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that sounds like a cool project. What inspired you to create it?

It started with a sense of geographical vertigo—that feeling when you wake up and for a split second, you don’t know where you are. I wanted to explore what happens to a human soul when the one thing we all rely on—our fixed place in space—becomes a variable. It’s about the brutal search for identity in a world that’s far more scripted than we dare to believe. Thanks for asking, Amanda. Would love to share more if it resonates.

projeto muito legal

This sounds very thought provoking. Are you giving any more away?;)

Hey Jose, the cover for The Andromeda looks amazing.

Thank you Kevin:)

Hi Kevin I'm a director film maker editor lighting sound mics etc.

Awesome to meet you Kevin Patel! The Long Way Back sounds right up my alley.

Hi Kevin Patel , great to meet you here. Both projects sound really interesting, especially STAN—the psychological horror concept with the teddy bear is a very intriguing idea. I also appreciate stories that focus on emotional depth and character-driven moments.

I'm Abhijeet, a filmmaker and director based in Mumbai. I enjoy working on grounded, intimate stories as well, and it's always great to connect with creatives who value strong storytelling and visual tone.

Wishing you the best with the development and crowdfunding. Looking forward to seeing how the projects evolve.

hello kevin.. welcome

Hi Kevin Patel I'm Prosper Okenyi (P. J Oken). I focus mainly on action thrillers and psychological drama with a blend of sci-fi. I'm based in Nigeria.

Tash Smurthwaite BRAVO, TASH! Excellent tips! Agreed. “Polite” = Boring as Hell. I love the Coens! Wonderful shout-out to “ARIZONA!” Goodman, Cage, and Hunter ABSOLUTELY CRUSH that film!!

My favorite scene is when Holly Hunter gushes over the kidnapped baby for the first time: “I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!!!!!” …… “I know you do, Honey.”

Damn it, man. I laugh EVERY time!!!

Bill Brock The Coens are really the masters of characterisation through dialogue! Such a great film!

About point 2, characters speaking differently. I minimize the number of characters, which limits the problem. The script I now try to sell is written for a total of 5 actors. So when I asked AI to help me with translating into American English, I instructed it that one person should talk like a 30 year old female police officer, another like a 20 year old Christian woman, one like a 55 year old woman from southern USA, one like a 50 year old male criminal, and only the remain character (the 60 year old scientist) talks Standard American English. Unfortunately AI did this less well than a human would, but the result was good enough to limit the amount of human corrections I needed for my translation.

Point 1 I tried to "turn upside down". I gave the characters favorite expressions which were repeated multiple time. In Act 3, when the main character is pointing a gun at the villain, it is shown that she has changed because now both use what was earlier favorite expressions for the other person.

Natalie Diorio OMG! Not THE EXORCIST???!! Okay, that’s it!! Cue the “Mother of All Massive Meteors” to plant a Big, Wet Kiss on planet Earth!! Remaking THE EXORCIST. Now THAT screams sheer desperation. Wow. Wasn’t aware of that. I can only imagine the plot. Perhaps they can bring back Old Lady Linda Blair to reprise her role. This time, she summons the power of Satan to help her travel from her bed to the bathroom.

Ah! THE STAIRS!!! I lived in Alexandria from 2000 to 2005 and definitely made a stop in Georgetown to see the famous steps. I did happen to walk up and down them. Hell, if I’m making the trip, I’m walking the stairs! Not much had changed at the time. They pretty much looked the same as they did in ‘72 during filming. There’s a GREAT 2024 documentary called FEAR AND LOVE: THE STORY OF THE EXORCIST, which is available for free on YouTube. Highly recommended!!

https://youtu.be/kihhiIeq7zk?si=M9XdJdsaTt6zf9lA

Natalie Diorio One more thing. I watched JAWS last summer at the Goochland Drive-In (Goochland, VA) to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary! And yeah, it was WAAAAAAY COOL!!

Thanks so much Bill Brock~ I miss getting excited about trailers too, now it’s definitely hard to justify going to the movies when I know I’ll have more fun watching my favourite YouTubers critique a film lol (as well as the fact that eventually almost everything ends up on Netflix or Tubi anyway). I’m also bummed that the drive-in movie theatre here finally closed down last-last summer, but I’m glad I got to experience it a handful of times.

Thank you, I always do it for the art so even though I know everyone says this, I’m VERY protective of my work lol. God knows I really don’t like the idea of pouring all four energies into a project and then having the final product be unrecognizable to me ^^; nonetheless I’m also aware that it’s not all up to me lol the universe wants me to keep trying and several people have also encouraged me to get my stuff out there so I can’t doom too much.

Bill Brock Interesting topic. I understand why it can feel that way right now, especially with the changes happening in distribution and audience habits. But I don’t think cinema itself is dying — it’s evolving. Streaming has changed how people consume stories, but the theater experience still has a unique power when the right film connects with audiences.

As writers, the challenge may actually be to create stories that truly feel worth leaving home for, while also recognizing that many great stories now live across multiple platforms. I still believe strong storytelling will always find its audience, whether on the big screen or elsewhere.

