Filmmaking / Directing

Love a good pyschological film. Are you working on a script now Gabriel Dahlseng ?

Sounds like a plan, Stephen Folker!

No, but that novel is the foundation for my Soul Mated screenplay :))

90s TMNT, then The Lion King, then what went on to be my favourite film: Alex Proyas' The Crow.

S.L.C. Punk. The comedy of that movie and the way it goes from a coming of age story into a cautionary tale is incredible. The comedy is relatable and the emotional charge of the main protagonist is tangible. Saw the movie as a teenager, and as an adult, that film sticks out as one with the emotional impact I want to execute in my writing.

Thanks for sharing, Tucker Teague. I could listen to these tracks when I write. And I could use them in my mood reels. I checked the faq section. I'll need a commercial license.

They are having so much fun together!

Elmare Hendricks, Balancing family time and creative deadlines is definitely a challenge, especially around holidays. I try to be really intentional about carving out specific blocks of time for each, giving myself permission to be fully present with my family when I’m with them, and then setting clear expectations when I need focused work time. It’s not always perfect. One pivotal moment for me recently was realizing that even small pockets of focused writing time add up, and it’s better to work in short, dedicated bursts than to stress about finding a perfect long stretch.

Geoffroy Faugerolas, This was such a great read. It really reinforces how powerful a story can be when the focus stays rooted in character first. You can feel the authenticity in everything Coogler and Jordan create together, and I think that’s why their work resonates so deeply. It’s refreshing to see that level of craft and care. I’d love to see more projects that prioritize storytelling at this level. I'm seeing Sinners this weekend and I'm so excited!

Xochi Blymyer, This is such a thought-provoking article. It really highlights how much the landscape is shifting, especially with so many productions moving overseas for financial reasons. It raises important questions about how Hollywood will need to adapt, not just economically, but creatively too. I’m curious to see whether this decentralization will lead to even more global storytelling voices rising to the forefront.

Maria Johnsen, this is so beautifully said. Your words really hit at something deep that so many filmmakers and writers experience but rarely hear articulated. It’s hard to keep showing up when the world doesn’t immediately recognize what you’re building, but messages like this are a powerful reminder that forging a new path takes time, and that real impact is often felt long after.

I haven't seen a lot of these films yet, Sam Sokolow (I need to get on it), but I'm sure Martin Scorsese would've done an incredible job directing them!

Wow, what an incredible post, Sam Sokolow! Thank you for sharing this. It’s mind-blowing to imagine how different film history could have been if even a few of these projects had actually come together. I had no idea Scorsese was so close to directing Schindler’s List or that he was considered for The Godfather Part II. It really shows how even the greatest filmmakers have projects that slip away, and how much perseverance and timing play a role in this industry.

It’s inspiring, honestly. Even legends like Scorsese have had to pivot and keep creating.

Thank you!

I actually don’t have a pilot script because the drafts I have written so far is the basic outline and what the series is generally about. I wany other people to help develop pacing and assist in scripting which is why I left it in that state.

When the website is finished, I’ll be sure to post it in my profiles! The other resources aside from the written documents are certain images and small notes regarding the series…

Sorry I don't know why it tagged multiple times

You're welcome, Dakota Kyle. You could make a collaboration post on the Job Board (www.stage32.com/find-jobs).

Something else that might help you get attention on your series is making a sizzle reel for your series. Stage 32 has a webinar called "How to Make a Sizzle Reel That Sells Your TV Show" (www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-make-a-sizzle-reel-that-sells-...).

Also, the body text of your first comment shows up in the Stage 32 phone app but not the web browser. I'm guessing you wrote the post in the app, so you might need to edit the comment in a web browser. That way, the comment will show up for members who get on Stage 32 with a browser. You can edit your comment by clicking "edit" beside the heart and reposting the body text.

Hi Dakota Kyle - welcome to the community and so cool that you've got your series in motion. I highly recommend emailing the Stage 32 Success team at success@stage32.com - that can navigate you to the best execs and reps in the community to share yor work with, get feedback and keep progressing. Excited to hear about your progress.

