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Making Our First No-Budget Feature: The Pure Vortex Production Chaos (Part 2)
Talking Business: Key Agreements in Film Financing Part 2
Insider Intel: Packaging your Project- The Chicken or the Egg Dilemma
Don't Let the Momentum of November Write Club Die: How to Stay Active Into 2026 & Beyond!
What Stage 32's Community Is Really About (Beyond Scripts, Sets, and Showreels)
Stage 32 Now Certifying the Dallas Film Commission!
A Practical Guide for Actors: Tips & Advice Every Performer Should Know
My Stage 32 Story: Persistence, Healing, & Creative Breakthroughs in Year 3
4 Reasons To Have Audio Description On Your Film
Coffee & Content: Low Stakes Stories, High Stakes Decisions
State of the Industry 2026 Now On-Demand: RB & Geoff Break Down What’s Next for Writers!
Happy Friday, Stage 32! If you didn’t attend Tuesday’s Q&A with Stage 32 CEO RB Botto and Director of Development Services Geoff Faugerolas, you missed crucial information about navigating the business and what 2026 holds for writers. This Q&A with RB and me is a perfect example of the kind of insider access Writers’ Room members get every single week. The full replay of RB’s State of the Industry Q&A is available now in the …
Insider Intel: 2025- Your Year of Breakthroughs (+ What's Coming in 2026)
As the year comes to an end, I want to take a moment to celebrate you and express how rewarding it is working alongside this community to empower creatives around the world. 2025 was your year. More than 85 writers in our community found success this year—signing with representation, getting their projects shopped, being hired for open writing assignments, securing options, and landing development deals. Writers like you proved that breaking through isn't just possible—it's…
Insider Intel: The Studio War & The Rise of Indies
I'll spare you the 394th Warner Bros. acquisition digest. I'm sure you've heard enough expert opinions. Instead, I want to take an optimistic view of the business and talk about what can really affect your day-to-day as an independent producer, creator, writer or content maker. While big conglomerates play Russian dolls with M&As, we're seeing smaller platforms targeting audience niches…and that's what excites me. With Tubi exceeding 100 million monthly active users and Angel…
Insider Intel: Packaging your Project- The Chicken or the Egg Dilemma
A conundrum is plaguing Hollywood: to get buyers or financiers interested, you need A-list talent or a director attached, ideally underlying IP, and a production company already involved. Most agents and managers don't have the bandwidth to package for their clients, and producers are chasing projects that are further along. In this marketplace, it can seem impossible to "break in." But here's the silver lining: these challenging conditions are forcing writers and filmmakers to become e…
Don't Let the Momentum of November Write Club Die: How to Stay Active Into 2026 & Beyond!
Happy Monday, Stage 32 Community! We're coming into the home stretch of 2025, and I want to talk about something that doesn't get enough attention: what happens after the momentum stops. November Write Club has been incredible. Hundreds of writers showed up every day, engaging in the lounges, commenting on blogs, supporting each other, pushing toward their goals. The energy has been real, the progress has been tangible, and the wins have been stacking up. But here's what I always see …
Insider Intel: 2026 Predictions
Just last week, I predicted that A-listers would start gravitating toward genre projects, taking smaller pay cuts for bigger backend deals, as Ethan Hawke did with SINISTER back in the day. Today, Scarlett Johansson was announced to star in the new EXORCIST remake. As studios become more risk-averse, it makes perfect sense: combine the most popular genres at the box office with household names and proven franchises to hedge your bets. A-list talent lending credibility to commercially s…
Insider Intel: A-listers Are Dead. Long Live A-listers.
Recent A-list-driven movies are bombing at the box office and the trades are now writing Hollywood obituaries. But movies like SINNERS and WEAPONS that ‘saved the summer box office’ built their marketing strategy around recognizable talent. So did WICKED. And the sequel is projected to reach monster numbers. So is star power dead? Or is it just evolving? The problem isn't A-listers. It's $200M prestige dramas that nobody asked for. Here, I said it. I believe next we'll see a…
Insider Intel: The $10-15M Sweet Spot Hollywood's Chasing Now
I spent this week talking to two financiers and two buyers, and the landscape has shifted. The new sweet spot for horror and thrillers is $10-15M…a significant jump from where we were just 18 months ago. Action films are climbing even higher into the $30-50M range. Even companies that built their reputation on sub $5m dramas are now chasing bigger, more theatrical projects. This is why I'm hearing more and more that projects are too small. That's creating a massive gap in the ind…
November Write Club Week #2: Insights From The Stage 32 Matchmaker — What You Should Look For In A Collaborator!
After spending 10+ years at Coverfly, Imagine Entertainment, ICM Partners, Paramount, and now that I’m heading Stage 32’s Development of Services. I've seen thousands of creative partnerships: the ones that lead to produced projects, and the ones that fall apart before they even start. One of my key roles for the past seven years has been matchmaking: connecting writers with the right producers, directors with the right material, and creatives with the collaborators who will …
Insider Intel: Your Logline Is Your First Impression—Make It Count
In today’s market, one thing has become crystal clear: your logline is everything. It’s your first impression, your calling card, and often your only shot at capturing an executive’s attention in a crowded marketplace. We’re seeing more and more that executives are sparking to high-concept ideas rather than slice-of-life projects. Why? It’s “easier” to market. A clear, compelling concept that can be explained in one sentence is what gets scripts…
Insider Intel: Forget about Hollywood's Doom and Gloom- Think Globally!
The team and I just returned from the Austin Film Festival, and I can't underestimate the power of putting yourself out there. After talking with hundreds of writers, filmmakers, and producers over the past few days, it's clear that creatives are increasingly thinking globally. Multiple filmmakers approached us to share how they're shooting internationally, partnering with global production companies, and leveraging local tax incentives to push their projects forward. New production hub…
Insider Intel: Don't Miss the Opportunity to Pitch to 15 Executives This Week!
The industry is changing fast. We're not just keeping up—we're leading the way. So are our partners. I'm thrilled to announce we just launched our Film + TV Comedy Screenwriting Contest in partnership with Pathfinder Media and director Todd Biermann (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, High Potential)—featured in Deadline this week! This partnership highlights a shifting trend in the industry: good IP can be found anywhere, and agencies no longer have exclusive control over …
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