Daphne Russell: Screenwriter in Tucson, Arizona.

On the 27th March 2018, I was, like many of you, years into trying my hardest to break into a screenwriting career and really starting to wonder if it would ever happen. I’ve not forgotten just how incredibly futile that feeling is and how amazing it is that so many of us get up nearly every day to write scripts and network for nothing in the hope we’ll be discovered.

The next day I was contacted by a producer/director who’d read a script of mine and wanted to work together. By summer, we had a script. By autumn, it was doing the rounds in some surprisingly high places. By winter we had a green light and, one year after the first email, I found myself on a yacht with a full film crew heading from Catalina Island to Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles, one week into my first feature film shoot, having been flown over from the UK to watch it unfold. Three weeks later, I was watching the youngest son of Chuck Norris jump a Raptor pickup truck we’d borrowed from the Top Gun; Maverick production in my first ever car chase. During the weekend following, I got to hug Steve Guttenberg after he knocked it out the park playing one of my characters and told me I’d written a great screenplay with "fantastic pacing".

It was an incredible journey and one I often found myself brought to tears during, especially after a great take or just watching the cast and crew joke and laugh during a night out together. I can’t tell you how surreal it is to know everyone’s there partly because you dreamt up some words and wrote them down. The tinsel town fantasy came true after I’d become so worn down I was convinced it could never happen.

Today I finished up and sent out a new script just six weeks after I was contacted about a project. I’ve written it in three weeks, working day and night because boy am I hungry to get back out to Hollywood and go through it all again. It’s like the rollercoaster is back climbing the crest of the hill ready to be let loose. I myself have been reminded how you can suddenly go from zero to one-hundred.

I wanted to make this post because it can feel so hopeless sometimes when you’re pushing hard and nothing seems to be happening. I was surprised how quickly the feeling returned once I was back in the UK and the film we’d shot went into post-production. It’s tough, really tough.

The fact is, things can just suddenly happen and they can happen really fast. I can assure you that writing professionally has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life from start to finish.

It is totally worth it and anybody can do it.

So, keep going, keep trying, and keep writing. Yes, it’s a struggle but it’s one worth going through for year after year to hear those wheels hit the tarmac at LAX, to see those trailers roll in on day one, and high-five a director after they yell cut.

Remember, tomorrow might be the day it all changes. Believe that and believe in yourself.

Hello Stage32 Community!

I'm new to this group, but because of you all, I've gotten enough positive feedback on my screenplay, The Book of Abel, that I feel confident reaching out to others. I'm looking for other like-minded people who may be using digital media to make a statement about decolonizing education, Black Lives Matter, equity in the publishing industry, equity in education, etc. I've dedicated my teaching career to these issues and I want to use digital media to shine the spotlight on all of them...so much so that I obsessively learned how to write a screenplay in order to do so. I am sure there are more of you out there fighting the good fight so I wanted to reach out to say hi and let you know, you are not alone.

I got invited to join a newly formed screenwriter’s circle last week.

Received an email today saying they loved the work, but it was too good - which would leave me at odds with the rest of the group.

Man, I wish they were producers.

Has anybody heard of the recent murder of Ahmaud Arbery? I think this screenplay needs to be made and it needs to reach everybody. EVERYBODY needs to know this story. Not just the fact that people die, but that people are still being hunted. We need to illuminate this human behaviour in our work and do everything we can to stop it.

I have one scene written already. Anybody want to collaborate?

Hi Daphne. 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

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Hello Daphne -

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