Trending Lounge Discussions

The hottest discussions in the Stage 32 Lounge.

Liked by Jack Hilkewich and one other

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Alfons Emilian. I think some of your post didn't show up. You can edit your post by clicking the downward arrow to the right of your name and selecting "Edit Post."...

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Jon Shallit

How did you do it?

Liked by Hannah Woolmer and 2 others

Willem Elzenga 2
The Last Pencil

Another nice new AI short (7') that explains a lot of the current state of modern AI moviemaking. Have a close look and let know what you think of this film, I am especially interested in what you think of the acting. 

To me the acting is on a scale between 0 and 10 a 6.5. The characters come across...

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Suzanne Bronson

I was taken out it of as soon as I saw the "people" The narrator sounded real to me, but the teacher and students looked and sounded fake. It all felt cartoony to me. I don't see how you can give the acting 6.5. To me, it was all just a cartoon. I stopped watching after 2 1/2 minutes.

Beridze Kakha

First off, I'm against any Artificial Intelligence that soullessly expresses emotion.

And second, I'd give it a 1 out of 10, and only because the pencil looked great.

Willem Elzenga 2

Alexandra Stevens I didn't make it. My company has several AI projects in development and is researching other work, like this short. The characters are AI generated though there has been a filmmaker...

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Charles Chas Green

The reality is, in time to come, AI will get this rendering down so well, so seamless that the requirement for real flesh & blood actors will almost be redundant. And ‘ everyone’ or anyone can potenti...

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Willem Elzenga 2

I read a lot about AI movies being soulless. But what does that actually mean? It's obvious that the AI tools need to be handled by the propper (creative) talent. I have seen better AI shorts than thi...

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Liked by Maurice Vaughan

Ehsan Rahimpour
The Camera as a Dance Partner in Two-Person Scenes

Organic Tension: Using Angles Instead of Cuts in Moving Conversations

When you’re working on the blocking of a two-person dialogue scene with movement, the essential element is the rhythm of movement. It’s tempting to rely on rapid cuts or multiple framings, but here’s the nuance: if you treat the c...

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Maurice Vaughan

Great advice and insight, Ehsan Rahimpour! Too many cuts in a scene can pull me out of the movie/show.

Ehsan Rahimpour

Maurice Vaughan Right! Unnecessary cuts disrupt the flow of energy.

Ehsan Rahimpour

Liked by John January Noble and 19 others

Yusuf Bloodtasty
Hello Everyone!

I’m Yusuf- Filmmaker and Producer and Founder & CEO of Bloodtasty, a horror-focused film and transmedia studio based in India. Currently expanding operations to New Mexico, USA.

I create brutal, atmospheric horror grounded in realism, tension, and psychological fear. Right now, I’m developing "FOX TO...

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Elmar Mikailov

Hello Yusuf my name is Elmar and ever since I was a kid I really wanted to become an actor, I’m citizen of Azerbaijan and I really want to move to USA in order to begin my carrier, if you can help me with that, it would be really great

Gabriel Tapia Aguilar

Hola! soy Gabriel y estoy empezando en el mundo de la actuación. si llegas a necesitar un actor demás., mandame mensaje para pasarte mi información :)

Sam Rivera

Welcome, Yusuf. Bloodtasty sounds like a fantastic, focused studio, and "FOX TOAXE" is an immediately intriguing title. Grounded, atmospheric horror is a powerful niche. A great way to find your horro...

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Yusuf Bloodtasty

Sam Rivera Sure, I’ll update.

Jon Shallit

I have one for you to watch -SETESH 2025 youtube!

Liked by Mick Eggins and 18 others

Jon Hersh
Ask Me Anything (AMA) 11/28 to 11/29- How to Utilize Agents, Managers, and Dev. Execs. In Your Screenwriting Career

Hi, Stage 32 Community!

More about m...

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Jon Hersh

@Maurice Vaughan -- write something that is undeniable.

Maurice Vaughan

"write something that is undeniable." I'm on it, Jon Hersh. Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving!

Billy Kwack

Thanks Jon

John January Noble

Jon Hersh Jon, nice to meet you. What would you say to a guy who has written four screenplays: two horror shorts, two feature films—one drama, one action... but three are sitting in a drawer. Last wee...

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Tamara Green

How do I contact reps? Phone vs. email? What information should I provide them? Are ask about them?

Liked by Amanda Toney and 5 others

DJ Gautam
Tell me what u think?

How was the life of queer people a century ago?

May be many experienced sexual assaults and also been molested by the people in their daily life- and it's happening in the very religious or developing country where still they value the society.

can you imagine a small boy in the mid of city telling...

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Maurice Vaughan

It's a unique idea, DJ Gautam. I haven't read a script or watched a movie/show like it. It deals with important topics. I can see a producer buying and making your script....

