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Stage 32 8-Part Lab: Create All The Tools You Need To Sell Your Holiday Romantic Comedy

Payment plans available - contact edu@stage32.com for details
Taught by Matt Bierman
$799

On Demand Class - Available for immediate viewing and unlimited access.

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Class hosted by: Matt Bierman

Producer and Studio Executive (Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount, Warner Brothers and DC Comics)

Matt Bierman has been a studio executive and producer for over 25 years. He started in the feature film business working as an executive for Jon Peters. He has worked directly as an executive at Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and DC Comics. Additionally, he has been an executive at Village Roadshow Pictures and Mike Medavoy’s Phoenix Pictures (SONY). He has also developed and produced movies for Hallmark and Nickelodeon. He produced the holiday films A LOUD HOUSE CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS WITH THE DARLINGS, and MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS, and the romcom LOVE AT FIRST BARK and LOVE UNDER THE STARS, among others. He has expertise in low-budget mainstream films as he ran the creative at Paramount DVD Premiere and Warner Premiere, those two respective studios' lower-budget made-for-DVD divisions. He has overseen and supervised several dozen movies in the $3-8 million range including BROKEN BRIDGES, SAVE THE LAST DANCE 2, ANOTHER CINDERELLA STORY, SCOOBY DOO! THE MYSTERY BEGINS, LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE, FREE WILLY PIRATES COVE ADVENTURE, SOPHIA GRACE AND ROSIE’S ROYAL ADVENTURE, CINDERELLA STORY IF THE SHOE FITS, MAX 2 and over two dozen others. In addition, he was involved in the creation of the DC UNIVERSE series of animated films and helped put together a WB Anime business for the Japanese market. In his capacity as an executive, he developed and oversaw such theatrical movies as: ROSEWOOD, MYSTERY ALASKA, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN, TAKING LIVES, SAVING SILVERMAN, and HOLES to name a few. He also co-wrote and produced a comedy about poker called THE GRAND, directed by Zak Penn. Most recently, he ran the tv department at DC Comics, overseeing the pilots for SANDMAN and DMZ among others. Full Bio »

Summary

Only 2 Spots Still Available In This Lab - Grab Your Spot Now

Create all of the elements that you need to pitch and sell your holiday romantic comedy feature film in 8 weeks with a Warner Bros., Paramount, Disney executive and producer who has made television movies with Hallmark and Nickelodeon including A LOUD HOUSE CHRISTMAS and CHRISTMAS WITH THE DARLINGS!

***Flexible Learning: if you cannot attend any of the sessions live don't worry - you will be sent the links to the recordings of each session within 48 hours of the live session and have access to Matt on email to ask him any questions so you can keep up at your own pace and schedule.***

Payment plans available - contact edu@stage32.com for details

 

The holiday season will be here before you know it and audiences will be clamoring for new lighthearted television holiday romantic comedies to enjoy with the ones they love. With these movies in such high demand on networks like NBC, Hallmark and Lifetime and streamers like Netflix and Paramount+, it’s never been a better time to create and sell your own holiday romantic comedy.

In this exclusive interactive 8-session Stage 32 lab, you’ll get hands-on guidance to bring your fantastic idea to life from concept to treatment, one-sheet and pitch that you can sell, all while being mentored by an industry veteran and holiday romantic comedy producer.

You’ll learn who the TV and streaming buyers are for holiday romcom films, why you need a one-sheet and a treatment to meet with them to pitch your idea, what story elements they’re looking for, and how you can approach them with confidence.

Guiding you through the entire process is Matt Bierman, a studio executive and producer with over 25 years of experience. Matt has previously worked as an executive at Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount, Warner Bros., Village Roadshow, and more. He also developed and produced movies for Hallmark and Nickelodeon.

Matt has vast experience making holiday films and romantic comedies for television, including A LOUD HOUSE CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS WITH THE DARLINGS, LOVE AT FIRST BARK, LOVE UNDER THE STARS, and more. And he will be using his work as case studies throughout the lab.

Matt is only accepting 9 more people in his lab to make sure everyone's project get focused attention. You’ll learn in an online classroom setting, where students are encouraged to troubleshoot their ideas and give notes on each others’ work. You’ll also have assignments after every session to guarantee that you’re always progressing toward the completed materials you will need.

You’ll also have TWO one-on-one consultations with Matt during the lab to go through the revisions you’ve made and receive feedback on your work, with notes on how to make it even better and where you should consider pitching it.

