Red Carpet Roll-Out: June 2024's New Executives At Stage 32!

Happy Friday, Stage 32 Community!

Our Stage 32 Team has been working diligently to bring in as many new resources and opportunities as possible to enrich your experience here in our community!

At Stage 32 you have direct access to award-winning industry executives and professionals who’ve written, directed, produced, filmed, developed, performed, and represented acclaimed projects such as DUNE: PART TWO, WONKA, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, THE BLACKLIST, UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT, PERSON OF INTEREST, AMERICAN HORROR STORY, THE NIGHT AGENT, TOKYO VICE, HONOR SOCIETY, SCHOOL SPIRITS, TWO GRAVES, MASTERS OF SEX, GOOD GIRLS, KEVIN HART & CHRIS ROCK: HEADLINERS ONLY, PROM DATES, KILLING ANIMALS, and many others.

So without much further ado, let's roll out the red carpet and welcome some of the fantastic new people joining our Stage 32 Community this June!

New Stage 32 Educators-

Tom Firestone, Digital Artist

Tom Firestone is a digital artist who graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His expertise includes motion design, animation, and screen graphics for playback on set. He has worked for several renowned companies, such as Lucasfilm Ltd., NBC, Netflix, Universal, and Castle Rock Entertainment. Throughout his career, Tom has contributed his skills as a motion designer to many popular TV shows including THE BLACKLIST (100+ episodes), UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT, PERSON OF INTEREST, AMERICAN HORROR STORY, KALEIDOSCOPE, and most recently, THE NIGHT AGENT and season 2 of TOKYO VICE.

You can still register for Tom’s webinar- Introduction to Film & TV Motion Graphics

Oran Zegman, Filmmaker

Oran Zegman is a filmmaker and an alumna of the esteemed American Film Institute, whose work is inspired by her upbringing with a large Israeli-Greek-Polish family. She gravitates toward dark comedy; specifically finding the humor in dark, tragic, and awkward subject matters.

Oran recently made her feature debut with the critically acclaimed HONOR SOCIETY for Paramount+ and Awesomeness Films, starring Angourie Rice and Gaten Matarazzo.

The New York Times raved: “Honor Society comes out of the gate flashing a formal and thematic sophistication so dazzling it might take you a while to realize it’s actually a Young Adult movie." Oran is currently developing the feature-length adaptation of her short musical film, MARRIAGE MATERIAL for Chernin Entertainment and Fifth Season. The musical short, a first of its kind at AFI, was acquired by Fox Searchlight and was a Student Academy Awards finalist.

On the TV side, Oran directed a block of episodes for the Paramount+ series SCHOOL SPIRITS starring Peyton List.

You can still register for Oran’s webinar- Creating your Director Calling Card

Joshua Young, Screenwriter, Director, & AI Consultant

Joshua Younge is a screenwriter, director, and AI consultant. Raised by a psychic and a carpenter (that's actually true), Joshua's journey in the entertainment industry began humbly as a horse in a community Christmas play. As a late teen, he transitioned to more substantial roles, acting in Movies of the Week, sci-fi TV shows, and commercials. At twenty-one, he joined the cruise lines, first as an entertainment host and then as a filmmaker. For six years, he traveled the world, filming everything from celebrity interviews and safety videos to promotional materials, stock footage, and excursions. Throughout his travels, Joshua honed his skills as a writer and has won 32 awards in some of Hollywood's most prestigious screenwriting competitions to date. After retiring from his cruise ship career, he worked as a filmmaker, director, video editor, and animatic editor for networks and streaming services such as Netflix, PBS, OWN, TLC, and more. In his free time, he continued to write and direct his own projects, both large and small. Today, Joshua is dedicated to his career as a screenwriter and director full-time, with the ultimate goal of becoming a Showrunner and Head Writer for his own series. In addition to his creative roles, Joshua has expanded his expertise as an AI consultant in the film industry. He advises individual filmmakers, screenwriters, and independent businesses on utilizing AI to enhance their operations. His consulting focuses on improving staff support and reducing the time required for tasks such as research, outlines, pitch decks, story development, and more. Joshua utilizes a variety of AI tools to augment his and his clients' creative processes, including ChatGPT, Midjourney, Google Gemini, Character AI, Sora, and more. He has also created his own ChatGPT models, affectionately known as "GPTs," and trains others on how to build their own tailored models to meet their specific needs. Joshua believes in the power of AI to enhance, not replace, creative efforts.

