Trending Lounge Discussions

Hi, Clinton Oparaocha. I’m a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. I wanted to let you know that I moved your post from the Filmmaking/Directing Lounge to the Introduce Yourself Lounge because the focus is on introducing yourself and promoting your project.

I also moved your posts from the Screenwriting Lounge and Animation Lounge to the Your Stage Lounge. Stage 32 doesn't want members posting the same thing in different discipline Lounges on the same day because it can clog up the Lounges and other members’ posts won’t be seen. If you want to put a post in two discipline Lounges on the same day, change one of the posts significantly. Or you can put one post in a Lounge one day and put the same post in another Lounge on a different day.

The ways to connect with other members in the discipline Lounges (Filmmaking/Directing Lounge, Screenwriting Lounge, Animation Lounge, etc.) are making helpful/educational posts and commenting on other people’s posts.

Let me know if you have any questions.

And it's Stage 32's November Write Club. It can help you reach a goal(s), it's a chance to connect with writers, directors, producers, etc., and you can get support for your goal and projects. Week 3's blog came out yesterday. There's three prizes you could win this week. www.stage32.com/blog/november-write-club-week-3-how-to-make-a-strong-fir...

Maurice Vaughan how easily can I connect with Young writer?

Those links will help you connect with a writer, Clinton Oparaocha. And you could make a collaboration post on the Job Board (www.stage32.com/find-jobs).

Hey, Cameron Tendaji. Congratulations again! What's your Sci-Fi Crime procedural about (unless you're keeping it under wraps)?

Well deserved, Cameron Tendaji. Whitney is the best. Like you said, she's a true champion for emerging writers. So excited to see what happens next.

Maurice Vaughan think of it like Russian Doll meets Criminal Minds

That's all I need to know, Cameron Tendaji. I can't wait to watch it!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Maurice Vaughan “A character-driven historical drama set in 1921 Tulsa.

It centers on a young woman whose intuition becomes the lens through which we experience the rise, brilliance, and heartbreak of Black Wall Street.

More than a massacre story — it’s a story about resilience, legacy, and the spirit that still lives today.”

Richard "RB" Botto “Honored to be here, RB. I’m building out a full historical-fiction + metaphysical universe rooted in Black Wall Street, the glow of intuition, and generational storytelling. Grateful for the community.”

That sounds incredible, Tommy Burnett! I'd definitely watch that movie!

You could post your script on your profile. Producers search profiles for projects. That and networking are how I sold four short scripts to a producer. Click the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner and select “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu. Scroll down to “Loglines” and click “Add/edit loglines” to the right of “Loglines.” You can also post your script on your profile this way: www.stage32.com/loglines (near the top where it says “Add a Logline”)

And reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with producers, executives, and more.

Maurice Vaughan “I appreciate that, truly. I’m going to upload my loglines and scripts today.

This universe has been a long time in the making, and I’m grateful for the guidance — I’m definitely reaching out to the Success Team as well.

Thank you for the support.”

Maurice Vaughan “I appreciate that, truly. I’m going to upload my loglines and scripts today.

This universe has been a long time in the making, and I’m grateful for the guidance — I’m definitely reaching out to the Success Team as well.

Thank you for the support.”

Hello Tom Schaefer,

I’m a new author in the UK, enjoying my new venture after I retired from work early. I joined this platform just a week ago, having had surprising success with my first novel. Still finding my way around the site - and pleased with myself that I managed to pitch a script for TV to an executive today. (Didn’t use ‘Logline’ for a heading, as I’m unfamiliar with this term - oh well). I have emailed the Success Team several times and been inundated with replies and marketing. It’s all very impressive, but I’m far from wealthy, and it concerns me that everything I need to do costs more money. Having committed to a TV pitch today, I now worry that I will be stranded and unable to progress, due to costs. I see there are ways of funding if needed, but I’m uncomfortable with this.

Just wanted to touch base as a newbie - and hope that my books can progress to a TV drama series. Wish me luck

Beverly

Tom Schaefer "Secondly no real contributions to read unless we pay." There are a lot of members like me who've had success on here by using the free resources.

"No real mentoring because you’re all afraid of something - probably the fear that if someone else gets good information, they’re gonna get a sale so why contribute to this group if it contributes to someone else making a sale I see people hiding in fear looking for tidbits of information but nothing’s really coming through unless you pay. " The Stage 32 Team and members teach, help, and support others all the time on here.

"People seem afraid to post on this site which seems to have lot of industry people here …. Seems callous to pitch struggling artists with fees from gatekeepers at every turn." The main purpose of the Pitch Sessions is to get feedback to improve your pitch, but sometimes the executives, managers, etc. will request scripts, sign writers, etc. (www.stage32.com/scriptservices/success-stories).

I read your comments on other posts. They're negative. No one wants to work with someone who's constantly negative. I suggest networking/building relationships by being positive, supportive, and encouraging. I hope this helps you get people to interact with you and find opportunities on here!

Hey thanks Beverly and Maurice for actually engaging! It's unfortunate but small talk and quiet seem to get little engagement. I'm not a negative person, and thanks for the primer.

Darrell thanks for responding! You have an impressive resume on your own in the industry, and it's good see that you are getting that engagement with this site.

