Inspirational

Good morning, Creative Army. Welcome to Sunday and another edition of Coffee & Content. First up this week, writer/showrunner Dan Harmon has never been shy about expressing his opinion or documenting his struggles as a creative. Here, he provides some writing advice and how to avoid procrastination. There are some great nuggets in here - "It doesn't have to be good - it just has to exist." - is one that stuck with me. Be sure to grab something to write on as you listen! Next, an absolutely f...

Since I was 12-years-old, I have always wanted to be in the entertainment business. I wanted to launch the next great entertainment company and have been pursing this ambition at great personal cost. To date, I haven't yet achieved my vision. But that's okay. Today I want to share my journey, as I suspect many of you can relate and substitute your own name for mine. A Let Down Disguised as an Encouraging Gift 2018 was a particularly hard and painful year. Once again, I found myself without a...

Frankly, most of my life has been spent telling myself that I could never quit a survival job to become a working actor. I knew the statistics. I’ve read the data on how many aspiring actors there are. I knew it was not possible for me to be one of the lucky few who could make a living off of the craft. So, I decided long ago that I would find satisfaction in doing what I love after survival job hours. And for many years I did just that. But recently, I found momentum. I discovered new ways to...

It's that time of year again! Time for you to decide who will take a golden statuette home at this years Oscars. Every year we host a contest where you, our loyal Stage 32 members, get to chime in on who you think the winners will be. And you can start choosing your picks right now, as the 7th Annual Stage 32 Oscars Contest is now live!| Oscar winners from 2016 - 2018 Whomever has the most right answers wins. So if you think you've got what it takes, join the party and submit your choices. O...

Last week we started you on the journey with Part 1 of this series. This week in Part 2, we take you into the production, where the three creators of ‘What Lies Ahead’ talk money, strategy, and family as they drove the backroads of Kentucky in preparation of shooting their film. As a reminder, What Lies Ahead was put together with no less than a dozen Stage 32'ers including writer, William Viglione, director Rob Gardner and on the producing team, Joe Burke, Stage 32 Managing Director, Amanda Ton...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army.  Fired up this week to bring you another edition of Coffee & Content. Let's get right after it. Every week, without exception, I receive a few dozen direct messages here on Stage 32 as well as on my Twitter & Instagram accounts from creatives looking for social media advice. Many of the curious identify themselves as introverts.  Also, without exception, I receive dozens of DM's from creatives who have no relationship with me (and many times, not even following m...

  *Inhales* Ah yes, the smell of ammonia mixed with a hint of latex. It’s time for your regular doctor’s visit. Don’t worry, no one is going to ask you to turn your head and cough. Instead, we’re going to examine one of the major setbacks in the writing process. Often times, this drawback will be accompanied by those all too familiar warning signs: Symptoms Irritability/Mood swings Sobbing uncontrollably into your coffee mug Lack of focus An insatiable hunger only chocolate can fix...

This is a true story. I was waiting to audition for a commercial. The door to the room opens, and the casting person has his arm around the guy who was auditioning before me. The actor was a big, bald guy, all muscle. The casting person was patting him on the back, telling him how great he was, and making sure they had his contact info. When I was called, I wanted to say, “Look, if you love that guy so much, I don’t even have to read for you.” Despite that feeling, in I go. The casting pe...

Every Tuesday for the next five weeks we're going to take you on the journey of the feature film, What Lies Ahead, starring Rumer Willis and Emma Dumont. This film is the result of blood, sweat and tears from an incredible group of Stage 32 members. It was written by William Viglione and directed by Rob Gardner. The feature is produced by William, Rob, and producing partner, Joe Burke and co-produced by our very own CEO, Richard "RB" Botto, and Managing Director, Amanda Toney. Stage 32 Script...

  The 91st Annual Academy Awards are around the corner and we're proud to recognize some of the amazing execs and companies we work with whose films received much deserved nominations. This year as we all watch the Oscars we have 12 films we can root for that have been worked on by execs who mentor for Stage 32 & their companies! Please join us in congratulating the amazing group of talent in the Stage 32 family. And, we'll be launching our Oscars contest on Stage 32 soon - stay tuned!  ...