Tips

Congratulations! You’ve booked your first gig as a director. Do you have any idea what you’ve gotten yourself into? If not, let's start this post with the traits of a successful director. Then we'll dive into the seven essentials for the beginning director.   A Little Bit of Everything: The Five Traits of the Successful Director Like many film directors, I learned the trade in the theatre. And everything I’ve learned over the course of 30 years and 50 directing credits in the theatre tran...

I was the kid who couldn't wait for Family Ties night. That show was everything to me. From having a crush on Michael J. Fox to wanting Justine Bateman's hair to attempting to write my own episode with me in it, the show was the stuff that TV dreams were made of. But Justine Bateman, the co-star who played Mallory Keaton, says living that kind of life was far from a dream. Her reality was distorted, she said. And while many young actors have a different perception of what it's like to wo...

How does a screenwriter keep his or her momentum after they've completed a script? What do they do next as they wait to hear from potential investors or executives? RB answered this very question for Nicholas, a Stage 32 member and semifinalist in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Contest. Nicholas garnered attention after his win, and wanted to know what he should do with the handful of inquiries and read requests he got as a result. RB gives it to him straight. And his response is true...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army. It's been an amazing and rewarding week here at the Austin Film Festival.  Always a thrill getting to hang with so many Stage 32 filmmakers and screenwriters.  We'll have more on all the happenings from the last few days soon, but in the meantime, let's get to the coffee & content. Tony Gilroy has built a 20 plus year career by writing a wide variety of screenplays including NIGHTCRAWLER, TONY GILROY, THE BOURNE IDENTITY and ROGUE ONE.  Here's a screenwriting lec...

If you're reading this post, you're in business for yourself. Most indie creatives are. You are an entrepreneur and you work for you. Therefore, you are responsible for just about every aspect of your business. I am a screenwriter, actor, and ghostwriter (with a small job on the side at a bookstore). As an entrepreneur, I have to manage my books, track my mileage, invoice my clients, and market myself. Really, that's just a fraction of what I do. I also have to establish boundaries with my c...

Depending on the market you are based in, you may have a vastly different understanding of the self-tape audition. If you're based in LA or NYC, you are occasionally required to self-tape, and when that happens, perhaps you use your cell phone or go to a buddy’s house and have them tape you. I, on the other hand, am based in Atlanta. And in addition to being a full-time actor for over 15 years, I have co-owned a taping service with my wife since 2010. We were one of the first dedicated taping...

If I told you that I have interviewed award-winning screenwriters, producers, managers, and other industry professionals who have worked on projects like the Jurassic Park franchise and with studios such as BBC, Marvel, and Disney without leaving the comfort of my own home, would you believe me? And what would you say if I told you that you could do it too? In fact, let’s go a step further and say you don’t even need to get off the couch to do so. In this post, I'm going to share how I’ve be...

A few months back I published a post looking for blog contributors. I'll be doing that from time to time because, quite frankly, the Stage 32 Blog wouldn’t exist without any of you. So many of you answered the call. You told us your stories. You shared your experiences. Your expertise.Your wins, your losses, and your even better wins that come after the losses. We want to hear from you again.Our posts from you educate and inspire. And with over 500,000 Stage 32 members (and growing), ther...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army.  Hope you're all enjoying the weekend and taking advantage of participating in Introduce Yourself Weekend here on Stage 32.  Let's get to the content. First up, as we all know, there's no one tried and true approach to writing a screenplay.  But, by hearing from those who have been successful and keeping an open mind, we might just pick up a tip or two that could lead to better habits.  To that end, here's Jay Duplass speaking to his screenwriting process. Next...

Writing a script is challenging in many ways. After you overcome the stress of facing the first draft review and all the reviews after that and then you see the job done it is, without a doubt, a very satisfying achievement. During the process we can make mistakes (yes, even writers make mistakes) with the way we tell the story. This is why we must keep reading and or talking about script techniques. Today I want to talk specifically about three things we must not do when we are writing a horror...