Filmmaking / Directing

Loved these films.

Me too, Stephen Folker

agreed, one of the best of all time. thanks for offering a friday night plan! whoohoo!

Hard to pick a favorite of the three but I'd say White is probably the most interesting. It's such a twisted story. Karol is a great character played to perfection by Zamachowski. Red seems like a feel good Rom-com after Blue and White.

Hi Mark DePonte! Great question and happy to jump in here! I would agree with what Daniel Husbands says about making sure that you have the right mindset going in and don't think of one pitch session as your "only shot." You can pitch your project to whenever you want until an agreement is signed. In terms of Stage 32 Pitch Sessions, they are designed for feedback first and foremost, and while they can lead to great Successes, the goal with them is to let you know how strong your pitch is and how to make it better. The Stage 32 Executive Liaison, Nick Phillips, vets incoming executives that are featured on the platform. And if you have any questions about who you should pitch to, feel free to shoot the Success Team and email at success@stage32.com and we'll try to point you in the right direction :)

Indeed Mark DePonte, my colleague Emily J is correct. After assuming the Executive Liaison position earlier this year, I have built upon the vetting standards that were already in place here at Stage 32, and we are all conscientiously increasing those standards as we continue to bring on executives to work with our writers. We truly do try our best to bring you all the best. And as mentioned above by Simon Foster and others, doing some additional due diligence on your own about an individual exec could be a way to additionally ameliorate those concerns. Lastly, I also concur with the notion of not giving up. I have been fortunate enough to eek out a living in this business for nearly 30 years, and there are still, to this day, plenty of moments where I feel that same frustration, and I look at this business (and my bank account) and go what is this is all for??? But please trust me when I say that it gets better, and please know that we strive to make sure you are talking to quality execs to work with who will ideally ease those frustrations as opposed to exacerbate them.

First,

I would like to truly thank everyone who commented and shared all of their (Pros and Cons) of what they have experienced with pitching. It is VERY helpful.

Second, to Maurice, Emily and Nick...

Last week I did purchase a "pitch" session (your order: 3521424816789793902) and the deadline is this Saturday. But I am NOT a pro, never pitched anything, etc.

I NEVER wrote a 2-page before, but i cobbled one together anyways last week AND sent it to "writerhelp@stage32.com" to look at it before submitting it. They acknowledged they received it and said they would gladly help which was very nice. BUT...I never heard back.

So maybe you can find out what happened before it's too late.

Just saying...

Do a google search on the "exec" before any pitch. Caveat Emptor!

You're welcome, Mark DePonte. I don't have a way to find out what happened, but I could email you Stage 32’s most recent written pitch examples. One sample is for a movie and the other is for a series. If you want me to send you the examples, DM me your email.

I've been meaning to watch "Whiplash," Kevin Jackson. It's on Netflix, so I might watch it this week.

Oh I need to watch Whiplash this week!!

This is a great list! Whiplash, both the short and the feature are SO good! But so are the rest of these examples.

YASS!!! Thank you so much for sharing! I think part of the discussion should also be - when should you do a scene directly from the large property, and when should you just bottle its essence?

You're welcome, Karen "Kay" Ross. Great questions!

This is really interesting, thank you for sharing Martin Reese!

Thanks for sharing the article, Martin Reese.

"Stripped of nuance, the definition of movie jail has always been: Lose the studio a lot of money and you don’t get to do another studio feature for a while, if ever." I'm not feeling movie jail. There are things that are outta a director's hands when it comes to a movie's success (like the economy and marketing), so I don't think one flop should keep a director from making another studio movie for a while, and especially not forever. But that's the way it is right now.

The article mentions how mid-budget studio movies went away. I think making mid-budget studio movies will help directors avoid movie jail because if a mid-budget movie flops, the studio won't lose as much money as they would if the movie was a big-budget flop, so the director might get a chance to direct another studio movie sooner.

Thanks for sharing!

Mmm... this feels like an extention of teachers being held responsible for absolutely everything when you literally can't micromanage. Interesting...

Hey Allison! Stage 32 has job postings on the site, if you want to check out in your area, here is the link: https://www.stage32.com/find-jobs

Heath is such an awesome resource - talented and generous. So cool that this class is coming back. I can't recommend it more.

Couldn't agree more Sam!

Looking forward to it!

Few more days to sign up for this class!! Email edu@stage32.com to sign up :)

Mario Leone "People are afraid and are sticking to what works." I would amend that sentence, Mario, to 'People are afraid and are sticking to what WORKED.' They assume because it worked once, it will work again, but there is a law of diminished returns and sooner or later I think they'll see the error of their ways.

Seems they are using a business model to reintroduce a subject/genre to a new audience. The business model is safe, tested and repeatable but whether it sells to the market that is another question. What I have seen (viewed) was ok checking "RT" there is agreement or a difference of opinion. I have gone to the extent to review the original/s to rate what I have seen. Just read this line: FFC only does passion projects! Reading that "Megalopolis" might have a distributor the descripting states that there is no clear "good/bad" guy but in watching French film recently "Hostile" and others a French view can be more "Avant - garde". If so then I would be interested in seeing it. Have viewed a lot of "avant-garde" films in the past, it is art after all.

Great topic. I give Coppola a ton of credit for the investment he made in himself. If you feel that strongly as an artist that you want to get your story to the screen then anything is necessary to make it happen. Especially when it’s an epic story and goes against traditional IP and remakes. I’m excited to see it at Cannes. Also, here’s a recent interview with Coppola:, https://thefilmstage.com/francis-ford-coppola-says-megalopolis-will-be-out-in-a-few-months/

A true entrepreneurial artist! With any industry, I have come to accept what they do with certain IP to fuel the coffers. It is an industry, a creative one but similar to say a car company with new model and the steady state market production. The car company is either push or pull to the market. The Hollywood industry is "push". My interest is to get my finished work (working diligently) to perfect my interest into a paying position. It is what it is as an industry with that segment and a creative sector that should cater to consumer sentiment other than that it is a matter of " accounting and auditing" the money from the returns for the quarter then the year.

In synopsis, is it an "unofficial" challenge anyhow for filmmakers outside of the Hollywood norm, to be independent or a prudent consensus to acquire new content and entrepreneurs, without the risk factors of investments etc.? Mmmm, I like the challenge anyhow! Then hats off to Coppola!

Wonderful blog by Annisa :) Great read!

Agreed, Sydney Summers!

Hey Paul! There are a lot of pros & cons to each.

With this being an in-depth look at the various setups of shots from the trailer, I'd imagine it would be best to post this type of promo AFTER the actual trailer has released.

It's fascinating & engaging, if you have seen the music video, then this would be a great way to FURTHER engage an already engaged audience member. And if someone hasn't seen the full music video, then this would be a great little taste to make them want more...

Which is why you want to make sure there IS more for them to see by directing the viewer to watch the full trailer with a CTA at the end of the video. I wouldn't see the video being as effective if it were released prior to the release of the trailer for a NEW potential fan, but it could possibly get an already dedicated fanbase hyped up for an upcoming release if it were posted before.

Hope my response helped, & also it's just my opinion! Take care!

Jordon Black thanks for your input.