Happy Friday, Stage 32 Community!

Our Stage 32 Team has been working diligently to bring in as many new resources and opportunities as possible to enrich your experience here in our community!

At Stage 32 you have direct access to award-winning industry executives and professionals who’ve written, directed, produced, filmed, developed, performed, and represented acclaimed projects such as 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE HOLDOVERS, STRANGER THINGS, SOUND OF FREEDOM, SOUTH PARK, THE WALKING DEAD, INTERSECTION, TRUTH BE TOLD, SURFACE, THAT 90’S SHOW, MODERN FAMILY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, BONES, MOTHER, MAY I?, HALLOWEEN ENDS, HALLOWEEN KILLS, THE GENTLEMEN, SUPERSTORE, and many others.

So without much further ado, let's roll out the red carpet and welcome some of the fantastic new people joining our Stage 32 Community this April!

New Stage 32 Educators-

Gareth Taylor, Award-Winning Filmmaker & Director of Photography

Gareth Taylor is an award-winning Filmmaker and Director of Photography best known for his work on feature films, television, commercials, music videos, and documentaries. His credits include STRANGER THINGS, SOUND OF FREEDOM, and SOUTH PARK. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Gareth moved to California at the age of 20 to pursue his dreams of making movies. Following cinema studies at University, he merged a passion for photography with his love for writing and directing. Gareth's work is characterized by an organic yet expressive approach to storytelling.

You can still register for Gareth’s webinar- Introduction to Cinematography

New Stage 32 Executives-

Andrew Golov, Executive Vice President of Production at Miramax

Andrew Golov is the Executive Vice President of Production at Miramax. As a production executive, Golov has worked with world-renowned directors such as Steve McQueen, Alexander Payne, Robert Zemeckis, and Chris McQuarrie on a diverse array of films that span across genres and budgets, including Best Picture Oscar-winning film, 12 YEARS A SLAVE and five-time Academy Award-nominated THE HOLDOVERS.

Andrew is Executive Producer on the David Ayer box office hit THE BEEKEEPER, starring Jason Statham. At Miramax, Andrew served as Executive Producer on the top-grossing HALLOWEEN ENDS and HALLOWEEN KILLS, starring Jamie Lee Curtis; caper comedy CONFESS, FLETCH, starring Jon Hamm; Guy Ritchie’s WRATH OF MAN and the box office hit THE GENTLEMEN featuring Matthew McConaughey and Hugh Grant. In addition, he was Executive Producer on the Netflix hit HE'S ALL THAT directed by Mark Waters, MOTHER, ANDROID with Chloë Grace Moretz, and the thriller SICK, co-written by Kevin Williamson.

Throughout a storied career that includes membership as a DGA Director and achievements in development, production, and post-production, Andrew has maintained a deep appreciation for the art of filmmaking and the teamwork required to bring a project to fruition. He started his career in the development department at NBC before revitalizing Motown West Sound Studio into the successful post-production facility Signet Sound, and created production departments at Spelling Films, Artisan Entertainment, River Road Productions, and the relaunch of Miramax.

You can meet with Andrew about your Feature here.

Karen Ceasay, Emmy-Nominated-Screenwriter, Actor, & Producer

Karen Ceesay is an actor, writer, and producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. You may recognize her from recurring roles on several hit projects, most notably STRANGER THINGS (NETFLIX) and THE WALKING DEAD (AMC). As a writer, she currently has a project in development with Laurence Fishburne’s production company, Cinema Gypsy, and was part of the writing/production team on the short-form series entitled INTERSECTION which garnered an Emmy nomination.

Karen serves on the Board of Directors for Film Impact Georgia and was recently elected to the Atlanta local SAG/AFTRA board. A respected and long-standing member of Atlanta’s entertainment community, she frequently speaks on panels at festivals and events such as - the Atlanta Film Festival, BronzeLens Film Festival, DragonCon, and was a guest at the famed San Diego Comic-Con. After years of service on the board of directors for Women in Film & Television Atlanta (WIFTA), she serves as chair for the organization's 50th anniversary gala. After 40+ years of acting and close to 30 years of writing/producing/teaching, she is experienced in how the industry works on a macro level. She has also built great relationships in the industry and can identify a person’s strongest skills/traits and use that to develop a plan of action specific to their skill set.

You can receive premium notes from Karen about your comedy or family Pilot here, Feature here, or your First 10 Pages.

Matthew Chen, Development Executive & Producer

Matthew Chen is a Development Executive/Producer who most recently served as Senior Director of Development for Film & Television at Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, where he worked on numerous television and film projects, ranging from pitch to release and every stage of development/production/post in between.

