The Stage 32 Lounge

Leonardo Ramirez ((((hugs))) I've not seen Justice League but I like the thread. We are not alone. As an actor, I like the feeling of comradie. The bond that forms with the cast when doing a stage play is a microcasm of what life should be like for everyone. We are all connected. That is the feeling I want the audience to come away with. A reminder that there is a ripple effect in all that we do and instead of being divided on things that don't matter, we need to be united, as we are all in this together. The Artemtis astronauts gave us a reminder of that. "Earth you are a crew."

Thank you for all that you bring to this community. I am grateful you are my friend and fellow squad member.

Hugs back at you my dear friend Suzanne Bronson. I could not have said that better or agreed more. We are all connected. Creativity weaves us together in such a profound way. I love it that you mention Artemis as well. I sat and watched the launch, flyby and splashdown in their entirety. Such a beautiful thing this was. Can't wait to go back next year with III and IV.

We are ONE creative mindset :)) Thank you, my lovely. Leonardo Ramirez <3

Absolutely Sandra Correia !!

Leonardo Ramirez, happy Introduce Yourself Weekend!

You already know I love how clearly you define your storytelling lens, that thread of hope you bring into sci-fi and fantasy is something people feel. And I have to say, the way you show up as a moderator in the Screenwriting Lounge and Writer’s Room reflects that same intention. You don’t just talk about connection, you actively create it.

For me, what I hope people feel is seen. Whether it’s through a character, a moment, or a choice, I want someone to walk away feeling like, “That’s exactly what I’ve felt but didn’t know how to put into words.” And if there’s a little catharsis or escape layered in there too, even better.

You always frame these questions in a way that gets people thinking a little deeper. What’s been the most meaningful response you’ve gotten from someone about your work so far?

Hey @Philippe great to hear from you and congrats on your Double Recommend. With vetted material like that, it's just waiting to find the right hands!

Pat Alexander may the God of production hear you loud and clear. Brenda Mohammed Laquan Copeland thks for your message. Geoffroy Faugerolas the project is going to tour Cannes Séries next week with a developer. Hopefully it will land in rights hands and will soar soon.

Big time..... Congrats!

Hi Philippe Rouin, I’m Ashley, Head of Community here on the platform. It’s great to see you again, and huge congratulations on SK8 earning a Double Recommend. That’s an incredible achievement, and landing in the top 1% is no small feat. You should absolutely be proud of that.

Your background and slate of projects are fantastic, and it’s clear you have a strong, distinct voice. I haven’t seen you around the Lounges for a couple of years now, and I can’t stress enough what a difference it makes for so many of our members’ success in building real connections and opportunities when they stay visible and consistently participate in conversations.

I’d really encourage you to spend time in the Screenwriting Lounge (https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting) and the Producing Lounge (https://www.stage32.com/lounge/producing). Sharing your experience, especially with something like a Double Recommend and active development, would be incredibly valuable to others, and it’s also one of the best ways to stay top of mind with the community.

You might also enjoy joining our next Community Open House. It’s a great space to reconnect, meet other creatives live, and get a pulse on everything happening across the platform:

https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-june-2026-community...

With SK8 gaining that level of traction, what’s your current priority, pushing development forward, attaching collaborators, or building out the rest of your slate?

Bonjour Philippe Rouin and congratulations on the double recommend for SK8! Your concepts sound fascinating. I used to work for L'Occitane En Provence , what a magical region.

Do you not write with your own soundtrack in mind? I’ve always felt like every project builds its own sonic identity as I go. Some scripts have songs that just belong — like they were already living inside the story before I even wrote the scene. Other times it’s the opposite: a single track ends up driving the entire script, shaping the rhythm, the pacing, even the emotional logic. And sometimes it’s an artist or a style that becomes the compass — the tone, the pulse, the internal weather of the world.

For me, the music isn’t background noise. It’s part of the architecture. It’s how I find the emotional truth of a moment, or the way a character moves through a scene. Every project ends up with its own playlist, its own fingerprint. Curious if you build yours the same way.

To Bill Brock: Thank you for the video of Johnny Cash, a storyteller who puts most other musicians and creative artists to shame.

Robert D. Carver Agreed, and you’re welcome, Rob. Cash = LEGEND!!!! His rendition of “HURT” is Phenomenal. And his talent was the muse I needed to create a very complex character.

May John Cash ALWAYS Rest In Peace.

A number of people in this thread have hit on this already, but, following advice from a writer on YouTube, I listen to music that is related to what I'm writing. When writing my medieval epic, I listened to medieval music. When writing my mummy films, I listened to Ancient Egyptian-style music.

Now if there isn't a clear music-style choice for what I'm writing, I'll usually listen to some form of relaxing music (either lo-fi, classical, light jazz, or weather channel).