Welcome to Stage 32, Dakota! It sounds like you’re off to a fantastic start by already putting together a pitch packet, series bible, and building your personal brand through a website. That’s huge!

If you haven’t explored it yet, the Stage 32 Writer’s Room is an incredible community where you can workshop pitches, get feedback from executives, and really start building your network in the industry. You can check out a free month here: https://www.stage32.com/writers-room/plans-vip

You’re definitely on the right track by being proactive and open to learning. I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you!

Geoff Hall For you and everyone else, this reply is no comment on your interview or the subject, which I clearly find interesting. But it is on the term "social impact." The terms "art" and "propaganda" are descriptive labels, not complimentary or derogatory epithets. One should not take offense at the application of either. As you point out, the difference (at first instance at least) is in INTENT.

I detect a clear negative reaction, in your comment, to the idea that social impact films might be propaganda. There is no value judgement implicit in the terms "propaganda" or "art" - how can there be? The use of actual propaganda is not relevant to the label. Ascribing a value judgement to the term "propaganda" (or "art") is like ascribing a value judgement to the term "automobile." The fact that someone uses an automobile in a way you don't like doesn't mean that those who use the automobile are inherently good or bad people. You will use the automobile the way you like. But to use an automobile and assert one is walking because one thinks there is something despicable about those who use automobiles is dishonest.

I have no problem with films made in either category of art or propaganda. No one should. I have done both types. I simply recognize them for what they are. Any producer who aspires to success had better be able to do that. It impacts marketing strategy, audience psychographics, and personal brand, among other things. To pretend one is trying to do one category when one is clearly involved in the other is misleading. It can also reveal a kind of twisted value judgement about one's own intentions which is likely unhealthy.

Your notes about propaganda are pertinent only to a rare and extreme type, which could practically be attempted only by governments and other parties with mass coercive power. With respect, the references you cite conflate technique with intent. Attempts to short-circuit clear thinking are techniques, not results. "Control" is not what propaganda does.

The intent of propaganda is to persuade. That is its purpose. The masters, Lenin, Goebbels, Hitler & Stalin knew that. So does the news media. So should film directors and producers.

Art is concerned with expression. Propaganda is concerned with persuasion. Art is exploration. Propaganda is concerned with change. Art is often implicitly political but may or may not have a social effect. Propaganda is patently political, and often dresses polemics in the clothing of fictional narrative.

The artist does not concern herself with how her statement is received. Her task is to make her statement. It's effect and how it is received is none of her business, morally or practically.

Conversely, propaganda is positively concerned with how its message is received, and how to articulate that message to achieve an intended effect. Setting out to make a film which is intended to make a social impact is necessarily an exercise in propaganda. There is no way out of that.

But again, to ascribe a value judgement to that label is nonsense. Propaganda can be positive or negative, desirable or undesirable. Just like the use of the automobile.

Here's a couple examples apropos by comment about social impact films preaching to the converted:

Schindler's List is a film which, in my opinion, is Spielberg's masterwork of directorial and artistic integrity. A facile viewer will see a movie about surviving the holocaust. A close view reveals statements about the human condition that transcend a facile examination of good versus evil. As an example, Spielberg permitted actor Ralph Fiennes fine performance of the monster Amon Goeth to reveal a core of destroyed humanity which still existed within him. Spielberg did not make that film intending "social impact" - that would have been dumb especially given the gazillion or so movies about the holocaust. It would have confined the film and its messages to a narrow audience who want to hear about it - preaching to the converted. But Spielberg made the film to articulate a number of human messages within the context of the holocaust. It is art which speaks to everyone and lets us arbitrate our own experience. And the film goes on to have social impact.

