Tips

Hey guys. Very often, I hear from members of the community who are having a difficult time navigating the business side of the industry.  Honing their craft, no problem.  Building relationships, winning champions and getting past the gatekeepers, a challenge that not only puts many through the wringer, but dampens their creative spirit as well. I'm here to tell ya, the fear, the resistance, the reluctance can all be overcome.  And it doesn't take much.  In fact, just a few changes in commitm...

Last week we brought in the Emmy-award winning producer Kip Konwiser for an incredible 90 minute Q&A that left all of the creatives listening motivated and inspired. Kip has had a storied career having worked with Netflix, HBO, Sony Pictures, 20th Century FOX, Paramount, Lionsgate and more. For nearly three decades he's worked with some incredible talent including Darren Aronofsky, Laurence Fishburne, Clint Eastwood and much more. In this inspiring webinar we talked about whether or not you n...

We’ve all heard the stories. Paranormal Activity, a film with a budget slightly less than a used Honda, made $193 million worldwide and launched a profitable franchise. That film’s progenitor, The Blair Witch Project, had a $60K budget and turned out a $250 million box office haul. The most profitable films from 2010 to 2015 were all horror films. 10. The Last Exorcism ($68M gross vs. $1.8M production budget) 9. Annabelle ($257M vs. $6.5M) 8. Chernobyl Diaries ($37M vs. $1M) 7. In...

Getting some things done up here at the Santa Barbara Film Festival this weekend, so I'm grabbing my coffee to go and leaving you to enjoy (and share) the content! First up, I have a truly enjoyable and insightful tutorial on how to best film at night. Next, it's an in depth interview Rian Johnson, writer/director of The Last Jedi, discussing his screenwriting techniques. As always, I ask that you pay it forward and share this content wherever possible.  And, of course, I welcome your thou...

As part of the writing services team at Stage 32 handling a lot of the pitch sessions, I get a lot of questions about pitching, as well as some pretty keen insight into what executives like and dislike about pitches. Before me, Allen did the same thing and therefore experienced the same growth in KNOWLEDGE (said with an echo). So together he and I came up with a list of the ten most common mistakes we see in the pitches here. We then had a brutal fist fight to see who would have to go on cam...

Just when you feel like parking your pitching for the moment, along comes a breakthrough to give you new hope – this is my takeaway sentiment this Christmas just gone, and I would like to share with you all what I am talking about, as hopefully it will encourage you to keep pressing forward and to keep striving for your goals/dreams in 2018. I was reluctant to write this article, as I felt it was a little premature, but encouragement from Rosalind Winton, the wonderful official editor of Stage...

One of the best ways to further your creative pursuits and to stay on top of all the latest industry news is to consume quality content. But in this day and age, finding reliable sources can prove to be quite challenging. Luckily, our good friends at FilmHub have compiled a murderers' row of film related creatives posting incredible content on Twitter. We're proud to present their list of 10 FilmTweeters to Follow as a Creative in 2018! Our very own CEO, RB, rings in at number 9! To find out w...

On January 5th, for the second straight year, we were proud to celebrate National Screenwriter's Day with our friends from Screenwriting U. Hal Croasman led a spirited online panel with TV writer, Nicole Ranadive (24, THE LIBRARIANS, HAWAII FIVE-O, SMALLVILLE), Patrick Raymond, Development Executive for Mandalay Pictures (BIRTH OF A NATION, BURNING SANDS) and yours truly. Over 500 writers attended the nearly 2 hour event.  As you might imagine, we covered a ton of ground including the craft, c...

  I'm climbing up on my chair now so you will pay attention to what I'm about to say. Okay...I'm up here...waiting for you to listen. Ready? Don't cast less than great actors in your film! It seems to me that casting is often times a second thought to Indie filmmakers. Then guess what happens? We are subjected to films that are difficult to watch. Even if the script is great, bad actors can absolutely ruin your film. I have seen this occur time and time again. And so have you....

I wanted to take a moment to thank Stage 32 member Sarah Delpizzo for writing an article for her blog "My LA Lifestyle" featuring Stage 32 and our fearless leader, Richard Botto. In the article Sarah has RB take us on a trip down memory lane about the origins of Stage 32, best practices of how to benefit from being on Stage 32 and the evolution of the industry right now. It's a must read for every creative.   "There is a famous saying in the entertainment industry, “It’s all about who you k...