But one thing that is consistent in my music choices is no lyrics because lyrics will distract me.

I usually turn to YouTube as I have a Premium subscription to remove ads, so I'll usually pull up multi-hour-long videos with music that runs continuously.

Hey Ashley Renée Smith I can be a very nervous writer so I used to listen to Insight timer calming music now I'm wanting to emulate Ryan Coogler and listen to a mix of First Nations / Irish music to get into the headspace of my two female leads.

In MDZS musical magical systems are an important part of the story. The main character uses the "ghost flute" to practice a forbidden form of cultivation magic - raising and controlling the dead (zombies), attack magic, controlling resentment and yin, and calm the death through empathy. The first section of this is him using that power during a war. Part one starting at 1:11 includes a scene of him taking revenge on the individuals that committed a genocide of his his clan to the point of leaving only 3 individuals alive and who threw him into a literal hell on earth so he would die as painfully as possible. Warning for graphic violence. While his magic is considered forbidden and evil, he typically uses his powers to try to help people, achieve justice, protect, or win a war.

Part 1 https://youtu.be/88SWbu-bvPU?si=ZkTTPgNX-2ow0zKo

Part 2 https://youtu.be/M4ck-sE8fq0?si=XRfdMcq7UdIBwJ0u

In MDZS the main character has a counterpart character who uses music as well, but his magical system is considered to be good. This magic is used to protect, cleans resentment and yin, communicate with the dead, dispell curses, and can be used as a weapon, in this case for war or to hunt down evil creatures (zombies, supernatural animals, etc). It makes for some interesting action scenes. https://youtu.be/wDgh5MeuKP0?si=h6-zh858fFTZawPv

In both MDZS and Anastasia music is an important device for confirming a character's identity after years of separation. In both cases there is a unique song that is shown to be important to two characters, sung or played at a critical moment. Duets are also used to show closeness between characters.

Sailor Moon is not a "musical" animation like K-pop demon hunters but there are a couple of times in the show and the movies where an important musical piece is used to make a fight or challenge feel particularly epic, provide a frame for flashbacks, reinforce character relationships, etc.

https://youtu.be/h8TWC2pNiuc?si=GXfzu5tZGnKr4huJ

https://youtu.be/rjNcJ4EXQRg?si=OFf34E_wfgKFdqmN

In terms of antagonists arcs, in Avatar the Last Airbender the there is a specific one between two siblings. The musical choice for the final confrontation between siblings warring for the throne shows both the gravity of the fight and the tragedy of war's ability to tear apart family. Here is both the fight scene and an analysis of what lead up to this through the three seasons and why the scene works so well:

https://youtu.be/PRkI15fIJ1w?si=sWq9GUky1Bz1fWgG

https://youtu.be/kX89OV6aJvY?si=USIYckTV0uUBjOhb

Leonardo Ramirez Have patience — it’s spring, the trees are in love ;-))

Amanda Toney Thanks so much, I love taking pics. To be honest, here in Italy it can feel a bit isolating sometimes.That’s why I’m so grateful for spaces like Stage 32 — they become the place where those connections actually happen and keep the creative energy alive.

LOL OK Alex Bridge - roger that!

Alex Bridge it is! but we don't get cool special effects ^^"

Hi Alex Bridge, I’m Ashley, Head of Community here on the platform. It’s so great to see you here, and I just want to say how much I’ve enjoyed seeing you around the Lounges over the last few weeks. The way you’ve been showing up and engaging already makes a real difference, both in building relationships and in staying visible for opportunities, so definitely keep that momentum going.

Your projects sound fantastic, especially that balance of high-concept ideas grounded in emotional tension. And I love how you described finding clarity in nature, that’s such a great creative practice!

I’d also love to invite you to my next Community Open House in June. It’s a great way to learn more about how to use the platform strategically and connect with others in real time. You can register here:

https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-june-2026-community...

You may also find it really helpful to reach out to our Success Team at Success@Stage32.com. If you share more about your projects and your goals, they can help guide you toward curated resources and opportunities that align with where you want to go next.

Amanda, thank you so much, that truly means a lot coming from you.

I feel really grateful to be part of this team and to help support such an incredible community. None of it works without all of us showing up the way we do, and I’m so glad to be doing this alongside you all.

Steve Dini, this is incredible to read! Four optioned features and one produced and released is no small feat, huge congratulations on that momentum. And the fact that you now have producers attached, an investor interested in financing your pilot, and another feature potentially moving toward financing in May, incredible!!

Thank you for sharing this with the community. It’s exactly the kind of journey that can inspire others who might still be in that “lurking” phase to start engaging and putting themselves out there.

