Contests

THE EYE OF OWOU is based on the West African tale of how death entered the world. The logline is “A desperate mother uses ancient African magic to resurrect her daughter, then realizes the price for keeping her daughter alive entails taking the lives of others.” The logline won a logline contest in 2014 which led me to believe the idea, at least, had potential. I’ve always enjoyed reading mythology. Most horror films are based on Eurocentric myths. I decided to take a different route and explo...

Feature and television projects from diverse writers, and stories with traditionally unheard perspectives, are essential to art, entertainment, and advancing the conversation in a way that has largely been ignored by Hollywood. However, these days, much to our contentment, things are changing. With the powerful evolution of new voices in both features and TV, projects like QUEEN AND SLIM, THE FAREWELL, ATLANTA, CRAZY RICH ASIANS, BLACK-ISH, POSE, LOVE SUGAR, INSECURE are thriving and leading the...

Keep pushing and trust the process. Hi, my name is Eric Jeske and my screenplay AVALANCHE won Stage 32’s Feature Contest. These two “mantras” are what shape my screenwriting journey. I came out to Los Angeles after college, like many, pursuing all that Hollywood has to offer - Improv, comedy, movies, glitz and glamor. But this town can be a tough-ass nut to crack. Keep pushing. So, you figure some things out, make some connections, pour your focus into screenwriting. The one thing you fe...

The most respected genre screenwriting competition of the year is back! Never before has a genre screenwriting contest brought together judges from the five leading horror production companies in the business! Stage 32 is bringing in the biggest names in genre film production and distribution to judge horror and thriller projects! This is the first time these powerhouse companies, executives, and filmmakers have been assembled together for one screenwriting contest! Stage 32 is looking for...

In 2018, that script I started six years earlier would be named as the Grand Prize Winner in Stage 32’s third annual feature screenwriting competition. A few weeks later and I’m in Los Angeles for the first time — well, not counting layovers at LAX, because who really wants to count those, am I right? Every day, I was in meetings with filmmakers behind movies like Ready or Not and Swiss Army Man. And to top off the week, Stage 32 had set me up with a meeting at Verve Talent & Literary Agenc...

Happy Saturday Creative Army! Welcome to the other side of awards season. Another Oscars night has come and gone, and we are happy to announce that the results are in from our 8th Annual Oscars Contest!  Stage 32 Founder and CEO Richard "RB" Botto predicted an amazing 20 out of 24 correct (including Parasite for Best Picture!). Naturally, RB is in good company with his fellow Stage 32 members.  Last year, we had two amazing Stage 32 members (Cali Gilbert & Trish Mistric) tie for first plac...

It is an honor and a privilege to bring you the worldwide premiere of the 4th Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program! Below you will find six amazing short films to watch that were carefully curated by Stage 32's panel of leading industry executives. Our esteemed panel of judges is made up of top producers, managers, development executives, and Oscar-winning filmmakers.    These films are only available for viewing for 48 hours.   Our six winning filmmakers hail from all over the world, and...

  If you've been around these parts for a while, you've heard me preach that relationships are everything.  You also know that our mission here at Stage 32 is not only to provide film, television, and digital content creatives and professionals a supportive and productive networking environment, but to provide our members with myriad opportunities for direct access to executives and decision makers to help get you staffed, signed, and produced. Almost every partnership we've announced o...

The celebs are prepping with their glam squads and the Dolby Theatre is getting ready for one of Hollywood's biggest nights. That's right - the 92nd Oscars® are right around the corner on Sunday, February 2nd, 2020.  Here at Stage 32, we are thrilled to embark on our 8th Annual Oscars Contest. Every year, we give our community the chance to test their industry knowledge and submit their guesses for the top filmmakers in the industry. Who do you think will go home with the coveted statues this...

Welcome to the last Monday of this decade! I hope everyone had a safe, happy and healthy holiday week! And obviously, we’re just around the corner from the big one! I am really excited for all that 2020 holds and I am sure you are right there too. But man, what a year it has been! Many members of the Stage 32 community have been blessed with success over the course of the year. In fact, there were so many that I had to break this blog into two parts. If you missed Part One of the blog, you can f...