Recent projects he worked on as executive and producer for Hello Sunshine include the Octavia Spencer-starring series TRUTH BE TOLD for Apple Studios, Fifth Season/Chernin Entertainment, as well as the upcoming second season of the Gugu Mbatha-Raw starring series SURFACE for Apple.

Prior to working for Hello Sunshine, he worked for production companies Ethea Entertainment and Offspring Entertainment on a wide variety of film and television projects, including the film HE’S ALL THAT starring Addison Rae & Tanner Buchanan for Netflix and studio Miramax, the AFTER film series starring Josephine Langford & Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and the television series STEP UP: HIGH WATER for YouTube/Starz and Lionsgate.

You can meet with Matthew about your Pilot here, Feature here, or your Adaptation review.

Mandy Summers, Executive Producer

Mandy Summers is a producer with over two decades of industry experience. Mandy is an Executive Producer on two series: THAT 90’S SHOW for Netflix (Gregg Mettler, Bonnie Turner, and Terry Turner) and THE PRADEEPS OF PITTSBURGH for Freevee (Michael Showalter, Vijal Patel). Prior to her involvement on THAT 90’S SHOW and THE PRADEEPS OF PITTSBURGH, Summers launched & built a new production company founded by Tom Werner & Sara Gilbert where she oversaw the creation of the development slate that had over a dozen projects by the end of the first year.

At Tom Werner & Sara Gilbert's production company sara + tom, Summers set up and sold multiple projects at major networks, streamers, and studios; including but not limited to Netflix, IMDB, Quibi, Sony, ABC Signature, and Skydance. There, she identified and partnered with best-in-class producers, writers & directors, e.g., Michael Showalter, Josh Berman, Gregg Mettler, Neil Meron, Betsy Thomas, and many more.

Prior to working at sara + tom, Summers was Head of Development and Production at Nahnatchka Khan’s company Fierce Baby Productions, based at 20th Century Fox TV where she oversaw their extensive development slate and produced three broadcast pilots in two years.

Summers began her career at 20th Century Fox Television where she was the studio executive on some of the most long-running and profitable comedy and drama series, including such hits as MODERN FAMILY, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, and BONES.

You can meet with Mandy about your Pilot here, Feature here, or your First 10 Pages.

Cole Eckerle, Producer & Founder of Bad Grey Productions

Cole Eckerle is a producer and founder of Bad Grey Productions. Bad Grey develops, packages, and arranges financing for feature films and television with a focus on filmmaker-driven, commercially minded stories for global audiences. They currently have projects set up with various strategic partners across entertainment including Boulderlight Pictures, Ghost House Pictures, Dark Sky Films, and Shout! Studios.

Recent credits include the psychological thriller MOTHER, MAY I? starring Kyle Gallner and Holland Roden, LAST STRAW starring Jessica Belkin, Taylor Kowalski & Jeremy Sisto, and MERMAID starring Johnny Pemberton, Robert Patrick, Kevin Nealon, Tom Arnold, Kirk Fox & Kevin Dunn.

Cole Eckerle has spent over a decade in the entertainment industry, producing a range of feature films, digital series, music videos, and commercials. Cole Eckerle's films have screened at premiere film festivals around the world, including Fright Fest UK, Sitges Film Festival, BeyondFest, Austin Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, Paris International Fantastic Film Festival, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

You can meet with Cole about your Pilot here or Feature here.

Brianna Brown, Screenwriter

Brianna Brown is a Film & Television writer and top-ranked university educator at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film & Media Arts where she worked in writers' rooms and has spent 3 years teaching for the university. Brianna has worked with everyone from Oscar-winning writers to renowned comedy writers. As an active working writer, Brianna spends most of her professional career in writers' rooms, and development meetings. Most recently writing for the NBC hit comedy, SUPERSTORE starring America Ferrera, where she served as a Staff Writer and was hired for the final season. She also served as a staff writer on the new TV romantic-comedy series, HOLIDAZE with HALLMARK media.

Brianna also appears in the first episode of the new TCM docu-series, UNTOLD HOLLYWOOD, featuring the discovery of the first all-Black silent film. Brianna works closely with former Saturday Night Live head writer, Barry Blaustein (COMING TO AMERICA, NUTTY PROFESSOR) a connection made from her time working at IF Productions. Prior to working at IF Productions, she worked under the Oscar-winning producers & screenwriters of BLACKKKLANSMAN, Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz, while working at their production company Charlie Hustle Films.

You can receive premium notes from Brianna about your comedy Pilot here, your First 10 Pages, or your Pitch Deck/Bible Reviews.

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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