You’ll walk away from this lab with all the materials you will need to successfully pitch your holiday romantic comedy feature film - including your logline, one-sheet, and pitch - which have been developed with the mentorship of an industry vet and you'll know who to pitch and how to approach them.

If you’re passionate about bringing your holiday romcoms to television, don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to work with and learn from Matt, and take your ideas to the next level.

Praise for Matt's Talent & Knowledge:

“Matt Bierman is one of the best movie execs and producers that I have worked with” -- Brian Levant, director of Jingle All The Way, A Christmas Story 2

"This lab was one of the best educational experiences I have ever experienced. I feel so confident in my work after getting guidance from Matt. Thank you, Stage 32!" -- Rebecca M.

"Matt Bierman knows his stuff! I highly recommend taking any course he is teaching." -- Marcus E.

What You'll Learn

Preparation: Watch a holiday romcom. (Christmas With The Darlings or Memories of Christmas are two that I produced, and might reference.) Check out press releases for upcoming holiday films.

SESSION One: Thinking About A Holiday Movie Conceptually

In order to write a great film, it is important to know what makes films stand out in the genre so you can craft something that executives will pick up and audiences will love. Our first class will cover all the elements that make a great holiday film and some keys to writing in this genre.

In class:

  • The key elements of a holiday movie are
  • The different holidays that work for this form, and what the audience is looking for in each
  • Writing Christmas scripts- The Pros and Cons
  • Looking at the other holiday possibilities
  • Looking at non-holiday romcoms- The Pros and Cons
  • The advantage of having multiple project ideas for the space
  • Group discussion. What makes a good concept. As an exercise, we will pitch concepts on the spot.

Q&A with Matt

Assignment: write 3 concepts.

 

SESSION Two: Loglines

Our focus will be creating a logline that gets your script noticed

  • What makes a good concept?
  • Exercise:we will pitch concepts on the spot.
  • What makes an effective logline?
  • What concepts work best?
  • How to make your logline standout?

Q&A with Matt

Assignment: Pick your best concept and work your logline.

 

SESSION Three: Filling Out Your Story To Create A Full One-Pager

This week we will talk about filling out your story. The elements and beats that are needed for a marketable holiday film. Learning how films are monetized, the budgets you should be writing to and how, ways to bring fresh ideas to popular holiday themes and more. All of these things help build the elements that will allow us to begin writing your one page summary.

  • The key elements you need to include in the summary
  • Conceiving your story for budget
  • How to bring something new to the table

Assignment: Write a one-page summary of your story

 

SESSION Four: One-On-Ones To Discuss Your Loglines And Summaries (no group session)

You will meet with Matt virtually as an individual to receive feedback on your work/progress so far.

Assignment: Revise your summary based on the feedback you receive.

 

SESSION Five: Turning Your Summary Into A Treatment

Most writers have a sense of how their story is set-up and how it ends, but here, we are going to fill out the middle. We will discuss the 3 Act structure and why second acts can be tricky in a holiday rom com. We will also begin discuss how to use this information to being writing your full outline/treatment.

  • Defining the 3 act structure.
  • What makes a good second Act for your story.
  • What is the bottom of the second act? How do I make an effective 2nd act complication to bring us into Act III?
  • Turning the one-pager into an outline or treatment.
  • How much and what to include.
  • Writing your treatment for both the seller and writer.

Q&A with Matt

Assignment: Watch at least one classic romcom or two. Note the middle and end of the 2nd act; Watch at least one classic romcom or two. Note the middle and end of the 2nd act; Begin your 5-page outline. It is here that you will refine your act structure.

 

SESSION Six: Workshopping The Treatment

This class will be dedicated to workshoping your outlines and working through places you are getting stuck, figuring out what works and what doesn’t and how to fix those things. We will look at a few volunteers outlines and discuss, critique and use as example.

Q&A with Matt

Assignment: Rewrite outlines

 

SESSION Seven: Pitching Treatments

In today’s class, we are going to pitch our stories to the group. The act of pitching itself will reveal a lot about your story, allow you to further polish and craft your outline. Moreover, it is good to get practice, as professional writers have to pitch.

  • Have you hit all the beats?
  • Is your hook strong enough?
  • Is this a movie you would want to see? Who is the audience?
  • In wrap up, we will learn how holiday movies get bought and how they are monetized.

Q&A with Matt

Assignment: Continue to refine your outline/treatment. Turn it in ahead of the last meeting.