Is The Sound Of Freedom a "social impact" film? I don't know the filmmakers, but it certainly had social impact. But that impact is, depending on where you stand, controversial. It has been called propaganda (as a derogatory epithet), it has caused certain sectors of Hollywood and the government to whistle and look at their fingernails as if they didn't hear about it, etc... But it is marketed as a story about a man who has a personal mission to rescue children from human trafficking, and got a wide audience because of that. Compare this to the upcoming film "City Of Dreams," a very similar story but where early marketing is focused on the social issue of human trafficking. Sound Of Freedom attracted a wide audience. City Of Dreams, because the intent behind the marketing is to ride on the idea of social impact (whatever the original intent of the filmmakers), is already seen largely as of interest to those who are want more on the topic - preaching to the converted.

Two also mentions (I can do this all day):

Dune, the various movies, did not in my opinion have any social impact at all, whether they were supposed to or not. (People can disagree and I won't argue against them). But the originally books upon which the movie was based had incredible social impact in it's effect on cultural ideas. Yet Frank Herbert, the author, intended to tell a unique story about human experience. If he had set out to create some kind of social impact, it would certainly have failed.

Back to film: "Waco: The Rules Of Engagement" is a 1997 documentary, suppressed in the United States for some time, about the ATF's activities at Waco. It is clearly a social impact film. A documentary, but clearly with political intent. If you watch it you are persuaded to conclude that the ATF, and by extension the US government, mandated the murder of dozens of 76 civilians including children, and will do so again if you annoy it. It is a masterwork in crafting a narrative from public sources, for a political statement which may or may not be true.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg just a brief reply for now. Oh, I wasn’t offended, I just needed to clarify what propaganda is and is not.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg Hi again, Shadow.

Each of us is carrying something; no one in life gets a free pass. We may have health problems - physical, mental, spiritual. Our children and loved ones may have those problems. It weighs down on us. Friction is bad for the soul. We may have financial difficulties, or wonder if we are going to be in a job next week. How can we keep a roof over the heads of our family or food on the table? I can’t tell what another person is carrying by looking at them - I need to have the space to talk with them, heart to heart.

The world can be a cruel place can it not and we worry for our sanity, when what the world seems to value most is insanity.

My view of film (or any creative form) and social impact, has this struggle at its core. I guess I am wired differently from other filmmakers. As a teenager, I demonstrated outside the Russian Embassy in London, because of the State’s persecution of Christians. That drive for liberty and justice has always been part of the woven fabric of my soul.

My hope is that we create a society based on mutuality. Recognising the pain that each of us carry is I think one of the first steps to this, in showing compassion and kindness to one another.

Mutuality brings an end to the exploitation of people and planet. What we desire most, I believe, is to live in peace with our family and friends. However, it is the Nation State that destroys peace (and mutuality) and pits us against one another. When our neighbour is our enemy, we live in fear and anxiety. When a refugees is a criminal or terrorist, mutuality is washed away in a flood of political suspicion and cynicism for the human experience on planet Earth.

I believe that our creative gifts can help inspire (NB - not enforce) the change we long to see. My films may not save the world, (I don’t have a Messiah complex btw) but if something that I create can inspire someone to make a difference, then my job is done!

I noted this in your reply: “Art is exploration. Propaganda is concerned with change.” I agree with your first premise, but not the second. Propaganda is not about change, it’s about control; reinforcing the State’s ideologies and the status quo. As mentioned above, propaganda doesn’t give you time to reflect, it’s incessant. Reflection may engender change. We are not meant to change our minds about anything, we are meant to succumb to their Will to Power.

I am working with a former security driver/protector/chauffeur who was around everyone in Washington D.C., on a video game script. It is based on real places and people. I also worked with a former US Customs agent on a full feature script. Again, true stories with the names changed to protect him, and me. I also have a multipart series with a Phoenix cop turned anti-terrorist advisor turned anti-kidnapping expert turned anti-cartel expert. What I've been told about corruption and payoffs would make you cry. Those in power are often compromised, just like on THE BLACKLIST. That series was just a watered down hint of what really goes on.