Robert David Graham: Screenwriter in Köln, Germany.

Hi Robert. I'm RB, Founder and CEO of Stage 32. As a screenwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker, I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work, landing representation, launching projects, securing funding and simply making the connections that will make a difference in their careers. That's why I created Stage 32. Since our launch in September of 2011, the community has grown to 1,000,000+ members representing every country on the planet making Stage 32 the social network uniquely populated with the most creative people on Earth.

This is a network for you, built by you. Like most things in life, the more you participate, the greater the rewards. We ask all new members to pay it forward by inviting 5 fellow creatives to the network and by spreading the word of Stage 32 through other social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The more creatives, the stronger the network. The stronger the network, the more opportunities.

Thanks for joining the movement and for being a part of this most talented and inspiring community. I very much look forward to your contributions.

Thanks, and have a creative day!

RB

Helpful information:

• To send invites to your fellow creatives, please click here.
• For any questions on how to utilize the site, please check our HELP and GETTING STARTED sections.
• Also, I host a FREE webinar every month where I go over site features and answer user questions. You can view them here.

Please take a moment to follow and like our other social media accounts.

• My personal Twitter account - @rbwalksintoabar
• Our company Twitter account - @Stage32
• Our company Facebook account – Stage 32 Facebook

Hello Robert -

Welcome to the community! I'm Amanda Toney, the Managing Director at Stage 32. Since 2013 I've been proud to oversee Stage 32's Next Level Education, which provides you the most up-to-date tools necessary to become a better creative.

Over the years Stage 32 has worked with over 500 industry executives and professionals to teach online webinars, classes and intensive labs exclusively for you - our Stage 32 community. We bring you instructors who have worked directly on some of your favorite films, TV shows or theater productions to teach you in-the-trenches information that you won't find anywhere else on producing, directing, financing, writing, packaging, acting and more.

Our Next Level Education has a 97% satisfaction rate and averages 4.5 out of 5 stars. Plus, we've had the honor to be called "LinkedIn meets Lynda.com for film, television and theater creatives" by Forbes Magazine.

I encourage you to take the next step to continue learning and expanding your career by clicking here, or clicking "education" on your top menu bar.

I'm grateful you've joined the Stage 32 community. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Amanda

I am looking for veteran screenwriting advice. I came to this medium from novel writing and began reading scripts. I just heard back from a successful producer who had many good things to say about my script. However his emphasis was on my two weakest points: "Yes, I read the script on the plane. That was about 60 scripts ago but I remember I enjoyed the story and it passed the "ten page test". I'm sure you don't want to her everything that's good about it...you get that from family and friends...so I'll give you the two biggest negatives to getting it produced. Remember that before it can be produced an agent has to read it and offer it to his director. Therein lies your first hurdles. It's too long (160 pages won't get read.) There is too much directing in the script. So, again, even if an assistant read it the coverage would point these two things out and it wouldn't get sent to a director. My advice for what it's worth. Cut the direction out and see how many pages you have left. If you are still over 120 start cutting dialogue. 89-119 as an agent flips the pages could get you read." Perhaps I am too close to the story. I don't know where to start. How far is "direction" from slug lines, setting etc? Do I take out all transitions? Take out all camera angles? What role does the screenwriter play in the initial direction? How much do I leave to them? Producers/ directors?