Trending Lounge Discussions

I don't think short theatrical windows are good for theaters, the industry, and moviegoers, Sam Rivera. Some people can't see a movie in theaters on opening weekend, the first week, etc.

Maurice Vaughan Well, WB is responding to the market, and the market increasingly prefers streaming over cinemas. Here's a in interesting quote from the article: "In speaking with Congress, Cinema United and CEO Michael O’Leary argued that a Netflix-WBD merger would... would lead to fewer movies being made, less diversity of those films, more leverage from the studios over theaters, and more job losses..." Which are all blatant lies. When the Paramount Decrees were set aside in 2020, resulting in allowing the major studios to se-institute monopolistic controls on theaters, no major cinema chain opposed it. Only a group of small independent cinema owners opposed it. That's because major studio controls allow the creation of LESS movies at HIGHER prices to the public, and the cinemas are in on it. Now they cry in advance - from my perspective, what goes around comes around.

the shorter theatrical windows argument/idea is especially befuddling given the 3 original movies (Sinners, Weapons, OBAA) that aren't franchise IP/reboots/sequels to brigade the global box office in 2025 were all WB movies that opened strong then caught massive word of mouth boosts.

Sinners in it's 4th week made $32M which was about the same total gross as movies like Caught Stealing (Sony), Novocaine (Paramount), Wolfman (Blumhouse), Warfare (A24) made in their entire theatrical runs (many of which were much too short).

So WB has clearly been doing something right!

as a consumer, a lot of people don't have time to go see a movie in a limited 2-week window, unless by chance, but if they keep hearing good things about it, they can probably make time to go see it within a month. shorter theatrical windows only really rewards the most rabid movie goers. regular people get timed out. which is bad for everyone. theaters get less unique visitors, viewers get worse cinematic experiences by watching at home, film discourse shrinks bc viewing habits are fractured by algorithms.

WB just rejected Paramount's $103B bid, and still recommends to shareholders that they accept the Netflix deal at $25B less... They cited the debt ratio of the Paramount deal but also said they were open to an even higher offer from Paramount.

Hi Maurice, Great to meet you as well. Thank you so much for helping me with my post. It was my first so I appreciate you helping me put it in the correct lounge. I will definitely check out the link. Much appreciate it.

Hi Tatiane. Welcome and good luck shooting your new project Jaws of Life.

You're welcome, Tatiane Amnuar. There's a description under the title in each Lounge that'll tell you what goes in that Lounge. And if you're still not sure or you ever have questions about Stage 32, let me or another Lounge Moderator know. We have badges on our pictures. Or you could email support@stage32.com.

Hope you find a crew and cast! I'm looking forward to seeing Jaws of Life!

Hello Tatiane Amnuar in case you need someone to bring life the poster of your shortfilm or visuals that you can use on your socials I'll be happy if you consider my profile

Do you need cast and crew recommendations?

I wright deep sci fi with 4 full seasons and offered 49% for a cowriter . I get heckled , told to get out , called a loser . I so wish you luck . you are younger and not on your death bed . you have a chance . if I had the ability I would help . 30 years of my life gone because I had to work two jobs to pay the bills . I will pray for you .

Hi, Chase Carmichael. Happy New Year! How's your year going?

Maurice Vaughn. My year is going good, but I still want to make it in the Big leagues of animation but I still haven't figured out on finding the right collaborators. I just want to discover understanding, and experiencing the industry of filmmaking even when my role is a screenwriter.

Glad your year is going good, Chase Carmichael. I suggest building your network on Stage 32. It might help you find the right collaborators. I suggest checking out this blog: www.stage32.com/blog/the-importance-of-community-and-collaboration-in-th...

And Stage 32 had a Community Open House last week. The recording is up now. It'll also help you make connections. www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-s-december-community-open-ho...

Sounds like you were right to wait the three weeks (that's how much time I think they have to respond), but also right to escalate when not hearing back. I wonder if there is an internal Stage 32 score for each exec on the value they bring? I've had all good experiences so far, so the exec list seems to be curated pretty well overall.

I would be fine waiting 3 weeks, Lori Jones. And if it's around the holidays, I would wait longer.

Lori Jones Getting scripts reviewed is a bit of a lucky dip. Some reviewers put in real constructive effort, others use AI and cut and paste some standard text around being positive. A good, honest review can add value, but many are just a "take the money and run" situation.

Stage32 struggles to help you spot the difference, they are also in the same situation of revenue raising.

Trust in your gut, Lori Jones. They always prove you were right :))

Thanks for the idea, Baron Rothschild!

Baron, this is exactly the kind of 'upstream' thinking that elevates a script. We’ve been applying this to our protagonist by defining her specific 'unbreakable pressure.'

In our pilot, the pressure isn't just the external hunt; it’s the internal engine of her new 'nature' that forces her to see the world differently than everyone else. It turns her from a reactive victim into an authored hero because she has to navigate that system to survive. I find that when you define the engine first, the scenes almost write themselves. Thanks for another great breakdown!

“Glad it sparked something, Maurice.”

Salisu, that’s exactly it — once the internal engine is defined, the script stops being a sequence of events and becomes a system the protagonist has to navigate. You’re operating at the right altitude.

Thank you, Baron! That means a lot. Defining that 'upstream' system has completely changed our development process—it keeps the stakes grounded even when the concepts get high. I’m looking forward to Part 3 of your series. This kind of clarity is exactly what the community needs!

