Latest Blogs

Happy Monday Stage 32-ers! Over the past 12 years, we here at Stage 32 have been thrilled to be recognized throughout the industry as the leaders in online film craft and business education. We are honored to be partnered with some of the most prestigious film festivals and markets in the world including the American Film Market and the Cannes Film Festival Marché du film to name a few. Now, for the 8th year in a row, we are thrilled to be joining forces with one of the few Oscar-qualifying...

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. This weekend, "Barbenheimer" has finally arrived. It's a social media sensation that's been building all year long. And while the films BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER appear to have nothing in common, the attention to detail from the directors of both films in the story and visuals is astounding. For today's Cof...

I am a Distributor turned Filmmaker. I have a finance degree and a law degree and I spent the first 22 years of my film career in Distribution. Then I got the bug to become creative. I have since made and successfully self-distributed 7 feature films, 3 of which streamed on Netflix worldwide (FULL OUT / FULL OUT 2 - YOU GOT THIS! / KISS & CRY). I provide consulting services to hundreds of indie filmmakers and the initial conversation usually goes like this: Jeff to Filmmaker: “You need to th...

Welcome back to TALKING BUSINESS: Insights from the Independent Film Industry, hosted by Stage 32 Thought Leader and Business Consultant, David Zannoni, from Freeway Entertainment and Zannoni Media. In TALKING BUSINESS, David brings you in-depth conversations on the behind-the-scenes of the filmmaking business with industry veterans. In today’s second episode, David speaks with Viviana Zarragoitia. Viviana is the SVP of Film & TV Financing at Three Point Capital, as well as a Stage 32 Thought...

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 an expert panel to gain insights into the current market trends, As the rise of streaming services continues to impact traditional theatrical distribution deals, the art of packaging films has undergone a significant transformation. Nowadays, what makes a package attractive has evolv...

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...

If you’re a writer—whether you’re a writer of books, short stories, poetry, screenplays, or stage plays—you’ve likely gotten in your head a time or two about your writing. I can’t tell you how many times a story sat in my head for days, weeks, months—or even years sometimes—simply because I couldn’t get it to come out on the page as genius as it was in my head. There’s this ridiculous idea we have as writers that our genius is supposed to naturally share itself on the page as if it were li...

Hello, creatives! I’m digging into a topic today that’s so important to the success of your project because it creates the inner conflict we love to see in our characters. I’m talking about want (desire) and need -- the external and internal drivers of character choice. To help me explore this concept using a fresh perspective, I’m going to draw on my experience getting on the starting line as a runner and obstacle course racer. Looking at a race is a great place to study what motivates peopl...

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...