Producing

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 Monday, Stage 32 Community! We're coming into the home stretch of 2025, and I want to talk about something that doesn't get enough attention: what happens after the momentum stops. November Write Club has been incredible. Hundreds of writers showed up every day, engaging in the lounges, commenting on blogs, supporting each other, pushing toward their goals. The energy has been real, the progress has been tangible, and the wins have been stacking up. But here's what I always see happe...

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...

Just last week, I predicted that A-listers would start gravitating toward genre projects, taking smaller pay cuts for bigger backend deals, as Ethan Hawke did with SINISTER back in the day. Today, Scarlett Johansson was announced to star in the new EXORCIST remake. As studios become more risk-averse, it makes perfect sense: combine the most popular genres at the box office with household names and proven franchises to hedge your bets. A-list talent lending credibility to commercially smart g...

I’ve made it to year three in my journey with Stage 32, and it just keeps getting better! Looking back on the past creative year has been an incredible source of encouragement. It’s allowed me to celebrate the victories and quickly let go of the goals whose timing hasn’t arrived yet—but that I know are on their way. If you’re looking to give yourself a boost, I highly recommend taking a moment to review your creative year and jot down a quick bullet list of wins and milestones. Not Without...

Let me tell you something that might surprise you: Hollywood wants you to succeed. When you walk into a pitch meeting with me—or any manager or executive worth their salt—we're not sitting there hoping you'll fail. We're not looking for reasons to say no. We're rooting for you. We want to fall in love with your story, connect with your vision, and find a way to work together. And here's the proof: I'm about to sign a couple of writers from Stage 32. That's not hyperbole or a marketing line—I...

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’s featured video comes from FilmSpeak, about one of the most unexpected and bold evolutions of a major franchise in years: Predator Badlands. If you haven’t seen this yet, it’s worth your time. Griffin digs...

For the last few years, I have been working on my screenplay, THE POSTCARD. It is based on the true story of my Great Grandparents, and all I wanted to do was write a little thing about their story that wouldn't take too long. I thought around a 20 to 30-minute short... Two years later, I'm still writing it. The postcard my Great Grandfather Harry sent to my Great Grandmother Rebecca from the Titanic in 1912. I was doing okay, but as I was writing it, I found that if I was going to say...

Recent A-list-driven movies are bombing at the box office and the trades are now writing Hollywood obituaries. But movies like SINNERS and WEAPONS that ‘saved the summer box office’ built their marketing strategy around recognizable talent. So did WICKED. And the sequel is projected to reach monster numbers. So is star power dead? Or is it just evolving? The problem isn't A-listers. It's $200M prestige dramas that nobody asked for. Here, I said it. I believe next we'll see a renaissance of ele...