Filmmaking

I'll spare you the 394th Warner Bros. acquisition digest. I'm sure you've heard enough expert opinions. Instead, I want to take an optimistic view of the business and talk about what can really affect your day-to-day as an independent producer, creator, writer or content maker. While big conglomerates play Russian dolls with M&As, we're seeing smaller platforms targeting audience niches…and that's what excites me. With Tubi exceeding 100 million monthly active users and Angel Studios surpassin...

Happy Tuesday, Creative Army! Every now and then, you get one of those moments where the work, the passion, the belief, and the years of pushing uphill finally land in a way that makes you stop, breathe, and say, “Yeah… this is why we do it.” Today is one of those days. Recently, Forbes published a full feature on Stage 32 and our Certification Program — calling us “the future of film school and career education.” You can read the article by clicking here! To say this is an honor is an...

Happy Monday, Creative Army! Stage 32 Managing Director Amanda Toney and I had the honor of representing Stage 32 at the 43rd Torino Film Festival and Torino Film Industry in Torino, Italy. And let me tell you: Italy is not just open for business, they are hungry to create more opportunities for filmmakers around the world — and Stage 32 is right in the center of it. How This All Started This relationship began months ago at our Stage 32 Film Commission VIP event in Cannes. What started as...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or dreaming up your next big idea, I’ve got something energizing for you today. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week’s featured video is an incredible deep-dive from Vanity Fair where James Cameron breaks down every film he’s made, from The Terminator all the way to Avatar: The Way of Water. If you need a jolt of inspiration, this conversation delivers. Cameron tal...

I believe in growth on both a personal and professional level. Next-level greatness is only accessible if we know how to do a regular check-in ourselves and take inventory of where and how our energy is spent. As Aristotle has said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit." Career longevity of 30 years brings gifts. I have applied myself on many levels, from branding to marketing, to selling to learning how to finance, network, create marketing materials, and be aut...

As recently announced in The Hollywood Reporter, the world's leading vertical micro-drama producer has opened their doors exclusively to our community and we're excited to announce we've partnered with DramaBox - who are offering a $5,000 option contract to the winning writer of our joint screenwriting competition! Open to feature screenplays, TV pilots, and short scripts! Direct-to-Production Access Drama Box is the world's leading short drama platform launched in April 2023. Covering over 2...

Production for Pure Vortex, our no-budget comedy feature, kicked off on June 25, one of the hottest days of the summer. I barely slept, not because I was nervous, I wasn’t, but the heat and racing thoughts about shot lists, rehearsals, and if we could pull this off kept me up. So maybe I was a little nervous. By 3:30 AM, I was checking gear and props, in full zombie-mode. Driving to set, my partner and cinematographer, Leya, tried chatting, but I was quieter than usual, lost in “what-ifs.” We ar...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or simply dreaming up your next big idea, I’ve got some inspiring content to fuel your passion and keep you moving forward. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week, I want to spotlight a video that hits on something I think many creatives forget: the power of risk, reinvention, and saying yes before you feel ready. Today’s featured video comes from Vanity Fair, Bren...

There’s a saying that we’ve all heard a thousand times over, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. This resonates with visual artists when ensuring that the visuals they convey will provoke the right tone and message to the many words and feelings that they will portray and intend for their story. Now this concept isn’t new to most of you and it’s just what good storytellers and filmmakers should be doing right?! I mean, what artist doesn’t put their heart and soul into infusing their vision...

Happy Friday, Stage 32 Community! The day after Thanksgiving always feels like a quiet crossroads. The world slows down just enough for us to hear ourselves think. And in that quiet, I’ve been reflecting on something powerful that came up during this past week’s November Community Open House (if you missed it, click here and watch for free on demand), a moment that, to me, gets to the heart of what Stage 32 is really about. A new member asked me, very honestly, whether this platform was the...