Producing

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I've got my coffee in hand and your weekly dose of content coming in hot - grab your coffee of choice and let's dive right in. First up, The Tonight Show recently interviewed Nicole Kidman about her recent role play Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos. Nicole talks about the complexity of playing such an iconic person - and the different approaches to playing the off screen version of "Lucille" versus playing "Lucy" as depicted on I Love Lucy.  Nex...

A couple of steps are preached within the screenwriting sector that newbies need to follow before finding their feet in the industry. Many screenwriters have been frustrated out of their passion because they’ve done everything they are asked to do to no avail. They’ve followed the process verbatim and are yet to land anywhere or anything meaningful. This can be frustrating, mainly because it forces the screenwriter to think that their success and breakthrough in Hollywood aren’t in their hand...

At age 17, my artist-father was taught a mantra. ‘Near enough isn’t good enough. It has to be perfect.’ So he slaved for his mentor, re-doing work over and over again until one day, the mentor was moved to tears and whispered; ‘now it’s perfect. And that’s near enough.’ But the damage was done. Over 60 years of painting, dad couldn’t bring himself to have an exhibition. Nothing was perfect. It robbed him of so much joy and satisfaction and held him back from moving forward in life. I inheri...

Nominations for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards were announced on December 13, 2021. The awards were originally scheduled to be presented live on Sunday, January 9, 2022 at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and on the CW Network and TBS. However, the ceremony was postponed on December 22, due to public health concerns. What are the similarities in the nominations from previous nominations this year? The differences? What are your favorite scripts? Be sure to comment below!...

Happy Tuesday Creative Army!   My first article as a Fast Company contributor - Three Steps Social Can Take to Foster Community - was published recently and I wanted to share it with you.Having run Stage 32 for over 10 years, I couldn't be more proud of our amazing community of nearly 1 million members and even more so that the business world has recognized our community as the shining example of positivity and productivity anywhere on the planet.   It's been amazing to hear from so many cr...

I wanted to share my experience with other filmmakers on how posting a Stage 32 blog helped me get distribution for my transmedia film project. Part 1 About four months ago in the transmedia lounge, they were having a discussion on transmedia. So, I shared how I was developing my transmedia project Black Salt from comic book to crowd funding for my proof-of-concept film, to video game. Karen Ross, the Community Manager at Stage 32, told me my transmedia journey would make an excellent blog...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! First of all, congratulations to all of you who have already participated in our monthly Introduce Yourself Weekend! Thousands of connections have been made between entertainment creatives and professionals from every corner of the globe. Whether you are a long-time member, or brand new to Stage 32, take a moment to pop over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge and say hello before the end of the weekend. Now, grab some fresh coffee and let's dive into this week's conte...

Have you ever fallen in creative love? Perhaps you idly chat about your favorite director (like this fun getting-to-know-you post), only to discover that you both love their most obscure film the most. Over your first coffee date, you playfully square off about who has the worst set stories, but you share a laugh over the resiliency it takes to keep going. Now you're about to start a project and your new creative ally is firmly entrenched in your corner. 'How in the world did I get so fortunate?...

Happy New Year, Stage 32! Last month, I wrote a pilot and a feature in my labors as a script doctor and ghostwriter… and in the final tally, I wound up writing 6 pilots and nine features in 2021. Just one of these films was under my own name. Going into 2022, my goal is to make enough headway with my own spec sales, films in development, and transmedia projects that I can charge more, work less, and focus on what I have to give the audience. If I can get my sci-fi heist feature into productio...

The inclination nowadays is to try to promote yourself online as much as possible. However, while there – understandably (and unfortunately) – are still some locales in varying forms of lockdown, more events are (back) out there where you can go speak! Getting in front of people opens a new lane for you to get your name, face, and what you do “out there” while also providing opportunities to make valuable new connections. Let me immediately nip something in the bud before you decide, “Oh no, t...