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John Fife

Sounds like it would be an intriguing story/movie.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

It absolutely has the makings of an important, brave story that's sadly still relevant today. I say go for it.

Njabulo Shabangu

The idea is excellent and would make a great movie. Your idea is different and touches a topic no one would talk about

Yan Ju Zeng

Your story does touch on very key issues in the community that often go ignored. Predation on the LGBT Community has always been an easy out for serial killers and other criminals. It’s one of the rea...

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Liked by Amanda Toney and 4 others

Marie Hatten
Why me , why now.

In 2010 during my first trip to Sydney a chance encounter sparked the inspiration for a feature script. It was my "too hard basket" idea, the one I'd write after I broke into the industry. Years later after writing a first draft set in the 1840's Sydney (a nonlinear convict story) I heard myself pit...

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Marie Hatten
Marie Hatten

Wow thanks so much Michael Thorn .

Marie Hatten

Thanks Robin Gregory but I need to rewrite it first .

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Marie Hatten.

Marie Hatten

Thank you very much Aparna Pasalkar it’s absolutely a global emergency.

Liked by Koby Nguyen and 3 others

Kevin Jackson
James Cameron says Netflix films shouldn’t qualify for Oscars

James Cameron, once again making the plight that Netflix films should not qualify for Oscars. What are your thoughts and why?

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/james-cameron-says-netflix-films-sh......

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Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg

Well Netflix is a member of the MPA so no one care what Cameron thinks.

Willem Elzenga 2

Netflix finances projects other studios pass on.

E Langley

Whether direct release to streaming, or post-theatrical streaming, the years best films as judged by AMPAS members makes catching them far easier. Some nominated films are not available to see in a th...

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Njabulo Shabangu

Netflix should qualify for Oscars as it has closed the gap from gate keeping giving a lot of young and upcoming writers a platform, and as long as the movie or project does well in terms streaming, numbers and ratings I say its fair game

Robyn Henderson

Great points raised with this discussion. As an Australian viewer, it is very frustrating when films are nominated for all the major awards and they have not been cinema released in Australia at that...

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Liked by Banafsheh Esmailzadeh and 2 others

The shape of an ending

So, with the two (novel) manuscripts I’ve been working on lately I’ve tried something new, and found it really helpful!

I draft the final paragraph of the story while I’m working on the first act!

I’m not much of a plotter, but I’ve found it helps to have a destination, and that last paragraph is it....

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David Linski

This has got to be a great way to really be mindful of the story and character arcs!

Alex Hunter

David Linski I find it really helpful! So, for my current project, I know where the MC is at the end, and what he's doing. Now I need to get him there!...

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Maurice Vaughan

I like that idea, Alex Hunter. Thanks. I figure out the ending of a script when I outline, and sometimes I'll come up with different endings in the outline and pick one later....

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Alex Hunter

Maurice Vaughan I just find it really helpful when I'm trying to move those pieces on the board!

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

I like to do this with any scene that sticks out to me no matter where it is in the story; can be the climax, the ending, whatever.

Liked by Jim Boston and 5 others

E Langley
It's Thanksgiving ...

Have A Happy Holiday

Maurice Vaughan

Happy Thanksgiving, E Langley!

John Fife

Happy Thanksgiving

Shirley Collier

Thanks for this reminder E. Langley. Frank Capra’s masterpiece, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” is the gift of community. Our fellow creatives are our guardian angels, here to help us grow and succeed, especially after receiving a rejection. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Liked by David K. Knight and 12 others

Sandra Isabel Correia
Happy Thanksgiving to the brilliant storytellers of the Stage 32 Screenwriters’ Room

Today feels like the perfect moment to celebrate what we do best: gather around a shared table of ideas, characters, chaos, and craft much like the families in What’s Cooking?, each bringing their own flavor, history, and emotional truth to the feast.

What I love about that film and what mirrors this...

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Sandra Isabel Correia

That will be amazing and an inspiration for all of us Maurice Vaughan. I will do next week :))

Sam Rivera

Wishing you and everyone here a Thanksgiving filled with that same spirit of connection, generosity, and bold storytelling. Cheers to the stories we are all brave enough to tell!

Shirley Collier

Thank you Sandra, I like this line, “Characters become mirrors, bridges and sometimes battlegrounds.” It is an emotional cue a writer’s can use to remember the importance of “motivation” in storytelling. And, happy Thanksgiving to you.

Sandra Isabel Correia

Beautifully said, Sam Rivera. That spirit of connection and generosity is exactly what makes this community so special. I’m grateful to be part of a room where bold storytelling isn’t just encouraged,...

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Sandra Isabel Correia

Thank you, Shirley Collier. I’m so glad that line resonated . You are absolutely right, it ties directly to motivation and reminds us how characters reflect, connect, and clash in ways that drive stor...

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