1. Home
  2. The Stage 32 Blog

RB's Stage 32 News, Notes, Discussions and Other Fun Stuff (January 30, 2015)

Comedy Feature Extended
Posted by Richard "RB" Botto

Greetings from balmy Park City and the Sundance Film Festival. Hope you all had a wonderful week and are gearing up for the weekend!

In this edition of the Weekend Blog, I have a ton of Sundance news including Robert Redford ringing in on what he views as “Hollywood’s diversity problem”. This while a new poll from The Hollywood Reporter claims that 7 of 10 in the industry believe that Hollywood is not biased against minorities. I can tell you straight out, this has been a big topic up here at fest. These two articles can be found under ENTERTAINMENT NEWS and, as always, I welcome your thoughts.

Also under ENTERTAINMENT NEWS, some record-breaking sales dominated the headlines at Sundance while virtual reality hit the scene in a big way; Birdman scored a couple of huge wins this week and main have snatched front runner status from Boyhood; Sarah Jones’ parents filmed a new PSA; Netflix hits their first content snag in quite some time; Harvey Weinstein holds court; indie filmmakers share distribution horror stories and much, much more.

Under VIDEOS, I have a couple of cool trailers and a great interview with Kickstarter CEO, Yancey Strickler. Also, under TIPS, some 411 on filmmaking, acting, screenwriting and cinematography.

And finally, a slew of (awesome) STAGE 32 SUCCESS STORIES and all the STAGE 32 NEWS, MEETUPS and POPULAR AND INTERESTING LOUNGE DISCUSSIONS we can fit on one page.

Please feel free to post thoughts and remarks on any of the content below in the Comments section.

Have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy the Super Bowl (go Hawks)!

RB

 STAGE 32 NEWS

Special Invitation - DGA Awards: Documentary "Meet the Nominees". Stage 32 has been chosen by Directors Guild of America Documentary Host Committee co-chairs, James Moll (Stage 32 member and Oscar, Emmy and Grammy Award winner) and Freida Mock (Oscar winner) to extend an invitation exclusively for Stage 32 members to attend the 67th Annual DGA Awards "Meet the Nominees" documentary filmmaker event on Friday, February 6, 2015 at 7pm PST. To read more about the event and to RSVP, click here: DGA Awards: Documentary “Meet The Nominees”

A big thank you to everyone who made it out to the Stage 32, Tugg, Seed & Spark Bright Ideas Magazine Party at Sundance. Many said it was the best party at Sundance, and we think that is because we have the best community on the planet!

Our Stage 32 Happy Writers TV Writing Contest quarterfinalist winners will be announced on February 1 - stay tuned!


EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Starting Satuday 1/31, Stage 32 Happy Writers is thrilled to bring you our first ever How to Write a 1 Hour TV Drama Pilot  8-week online intensive lab taught by Jenna Nicholson from the Drama Development department at CBS (SCORPION, NCIS, THE GOOD WIFE, RINGER and ELEMENTARY)! This hands on lab will guide you through picking a concept, creating engaging characters, structuring and outlining your pilot and writing the first 10 pages! The main objective of this 8-week lab will be to have at least 10 solid pages completed of your script. To read more about the lab, see a video from Jenna and to sign up, click here: How to Write a 1 Hour TV Drama Pilot

Starting Monday 2/2, Stage 32 Happy Writers is excited to bring you our first ever 4-week online Perfecting the Basics of Screenwriting: An Introduction class taught by literary manager and producer Mary Cyrbwisky from Scooty Woop Entertainment.Whether you are brand new to the screenwriting profession or a seasoned writer, this class is intended to go over the basics of screenwriting to perfect your craft. The objective of this 4 week class is to cover basic screenwriting formatting, 3 act structure, characters, plots, themes, what to write and what NOT to write, but Mary will go over so much more! To read more about the class, see a video from Mary and to sign up, click here: Perfecting the Basics of Screenwriting: An Introduction

Saturday 2/7 Stage 32 Next Level Webinars presents Content is King – How To Control The Rights To Source Material And Pay Nothing hosted by Conrad Sun, TV Literary Manager and Development Executive for Meridian Artists. In this webinar, Conrad will change your perspective not only on how to acquire the rights to material, but how to develop great story ideas. He will explore creative ways on how to find and control the rights to stories that you’re passionate about without having to pay for them. Whether you’re a writer looking to adapt a screenplay, or a producer looking to set up a property with a financier, this webinar will provide useful information how to effectively control the rights to your passion project and hopefully lead to its creation. To read more about the webinar, see a video from Conrad and to sign up, click here: Content is King – How To Control The Rights To Source Material And Pay Nothing


Starting 2/10, Stage 32 Next Level classes is honored to bring you Kenny Chaplin to teach a 4 week online intensive class on Breaking In as a Production Assistant – Everything You Need To Know. This will be one of the most developed and on-the-nose presentations regarding the Production Assistant position and the inner workings of major motion picture film sets. The objective of this 4 week course is to teach you the culture, protocol, and skills required to work and stand out within the highly competitive ‘below-the-line’ departments of the major motion picture industry. To read more about the class, see a video from Kenny and to sign up, click here: Breaking In as a Production Assistant – Everything You Need To Know.


Starting 2/11, Stage 32 Next Level classes is excited to bring you the 3 week, interactive course The Art Of Indie Producing, hosted by Tatiana Kelly and Jim Young (Lovelace, The Words, Wristcutters: A Love Story) In this class Tatiana and Jim will take you behind the scenes, step-by-step, to learn what a Producer really does, beginning with the development stage all the way to packaging a film. You will learn everything from raising financing to crewing up (they will even go over casting the project and how to attach solid talent!), from the pitfalls of the film’s shoot to navigating film festivals and markets to finally delivering the film. This tutorial- style class will walk aspiring filmmakers through all the phases of making a film from the perspective of the Producer, including avoiding common pitfalls and advice to make the experience as easy as possible. To read more about the class and to sign up, click here: The Art Of Indie Producing


 STAGE 32 SUCCESS STORIES


 POPULAR AND INTERESTING LOUNGE DISCUSSIONS


PLANNED AND PROPOSED STAGE 32 MEETUPS


 ENTERTAINMENT NEWS


 VIDEOS


 TIPS

Like this blog post? Please share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email etc) by using our shiny new social media buttons at the top of the blog. Or post to your personal blog and anywhere else you feel appropriate. Thank you.

As always, we welcome thoughts and remarks on ANY of the content above in the Comments section below...
 

My Most Unusual Encounter With An Actor (LA, the Mob and Acting)
Special Invitation - DGA Awards 2015: Documentary "Meet the Nominees"
 
 

Search Stage 32 Blog

Relevant Tags

register for stage 32 Register / Log In
Register for FREE Stage 32 Membership
Members sign in here