 

SESSION Eight: Final One-On-One Consultations (no group session)

You will meet with Matt virtually as individuals to go over your final treatment or outline. Matt will give you notes on how to improve it and tips on how and where you might pitch it.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

PLEASE NOTE: This exclusive Stage 32 lab is limited to 12 writers and will be booked on a first-come, first-served basis. The opportunity to work this closely and for this long with an executive and an expert in the field is an incredibly unique and valuable opportunity. If you are interested, please book quickly. Once the spots are gone, they’re gone for good.

  • This lab is designed for beginner and intermediate writers interested in developing and writing a romantic holiday movie story for television.

  • By the end of this 8-session lab, you will have a professional treatment or outline for a holiday romantic holiday feature script.

  • This is an in-depth, practical, and detailed lab with one-on-one time with the instructor and significantly more content than a standard 90-minute webinar.

  • You will be held accountable to take the lessons from each week and move your work forward.

  • Plus, to stay motivated and inspired, you will have access to a private, dedicated Stage 32 Lounge where you can communicate with your fellow classmates throughout the length of the lab.

  • **Matt Bierman will be available directly to you on email during the 8 sessions to answer any questions you have about your project.**

Payment plans are available - please contact edu@stage32.com for more information

 

About Your Instructor

Matt Bierman has been a studio executive and producer for over 25 years. He started in the feature film business working as an executive for Jon Peters. He has worked directly as an executive at Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and DC Comics. Additionally, he has been an executive at Village Roadshow Pictures and Mike Medavoy’s Phoenix Pictures (SONY). He has also developed and produced movies for Hallmark and Nickelodeon.

He produced the holiday films A LOUD HOUSE CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS WITH THE DARLINGS, and MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS, and the romcom LOVE AT FIRST BARK and LOVE UNDER THE STARS, among others.

He has expertise in low-budget mainstream films as he ran the creative at Paramount DVD Premiere and Warner Premiere, those two respective studios' lower-budget made-for-DVD divisions. He has overseen and supervised several dozen movies in the $3-8 million range including BROKEN BRIDGES, SAVE THE LAST DANCE 2, ANOTHER CINDERELLA STORY, SCOOBY DOO! THE MYSTERY BEGINS, LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE, FREE WILLY PIRATES COVE ADVENTURE, SOPHIA GRACE AND ROSIE’S ROYAL ADVENTURE, CINDERELLA STORY IF THE SHOE FITS, MAX 2 and over two dozen others. In addition, he was involved in the creation of the DC UNIVERSE series of animated films and helped put together a WB Anime business for the Japanese market.

In his capacity as an executive, he developed and oversaw such theatrical movies as: ROSEWOOD, MYSTERY ALASKA, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN, TAKING LIVES, SAVING SILVERMAN, and HOLES to name a few.

He also co-wrote and produced a comedy about poker called THE GRAND, directed by Zak Penn.

Most recently, he ran the tv department at DC Comics, overseeing the pilots for SANDMAN and DMZ among others.

Schedule

Saturday December 2nd – 10am-12pm PST

Saturday December 9th – 10am-12pm PST

Saturday December 16th – 10am-12pm PST

Saturday December 30th – 10am-12pm PST

Saturday January 6th – 10am-12pm PST

Saturday January 13th – 10am-12pm PST

Saturday January 20th – 10am-12pm PST

Saturday January 27th – 10am-12pm PST

FAQs

Q: What is the format of a lab?
A: Stage 32 Next Level Classes are typically 90-minute broadcasts that take place online using a designated software program from Stage 32.

Q: Do I have to be located in a specific location?
A: No, you can participate from the comfort of your own home using your personal computer! If you attend a live online webinar, you will be able to communicate directly with your instructor during the class.

Q: What are the system requirements?
A: You will need to meet the following system requirements in order to run the webinar software: Windows 7 or later Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or later.
If you have Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion): The webinar software does not support these operating systems. If you are running one of those operating systems, please upgrade now in order to be able to view a live class. Upgrade your Windows computer / Upgrade your Mac computer

Q: What if I cannot attend the live lab class?
A: If you attend a live online class, you will be able to communicate directly with your instructor during the class. If you cannot attend a live class, you will have access to the entire recorded broadcast, including the Q&A. Plus, your instructor will be available via email throughout the lab.

Q: Will I have access to the lab afterward to rewatch?
A: Yes! After the purchase of the lab, you will have on-demand access to the video recording, which you can view as many times as you'd like!

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Questions?

If you have a generic question about Stage 32 education you can take a look at our frequently asked questions section on our help page, or feel free to contact support with any other inquiries you might have.

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