through summer and it has been incredibly busy for members of our Stage 32 community, even while the industry is going through a disrupting per...

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. Now, grab some fresh coffee and let's dive in to this week's fres...

Hello Stage 32 Creative Crew! I come before you today with some exciting news. The Stage 32 Writers’ Room has just surpassed a milestone achievement - 100 webcasts! For the last year and a half it has been my honor to act as the humble host, guiding webcasts that include script and screenwriting breakdowns, virtual pitch sessions to industry professionals, one-on-one conversations with some of the biggest names in the business, and writing exercises that challenge our imaginations and sharpen...