I did not watch a single film in the theatres in 2025. though, Im happily planning to see a film next week, so I suppose i doing something about that. But I, like you, see a dark road ahead.

I agree with Shadow, though on low budget films I’ve worked on as AD, that job fell to me.

Generally, it’s not that hard for a good writer to construct their script correctly the first time so very little needs changing.

Things I looked for were mostly consistency in naming locations. If you export a location list and find MARY’S HOUSE and SUBURBAN HOUSE are the same place, just fix it yourself. Don’t leave it to the next person to do.

Thats Hard Stuff. Great Insight. I can come up with a story line like no problem.. got like 600 of them.. but turning it to script is so much harder. Any of you want an idea to work on, just ask.. You guys work Magic.

So a story script can be thought of easily but the script writing is the hardest part, script writers work hard alot

So, basically a story script differs from a shooting script?

Thank you all for the different comments regarding the difference between the story script and a shooting script. Like most things in this business, there is no "fast and hard rule" about how, or when, to create a shooting script from a story script. However, a proper shooting script is essentially how the director "sees each scene visually," including scene transitions where needed. Keep in mind that the development of a shooting script takes place "over the entire pre-production period" as it is primarily based on the director's creative and logistical decisions that come from location scouts, the DOP's suggestions, and the 1st AD's input about the schedule.

Abhijeet Aade Welcome! One way to navigate and get the best out of Stage 32 is to sift through the Lounge section and check out the conversations that resonate. The Blog section has lots of tips and tricks to both help you navigate the platform and the industry.

Debbie Elicksen Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it. I’ll definitely explore the Lounge and Blog sections more. It’s great to be part of the community and learn from the conversations here.

Hi, I love the title and I'm with you on the character-driven storytelling and simple yet meaningful moments, I like to think I've also written a few of those. Best of Luck with connections and getting your script read.

This is a very intriguing premise, Elara. The idea of receiving warnings from a future version of yourself already creates a powerful psychological tension, and the twist that the messages may actually be guiding the disaster rather than preventing it is especially compelling. It raises fascinating questions about fate, control, and whether our attempts to avoid failure sometimes lead us directly into it. I’d definitely be curious to see how Daniel processes that final voicemail and the choices he makes once he realizes the warnings may not be what they seem.

Interesting. Sounds like a real-time contained thriller. I'd read it.

That’s right up my alley!

Elara Wright Really intriguing concept. The idea of receiving messages from a future version of yourself is a great psychological hook, and the twist that the warnings might actually be guiding the disaster is very compelling. It builds a lot of tension just from the premise alone. I’d definitely be curious to see how the final voicemail plays into the climax. Great setup for a psychological thriller!

Reminiscent of "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg."

the premises are good but i need a bit of clarification.

Questions: what makes the victim the predator?

why does he becomes the victim if deep down he's a predator? (eg: he's a serial killer or a criminal acting like a victim)

what drives him to be a predator?

Great premise. For suspense I often build empathy by anchoring the predator’s early behavior in genuine survival logic, not random red herrings. Give the audience a pattern that makes sense, then slowly let that pattern become unsettling as new context arrives. That way the reveal feels earned, and the character still reads as human. Curious how you plan to keep the audience inside the protagonist’s POV without tipping the twist too early

Great insights on crafting an unreliable protagonist. I like how the article explores the balance between psychology and controlled information—revealing just enough to keep the audience engaged while still maintaining mystery. Techniques like selective disclosure and contradictions can really deepen character complexity and keep viewers questioning what’s real.

https://wackyflip2.org/

Thank you Claudia Leonard.

I was actually looking into this recently too. I think online acting classes can be really helpful, especially if the instructor gives direct feedback on your scenes and auditions.

A friend of mine tried a small online acting workshop and said it helped a lot with confidence and character work.

I'm also curious to see what programs other actors here recommend.

I tried a couple of online acting classes last year and one of them was actually really good because the sessions were very interactive.

They focused a lot on audition techniques and practical exercises instead of just theory.

They also had a free workshop option which helped me decide if the classes were right for me.

I don't know of any interactive online acting classes . stage 32 has several acting and audition webinars and labs that you can find on the education page.

I personally attended John Casablanca acting and modeling classes, I paid attention to what they taught, kept an open mind and took notes. rather my personal opinion on a subject I followed their input on industry standards. the schooling was not free it was 76 a week for 30 weeks but well worth the lessons taught. especially to learn a skill, trade and valuable routine that id never had interest in before. Mohammad Jahanzaib

You might want to try One on One NYC. I’ve studied with them in person, which I think is much better, though they also offer online classes since COVID.

If you truly want to train as an actor, though, I believe you need to commit to a two-year acting program. The third year is usually about applying that training—rehearsing, being cast in productions, and performing on stage.

There really isn’t a substitute for that kind of hands-on experience. In my opinion, online training alone just doesn’t do it justice if you’re serious about learning the craft.