Kaj Holmberg: Director, producer and screenwriter in Berlin, Germany.

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for being a part of this incredible community. I love the idea of sharing our fails because I have A LOT. I've called the tech team and told them to add more server space just for me. Here is a short story about the time I almost worked for Tom Cruise's producing partner Paula Wagner:

I was working at a management company at the time which was my first real job in the industry. I was interviewing for the next gig (as you do in this business) and a friend who is VERY connected set me up for an interview with Paula Wagner - Tom Cruise's former agent and producing partner at Cruise/Wagner. They did "Mission: Impossible", "The Others", "Minority Report" among others.

My friend was formerly her Development Executive and recommended me. So the job mine to lose. And - spoiler alert - that's just what I did.

On the day of the interview I walked in to Paula's massive high-rise office inside the MGM building overlooking Century City. There she was behind her desk. I was told she liked to ask weird interview questions like, "If I wanted a dozen penguins in my yard by tomorrow, how would you do it?"

So believe it or not, THOSE were the questions I practiced. The reality was much different. The first question she asked was, "If I wanted you to place a call to Barry Meyer, where would you call?" Now, at the time Barry Meyer was the CEO of Warner Bros. - but I did not know that at the time! So I did the thing that I should have NEVER done - I guessed.

"CAA?"

"No."

She tried again. I guessed, again.

"No."

The door closed behind me and that's when I knew, I fcked up.

I called my friend who set me up with it and I said, "Do you think it is salvageable?" He yelled back into the phone, "JASON HOW THE FCK DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO BARRY MEYER IS?!"

So needless to say I did not get the job. But it did teach me a valuable lesson - know as much about the business as you can. Even if you think it doesn't apply to you, it does. From then on, I made it my mission to stay up to date on every aspect of the business - including executives, agents, managers, and people I may never even meet.

5 years later I was working on a film with Warner Bros. called "Contagion" and guess who I met at the premiere. Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer. I said, "Let me tell you about the time I met Paula Wagner."

Hi Kaj. I'm RB, Founder and CEO of Stage 32. As a screenwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker, I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work, landing representation, launching projects, securing funding and simply making the connections that will make a difference in their careers. That's why I created Stage 32. Since our launch in September of 2011, the community has grown to 1,000,000+ members representing every country on the planet making Stage 32 the social network uniquely populated with the most creative people on Earth.

This is a network for you, built by you. Like most things in life, the more you participate, the greater the rewards. We ask all new members to pay it forward by inviting 5 fellow creatives to the network and by spreading the word of Stage 32 through other social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The more creatives, the stronger the network. The stronger the network, the more opportunities.

Thanks for joining the movement and for being a part of this most talented and inspiring community. I very much look forward to your contributions.

Thanks, and have a creative day!

RB

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Hello Kaj -

Welcome to the community! I'm Amanda Toney, the Managing Director at Stage 32. Since 2013 I've been proud to oversee Stage 32's Next Level Education, which provides you the most up-to-date tools necessary to become a better creative.

Over the years Stage 32 has worked with over 500 industry executives and professionals to teach online webinars, classes and intensive labs exclusively for you - our Stage 32 community. We bring you instructors who have worked directly on some of your favorite films, TV shows or theater productions to teach you in-the-trenches information that you won't find anywhere else on producing, directing, financing, writing, packaging, acting and more.

Our Next Level Education has a 97% satisfaction rate and averages 4.5 out of 5 stars. Plus, we've had the honor to be called "LinkedIn meets Lynda.com for film, television and theater creatives" by Forbes Magazine.

I encourage you to take the next step to continue learning and expanding your career by clicking here, or clicking "education" on your top menu bar.

I'm grateful you've joined the Stage 32 community. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Amanda