And I’m really glad the nudge helped, because this is the kind of momentum worth celebrating.

Brenda Mohammed I always feel like it makes the community feel a little more real and connected when we can see each other, even virtually.

Really glad you’re here, and I hope you’re enjoying Introduce Yourself Weekend so far!

Laquan Copeland, you’re too kind, thank you!

Sydney, this means so much, thank you.

I really appreciate you saying that, helping people move forward is exactly what I hope to do, and it means a lot that you see that. And I feel the same way about you. It’s such a joy getting to work together. So grateful to be on this team with you.

First off, thank you for your service. As an AF brat, I know just how long and hard that road can be. I wouldlove to hear more about what you're doing!

Are you doing college football picks again this season Lorenzo Fleming ??

Hello Darrell and I did some prediction episodes this past season and will continue next season.

Hello Libby and you’re welcome and nice to meet you. I’ll be glad to share what I am working on as well as my future projects. Have a great weekend. Lorenzo

Hello Dwayne and the top three genres that I like are drama, comedy and sci-fi. Have a great weekend and glad to hear from you. Lorenzo

Hey Ekaterina Pavlova - Welcome to Stage 32! What a neat animatic! And congratulations on your visit to Cannes! Stage 32 has a free webinar on how to navigate Cannes that you may be interested in. Here's the link to it: https://www.stage32.com/education/my-library/10121970647347/learn

Also, here’s a great post that will help you navigate Stage 32: https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-p....

Be sure to stop by the animation lounge and get to know some of your fellow animators: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/animation

It's so nice to meet you Ekaterina! Glad you're with us!

Great to have you here! I'd recommend posting your work on your STage 32 profile so when you are networking here and people click on your profile people can see what you do. Looking forward to meeting you in Cannes! We'll be posting our official Cannes Roll Call on the blog next week. In the meantime you can RSVP to our events here: https://www.stage32.com/meetups/2068/PANEL-Women-in-Film-Building-Collec... and here:https://www.stage32.com/meetups/2070/Cannes-Film-Festival-2026-Stage-32-Meetup-OFFICIAL

Ekaterina Pavlova Welcome! I hope you'll join us at our upcoming webcasts in the Writers' Room. Sign up for a Free Month of the Writers’ Room: https://www.stage32.com/writers-room/plans-vip

Hi Ekaterina Pavlova, welcome to Stage 32! I’m Ashley, Head of Community here on the platform. It’s great to meet you, and your project sounds incredibly fun. Blending sci-fi with Eastern European folklore is such a neat creative space, especially for animation.

As you start building connections here, I’d encourage you to stay active and visible in the Filmmaking Lounge (https://www.stage32.com/lounge/directing). Sharing your process, your animatic, and your worldbuilding approach will help you connect with creatives who are drawn to similar storytelling.

Also, since you’ll be attending Cannes for the first time, make sure you join us at the official Stage 32 meetup. It’s a great opportunity to meet fellow creatives in person:

https://www.stage32.com/meetups/2070/Cannes-Film-Festival-2026-Stage-32-...

Your project has a really unique blend of genres and influences. What inspired you to combine sci-fi with Eastern European folklore for this story?

Hello Nikolay Tsenov, I think adjustments can work well if they help connect with the audience the adaptation is targeting, especially when it improves visual storytelling and pacing, and I do see dialogue changes as still part of the adaptation. At the same time, if too many core elements shift, it starts to move away from being an adaptation and becomes something different.

Thank you for your Lounge question. You have lots of great opinions here by people who have experience with adaptations. I have never adapted a novel, although I would like to someday. It depends on what you want to emphasize about this story, your timeframe and what will work on the screen. It will inevitably be different than the book. You want viewers to go away from it saying: I like the movie version better, because for an 90 minutes, I was entertained and engaged.

If we're talking a complete work of fiction, then inevitably things will need to change from book to screen.

I've adapted my first novel to screen. It's not straight forward, but it is certainly possible. The biggest challenge is understanding what each type of audience needs. In the script I've added scenes or details that are explained through narration in the book.

I may be one of two on here telling a true WWII story. Keeping a true story authentic is not like adapting fiction at all. I have seen true stories so ruined in film and then the world audience believes the false narrative as truth. I'm sure it hurts a novelist to see their idea totally changed in film, but we owe it to history to not remake history.

This is FALSE! Betraying spurce material is the fastest way to lose your fan base! The only reason why producers change from source materuial.is because they care about inclusion and DEI. Henry Carvil is a HERO by demanding Warhammer 40k tv show stays 100% with source material. When release the show will gross far more than the last 5 star wars and star trek series combined! I am an author I can't tell you how many producers I threw out of my office because they wanted to make radical changes that would piss off my fan base!