No problem, JVM WRITERS. Plot Twist Prince. I like that. What's one of your favorite plot twists in a movie?

I give M. Night and The Sixth Sense all the praise.

I was shocked by that twist, JVM WRITERS! Have you seen The Usual Suspects?

Keyser Soze

That's my favorite twist in a movie, JVM WRITERS. What's Can't Debate Perception about?

I can put more characters, big locations, etc. in my low-budget scripts now because I know they can be done cheaper with the CGI today, Ashley Renee Smith. Sometimes.

Great roundtable. Invaluable information for writers and filmmakers to learn from a project so massive.

Ashley Renee Smith I'm going to save this one for a later date. I haven't watched the movie yet and don't want to spoil any of the scenes, but thank you for sharing!

Cynna Ael So why don't you try writing it in a new way, whether in its original time or a new time?

Thanks for explaining it some more, A.J .Abd El-Rahman El-Janainy. I would rewrite Freddy vs. Jason. I like the movie, it's fun, and it's great having the Horror icons in one movie, but I think the story could've been better.

I think you like combining the two worlds. I'd also like to merge John Constantine's world with Supernatural's. Imagine combining Sam and Dean Winchester with John Constantine, but they're against each other. Maurice Vaughan

I have. It’s now an urban fantasy Bridgerton meets the emotional heart of Crazy Rich Asians and built on the raw concept of The Philadelphia Story. It’s called Blue Moon Marriage Mayhem. I may write one closer to The Philadelphia Story- but I’m in the middle of writing my limited series.

I have done it, sort of. I was introduced to a retired filmworker. So afterwards i watched one of the movies he had been involved in. At IMDb the rating for the film was 3.8 or something like that (not his fault). I realized what was wrong, so I wrote a play, with the errror correcred. At the local amateur theatre my play gave people a good laugh during a reading. If somebody wants to film my play, I have been told by those who own the rights to the original film, that they accept that I have all rights to the play I wrote. Ditto for the copyright holder for the short story the original film was based on.

Anna Marton Henry Thank you so much for answering my questions and all our questions here at Stage 32. The answers you provided are really helpful and actually way more than I hoped for. I plan to carefully read all the questions and answers here - I'm sure there is a world of knowledge to be gained about TV writing.

Jed Power AMAs are not a forum for pitching your ideas. As stated at the top of the thread and in the questions you can see above, this is a place to ask general questions about the process and craft. But I think I can help you in that regard. You shouldn't pitch your idea using a synpsis like this at all. It's just not a format we read. You need to craft an effective logline for your project (see above in an answer on suggestions for that). When you reach out to someone to pitch your project, bear in mind three things: 1. Is this the appropriate venue / forum to pitch? When you pitch in places that are not designed for that, you come across as not knowledgeable and somewhat desperate. 2. Can you first build a relationship with the person you are pitching to or at least learn about what they work on from their website, LinkedIn, pitch session postings, interviews, AMAs, etc. So what you could have done is asked me what kinds of projects I am interested in producing or what my creative priorities are and why. If we have some things in common, you could have reached out in a private message here on Stage 32 or on LinkedIn, explained why you feel I am the right person to approach with your idea, and... 3. In your first outreach, you should ONLY include your logline plus a little bit of information about your background and experience. If someone is interested on that basis, they will ask for a written pitch and/or your script.

Hi Anna Marton Henry - thank you for the super thorough answer! Your assumptions were 100% correct and your solutions to the issue were, frankly, freeing. Cause it's often these 'little' technical formatting issues that can cramp writing flow. SO many thanks.

And the tonal choice of gradually 'teaching' the viewers the language is something I would totally do - so that challenge is accepted :)

Anna, thanks so DOGGONE much for the answer about ScriptHop and Prewrite!

Those two items are tools that help me present my items in a better way...and I found out about Prewrite and ScriptHop right here on Stage 32 in mid-2020.

ScriptHop's got some AI in it...in that it tries to guess the genre of the screenplay/teleplay being run through ScriptHop. What's more, it makes a budget estimate (low, medium, or high) for what you've written.

Speaking of AI...there's absolutely no way in the world I'll allow artificial intelligence to come up with a script for me. I've been using https://ScriptReader.ai and https://screenplayiq.com as evaluation tools (but they're absolutely NOT the final word...the real test for me is whether things I've written resonate with Stage 32 members and Script Revolution members)...those two tools have helped me identify character arcs and themes I've missed and they've helped me identify a script's mood.

ScreenplayIQ and ScriptReader are just tools...and I'm out to make sure I'm making all the creative decisions instead of letting AI do it.

If you'd like to check out ScriptHop and/or Prewrite, the sites are www.scripthop.com and https://prewrite.com.

Thanks bunches for the AMA...and here's wishing you all the VERY BEST here in 2026 (and beyond)!

Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply, Anna! That's an incredibly helpful perspective.

The reminder to avoid a 'science class' is exactly what I needed to hear right now. I’ll definitely check out The Expanse.again to study that balance. We are leaning heavily into the 'newcomer' dynamic with our lead character to keep the physics organic to her journey. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your insight on Stage 32!

Congratulations on being one of the ten finalists, Pamela Winfrey! Reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with managers.

Pamela Winfrey congratulations on being one of the ten finalists! That's huge, I wish you the best of luck on your quest to find a manager.