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Don't Let the Momentum of November Write Club Die: How to Stay Active Into 2026 & Beyond!
Green Lights and Grey Areas: Expanding Creative Collaboration in Publishing
What Stage 32's Community Is Really About (Beyond Scripts, Sets, and Showreels)
Coffee & Content: Why Your Pitch Needs to Be Human
Want Success in the Entertainment Industry? Start Writing Your Own Narrative
Stage 32 Featured at the 43rd Torino Film Festival!
State of the Industry 2026 Now On-Demand: RB & Geoff Break Down What’s Next for Writers!
How to Get Help from Stage 32: Meet the Teams Behind the Scenes
Stage 32 Certification Featured In IndieWire!
Stage 32 Now Certifying Centro de Portugal Film Commission!
Stage 32 is Headed to Austin! Here’s How to Make the Most of the 2025 Austin Film Festival!
Hey, Stage 32 Community! We’re just one week away from the start of the 2025 Austin Film Festival — one of my favorite times of the year! The Austin Film Festival 2025 kicks off on Thursday, October 23rd, and Stage 32 will be in attendance until Sunday, October 26th. For over 30 years, Austin Film Festival (AFF) has championed the art and craft of storytelling, celebrating writers and filmmakers across every medium: film, television, plays, podcasts, and digi…
The Writers' Room Just Got Better: Here's Everything That's Changed
If you've been away from The Writers' Room for a while or this is your first time hearing about Stage 32’s exclusive membership—buckle up. Because in the past few months, we didn't just improve The Writers' Room. We opened up a new world of possibilities. Here's everything that's changed, everything that's happened, and why thousands of screenwriters are joining the new Writers' Room. The Numbers Don't Lie: Real Results for Real Writers Let's start with the facts. Since w…
3 Lessons in Story Proportion from Working Across Mediums
If you’re taking your career as a writer seriously, you’ve probably spent a fair amount of time studying the craft. You’ve read the books—Save the Cat, maybe some Truby or Syd Field. You’ve taken the webinars, maybe even an online course or two. You understand story beats and character arcs and you have a solid sense of how to put the pieces together. But maybe you’ve hit a plateau. Technically, your story works—yet somehow, it doesn’t sin…
5 Rules For Writing Horror
So you’ve finally caught on that the easiest script to get made is horror. It’s global, it’s cheap and it’s the most-made genre with independent investors. What do you need to know? 1) Low Budget If You Are Not Established There are so many genius horror movies that take place in a house or a hotel or in the woods. Why? Because you only need one location. Monsters are tricky, but ghosts that you never really have to see (Paranormal Activity) are cheap. The cheap…
Coffee & Content: Stop Playing It Safe & Taking Everything So Personally
Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or simply dreaming up your next big idea, I’ve got some inspiring content to fuel your passion and keep you moving forward. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week’s video essay from Film Stack is an inspiring one; it’s called “When an Actress Stopped Playing It Safe”. Few actresses have risked as much for their careers…
My 10 Favorite Horror Movies & What They Taught Me About Screenwriting!
There are sooo many incredible Horror movies. It’s really hard to pick ten favorites. And my “10 Favorite Horror Movies” list changes a lot. I recently watched some movies that could be on this list one day. Here are my favorite Horror movies, why they’re my favorites, and one screenwriting tip from each movie. You can use some of these tips for other genres. And SPOILER ALERT- the below contains spoilers about the films!!! 10- THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS The…
Stage 32 Certification Partners With FilmScape Chicago!
Happy Friday, Stage 32ers! I’m excited to announce that FilmScape Chicago is partnering with Stage 32 Certification to offer our acclaimed Stage 32 Production Accounting Master Certification Course to train and elevate local talent, ensuring Chicago’s productions continue to thrive with the highest-caliber crews. “The most common question we get—whether through social media or in person—is, ‘How do I get started in this industry?’”, says …
Insider Intel: The Resurgence of the Indie Market
I had lunch with a producer on Friday who's worked on major sci-fi franchises for studios like WB and Netflix. Their big takeaway? Whoever has the audience has the leverage. Theaters used to have it. Netflix has it now. But YouTube? YouTube has more leverage than anyone. Here's the shift: it's not enough to own content anymore. You have to own the distribution or the channel. More and more production companies are financing, producing, and distributing their own content to reach audien…
Scaring Up Funds: How to Acquire Investors For Your Horror Film
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…
Coffee & Content: What Hollywood, Hackers & the Market Have in Common
Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or simply dreaming up your next big idea, I’ve got some inspiring content to fuel your passion and keep you moving forward. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week, I want to share a fascinating video essay from Frame Voyager: The 80s Film That Took Research Too Far. In 1983, WarGames hit theaters. On the surface, it was a teenage hacker thril…
The Beginning, Middle and End: Where to Find Them in Your Novel
Writing a novel is a daunting task. There are so many things to consider before committing even a single word to that intimidating blank screen. What is the main line of action? How many subplots do I have? Who is the main character? Who are the supporting characters? What is the theme? The tone? The setting? How many settings? When does it take place? Why am I doing this? How stupid was I to think I could do this?! How in the holy hell am I going to get 90,000 words out of this stupid t…
How Music Can Transform Your Indie Film: Join Our Free Stage 32 + Film-Raderie Webcast
Happy FriYAY, Stage 32 Community! One of my favorite things about being Head of Community here at Stage 32 is to help bring opportunities directly to you that can spark connections, elevate your craft, and help you feel less alone in the sometimes overwhelming world of creativity. Today, I want to share one of those opportunities with you: an incredible free webcast event that Stage 32 is hosting next Wednesday, October 8th! We’re teaming up with Film-Raderie, a nonprofit d…
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