You can still register for Joshua’s webinar- Introduction on How to use ChatGPT as a Resource for Screenwriters

Shantelle Rochester, CEO at Ida Rose & Producer

Shantelle Rochester is CEO at Ida Rose, an entrepreneur with experience in business and finance planning for companies and individuals which she brought to Film & TV over 15 years ago. She has spoken at the Marche de Film at Cannes Film Festival, Durban Film Festival and supported the 1st 17 strong Black delegation of filmmakers by the BFI to Berlinale in 2020. She is constantly speaking on panels and teaches workshops globally for those wanting to understand the business of film from script to screen. With her knowledge of film finance and connections globally, she has now created the ‘The Creative Circle’ which supports creatives and companies with project analysis and 1-1 in-person and online access to professionals such as herself, heavily discounted so it can be accessed by low-income filmmakers. She had her first in-house Award-winning film TWO GRAVES bought by Netflix. She has worked on numerous other European films as a producer and line producer. In 2020 under COVID protocol she produced the BLACK BRITISH THEATRE AWARDS alongside Kwame Kwei-Armah for Sky Arts. She continues to work at her company Ida Rose on a diverse slate of films, series, documentaries, and digital projects with the first film of 2024 entitled Stolen which is an official South African and UK co-production part funded by the BFI UK Global Screen Fund which has been bought as the first installment of a franchise for BET+ and Netflix Original. She is the only candidate who has been awarded two funds via the UK Global Screen Fund Co-Production/International Business awards. She is a Breakthrough Leader alumni run by Freemantle and TV Collective as well as a current candidate on the prestigious Bafta Elevate programme until June 2024.

You can still register for Shantelle’s class- 4-Part Class: Introduction to Line Producing

New Stage 32 Executives-

Eileen Cope, Literary Manager at Cope Media Group

Eileen Cope is a Literary Manager at Cope Media Group. Eileen has agented writing projects which have been optioned by major film executives, including, Martin Scorsese; screenwriter Terence Winter; Maven Pictures; acclaimed actress and producer Ruth Wilson; Andrew Lazar; and Tim Moore.

Eileen has worked in book publishing for over twenty years, first as a book publicist at Viking Penguin, before moving on to the editorial department at G.P. Putnam's as legendary publisher Phyllis Grann's assistant. Eileen worked for Trident Media Group before starting her own literary agency, Mark Creative Management. MCM represents multiple award-winning writers, with distinguished awards including the National Book Award, The Nation Critic’s Circle Award, The Pen Literary Award, the Impact Literary Dublin Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Finalist, as well as grants including National Endowment for the Arts, Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and The Hurston/Wright Foundation. Her books have appeared on national bestseller lists including, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe.

You can meet with Eileen for a Career Development Call or an Adaptation Review.

Lizz Dorovitsine, Creative Executive, Producer, & Screenwriter

Lizz Dorovitsine is an experienced creative executive who has worked in both television and film on such projects as PARTY OF FIVE, MASTERS OF SEX, and GOOD GIRLS, working in writers' rooms with showrunners Amy Lippman and Helen Childress, as well as working with A-List talent on films such as Luca Guadagnino’s BONES AND ALL, Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE: PART TWO, and Paul King’s Roald Dahl prequel, WONKA. She is a first-generation Russian-American producer and screenwriter from Queens, New York.

You can meet with Lizz about your Pilot here or your Feature here.

Wes Ambrecht, Writer, Producer, & Development Executive

Wes Ambrecht is a writer, producer, and development executive. He currently serves as the Head of Studio Partnerships at TITAN1STUDIOS, overseeing the Toronto-based company's push into Film and TV.

