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Find Your Footing on Stage 32: Join Our December Community Open House
How to Get Help from Stage 32: Meet the Teams Behind the Scenes
Want Success in the Entertainment Industry? Start Writing Your Own Narrative
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!
Coffee & Content: Why Your Next Step Matters More Than the Perfect Step
Coffee & Content: Low Stakes Stories, High Stakes Decisions
Coffee & Content: Why Your Pitch Needs to Be Human
Stage 32 Now Certifying the Dallas Film Commission!
7 Life Hacks For Creatives
Screenwriters Sign Option Agreement With Executive After Connecting On Stage 32
Last year, my co-creator friend Stephani Prescott and I had just entered a development agreement with Cindy Villareal (Majestic Productions), and it’s safe to say a lot has happened since! Cindy is one of the kindest, down-to-earth people you will ever meet, and it has been an absolute pleasure working with her. The development phase was critical as there is so much up-front work necessary to package everything up. We relied on Cindy’s guidance and expertise to get the pitch…
Coffee & Content: Trailers and Shorts
Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. First, Vox is breaking down the art of making trailers with help from editor Bill Neil who works with Buddha Jones. Neil works on some of the biggest movies of recent years, including Jordan Peele's NOPE, and breaks down why he makes the choices he does, how to make a bigger impact by combining dif…
How To Develop Complex Characters In Your Script
When I was first starting out as a writer, I spent most of my prewriting time on plotting. I initially approached planning out my fiction like we’re all taught to approach essay writing: it’s all about the outline. So that’s where I’d always start: with plot. Please don’t misunderstand me. Story structure is vitally important, and I’ll advocate for taking the time to craft an airtight plot all day long. But, as we know from Aristotle, character is the…
What Lies Ahead With The Potential Writers' Strike
Hey, Stage 32ers! I hope you're all making great progress on your creative projects this week! We always want you to be up-to-date on what's happening in the industry so that you can set yourself up for success. Never has this been more needed than with the WGA starting their contract talks with the AMPTP. There's a lot of misinformation online about what's the root cause and what's at stake with these negotiations, so here to break it down for you is our CEO, Richard 'RB' Botto, in the…
What Comes After Representation?
Hey, Stage 32ers! We have a new vlog today from professional Screenwriter and Stage 32 Thought Leader and Executive Max Yaney. As always, we want to ensure that our ever-growing Stage 32 community has access to as many valuable resources as possible through the blog, and that's just what Max has brought us today! If you're looking for representation or are wondering what happens after you get representation, then today's vlog is a must-see. Max Yaney is a professional scre…
Stage 32 Executive & Writer Team Up For Feature Film 'No Address'
Hello Stage 32ers! My name is James J. Papa. I met veteran film writer/director/producer, Julia Verdin of Rough Diamond Management through a consult call on Stage 32. As a result, I ended up co-writing the socially conscious project No Address with her. It is about the homeless in California. This is my story! How Julia & I Connected We connected through Stage 32’s one-hour script consults. I strongly recommend this to any writer who feels their script is ready, and pol…
Coffee & Content: How 'Top Gun: Maverick' Won The Oscar For Sound Design
Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. First up, Top Gun: Maverick was one of the biggest movies of the year. It was a film that gave you a million reasons to see it on the big screen and drew in audiences of all ages. One of the reasons this film gripped audiences is its sound design, but it's also an area that we're not aware of …
5 Steps To Grow From Amateur to Professional Screenwriter
I became a screenwriter because of a felony. Not mine, but one that changed my career forever. Fresh off the high of publishing my debut sci-fi novel, Space Unicorn Blues, my publisher requested a second book in the series. I was ecstatic to finally realize my dream of making a living as a writer. As is customary, my literary agency received my advance for the action-packed sequel... except they didn't pass the money along to me. I asked. I demanded. I threatened. No money arrived. The …
Coffee & Content: When Studio Interference Is A Good Thing
Happy Sunday, Creative Army! First, congratulations to all of you who have already participated in our monthly Introduce Yourself Weekend! Thousands of connections have been made between entertainment creatives and professionals from around the globe. Whether you are a long-time member or brand new to Stage 32, take a moment to pop over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge and say hello before the end of the weekend. First up, I often see as we're having fun debating films in the lounges t…
How Perfectionism Kills Your Craft & Crushes Your Spirit
At age 17, my artist-father was taught a mantra. ‘Near enough isn’t good enough. It has to be perfect.’ So he hustled for his mentor, re-doing work over and over again until one day, the mentor was moved to tears and whispered; ‘now it’s perfect. And that’s near enough.’ But the damage was done. With over 60 years of painting, dad couldn’t bring himself to have an exhibition. Nothing was perfect. It robbed him of so much joy and satisfacti…
An Interview with Composer & Screenwriter Michael A. Levine
I’m always amazed at who you can come across on Stage 32. Our global community is so vast that there’s no chance of knowing who’s who, unless you take the plunge and start connecting with people you meet whilst sharing comments in the various Lounges or the Blog. Phil Hardy and I had just published our latest article “How Can You Sell Your Screenplay To A Studio" and I noticed a comment from Michael A. Levine. Michael, by the way, is an award-winning compose…
4 Reasons Your Characters Aren't Working & How To Fix It
I love, love, love how you write descriptions! The words jump off the page! When you first read these notes, you're excited, you finally wrote the winning script that'll change your life forever. Hell, it might even make you a millionaire! But then suddenly reality hits you like a ton of bricks. Even though people are saying you are talented, your scripts are still rejected, you never make the finals, you get high scores on your coverage reports, but it leads nowhere, and your query le…
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