TITAN1STUDIOS is an award-winning Toronto-based production house focused on the creation and promotion of uniquely diverse, original content IP via publishing and multi-media digital platforms, including comics, novels, XR (Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality), and location-based entertainment.

As an incubator for original content, TITAN1 also provides agency-level services for brands and rights holders seeking monetization of content through graphic publishing, interactive gaming, immersive mobile, and location-based entertainment. The studio holds IP for multiple acclaimed properties including Knight Guardians of Relativity, New Humanz, Weathered Spirit and the all-ages hit zombie adventure ZOMBEN.

Prior to this, Wes was the VP, of Development and Production at Foundation Films and the Director of Development at both Paper Plane Entertainment and Viewfinder Pictures. At each stop on his journey, Wes has prioritized collaboration and creative freedom to tell fresh stories. Wes’ credits include KILLING ANIMALS starring Joey King and the upcoming feature film TOGETHER NOW starring Frieda Pinto and Halle Berry. His work has shown at festivals worldwide, most notably Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Cannes, and has been recognized by both the Sundance Institute and the Sprite Young Filmmaker Series. He holds a MFA in Film/TV Production from UCLA and a BS in Communication from Cornell University.

You can meet with Wes about your Pilot here. Also, keep an eye out for Wes’s upcoming pitch session, which should be available for registration soon!

Jonny Gutman, Producer

Jonny Gutman most recently served as Vice President of Original Series for IDW Entertainment where he led the live-action department responsible for the development and licensing of film and television projects based on original IP from IDW Publishing and graphic novel subsidiary Top Shelf Productions.

Gutman joined IDW Entertainment from Funny Or Die, where he served as Senior Director of Longform Premium Content for the popular independent comedy studio and was involved in content development and sales working alongside teams of writers and creators.

Prior to Funny or Die, Gutman served for over a decade at the William Morris Endeavor Agency as a TV Literary and Packaging Agent. While at WME, he packaged and sold new television series, negotiated deals on behalf of writer, director, and producer clients, and helped them build strategies for successful careers in the film and television industry.

You can meet with Jonny about your First 10 Pages or your Pilot here.

Luke Kelly Clyne, Co-Head of HartBeat Independent

Luke Kelly Clyne is a producer, writer, director, and Co-Head of HartBeat’s independent TV & Film Studio, HartBeat Independent, where he oversees and produces a variety of film and TV projects, including Roku’s Emmy and NAACP Image Award-nominated DIE HART series, Netflix’s NAACP Image Award-nominated KEVIN HART & CHRIS ROCK: HEADLINERS ONLY, Hulu’s PROM DATES, E!’s CELEBRITY PRANK WARS, Peacock’s BACK THAT YEAR UP series, and many more.

Before joining HartBeat, Luke served as President at Propagate Content’s comedy studio, Big Breakfast, where he was Executive Producer of the company’s slate of unscripted and scripted feature, TV, and digital projects including MTV Films’ OUT OF OFFICE and CURSED FRIENDS (both of which he also Produced), Discovery+’s Critics Choice Award-nominated MILLION DOLLAR WHEELS, truTV’s DOUBLE CROSS with Blake Griffin, Comedy Central’s LOAFY, Facebook Watch’s Telly Award-winning I WANT MY PHONE BACK, NAACP Image Award-winning DARING SIMONE BILES, Discovery and MotorTrend’s KEVIN HART’S MUSCLE CAR CREW, and Pop TV's HOT DATE on which he also served as showrunner.

Luke ran Native Content at CollegeHumor where he created and ran several of the brand’s most successful digital series. During this time, he was also a Freelance Contributing Writer to Weekend Update on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. He authors the long-running Vulture column, "Funny Videos of the Month," hosts the HeadGum podcast, "I'm Still Right," and is a guest lecturer in the Film and Media Studies department at Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

You can meet with Luke about your First 10 Pages, Adaptation Review, or your Pilot here.

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