Oh yes, I know networking!

My Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

All I got is my trip to Hollywood in 1979. Me and my twin brother and his buddy - all three of us got into a beat up VW in StLouis and headed from StLouis, to LA. - which took us about 3 days. me, just out of the Navy, my brother, AWOL, his buddy AWOL.

Got some unusual help from - well we'll save that for the movie ...

Stayed in Hotel Hastings on Hwd Blvd. Looking out the windows - it was like a B movie, looking out the window over the blvd.

All three of us worked for a film lab, workin for some guy named Cal, I processed film next to guy who was AWOL from the Venezuelan army as we processed 8mm porn, right there on N Seward Ave. That 35mm was special perforations so it could be slit into 8mm and spun into cartridges ... They processed not just porn but that was a huge piece of it ... I saw clips for Superman and other films, canisters from apartment shooters "Joe Ltd" as much as "ABC Studios" etc.

They had another windowless lab across town with nothing but illegals procssing film ... Worked for the Rosenthal brothers at Ametron at Santa Monica and vine in my role as the 20yr old kid working in their rentals dept. selling vaccum tubes to every studio in town ... even had some celebs come in - Telly Savalas, Ned Beatty, Jodie Foster in a costume to look like an old lady - or so I was told that was her would love to confirm that story, and met the guy who was the yacht captain in Cuckoo's Nest ...

Wandered right up to the barricades as Fleetwood Mac got their star installed on Hwd Blvd, releasing Tusk with the marching band from one of the universities .. my brother got some great shots ...

Living at the El Marathon Apartments on Valentino Place. Oblath's Cafe. (all of that is now a parking lot) The El Marathon was for us like walking into a time machine - the murphy beds, the stucco, the smell, it was like living in a Hwd museum, knowing that the number of actors / industry people who had lived there ...

My first unpaid acting job: Riding a bicycle through the Paramount gate like I worked there. Waving my hand "hey buddy!" as he waved me on through ... Drove around a bit, took a peek at some sets and got tf out ... ;) ... Got free tickets to see an episode of Taxi filmed there on Gower at Melrose, I was the last guy in ... ate at Lucy's El Adobe, Nick'ODells', 'Astro Burger numeorus times ...

Our buddy Chuck would cruise walking the streets with a plan to hook up with someone who could take him back to NJ. That plan had a stage gun he bought at some pawn shop. No he never pulled it off, we talked him out of it. One night he is walking back to the apt and sees a limo parked at the Winchells there at Melrose and Vine which is now some other donut shop ... in the limo is Muhamed Ali ... he gets autograph and a story ...

I did network quite bit, met other young travelers from all over, young filmaker and his wife, had a close friend from work was an amazing guitarist ... standing on the roof, we could look over to Paramount and dream right there ... I met a guy who had one of those El Marathon apts all setup as a Happy Days collab writer's room ...

We did meet this one guy who had some kind of theatre actors classes up on HwdBlvd who had us reading some script he wanted us to join his classes ...

My brother was up on Sunset one afternoon and Brian Wilson picked him and his gf up and invited them to his house but they declined as he didn't recognize who he was riding with ... my brother severla months later would wind up getting arrested and set back to DC ... Chuck disappeared with his gf, and my brother and I wound up getting contacted by long lost family - which is what ultimately pulled us back to the world ... my brother was actually working for Stuart Baird / Altered States ...

That was my once upon a time in Hwd.

Attached photo from the roof of the El Marathon ... Paramount was having a fire drill.

A few more:

https://tommyshutter.com/page.php?p=once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood

You’re welcome, Tom Schaefer. Yeah, I don’t think you’re a negative person. I’ve talked to you on here in the past. It’s just your recent comments are negative. Being active in the Lounges is what really helped me get engagement on here. Sometimes other members will message me saying they saw how active I was in the Lounges, and it leads to opportunities like jobs sometimes.

All very interesting, and negative vibes are not always unproductive. I’m happy to chat - but perhaps lacking in substance on this current subject. I just love writing my books to the best of my ability. So far, so good.

That's how it is when I write a script, Koushik Acharya, but I rewrite as I go, so my first draft is really like a 3rd or 4st draft.

This is really interesting analysis and I had not considered it in that way before but it might really help me going forward. I HATE re-writes, I mean just hate them. Not tweaks, additions to improve, deletions to streamline but true and actual re-writes. Although I have not been writing long, I can't tell you how in love with my first draft of Dixie Dynamite I was. So convinced I had managed to get such a good script in my first swipe.

I re-read it for the first time a few weeks ago after completing my current draft and I had forgotten HOW MCUH had changes. Aside from fragments of my cold open there was ZERO resemblance to the first draft and it was SOOOOO BORING haha.

So I have motivation to do re-writes but have still hates them haha, but after reading this I think it will help alter my mind going forward.

There's plenty of writers nailing their first draft. It's all down to individual process.

I've used some of the production features in Final Draft 12 to turn spec scripts into shooting scripts for a producer-director, Sebastian Tudores.

ah - that's a very good call on the FD prod features Maurice Vaughan . thank you.

Sebastian Tudores I use different apps depending on the production/project, and what it has to offer that specific project. However, one of the production management principles I follow is never, ever to rely on any centralized app, and never, ever to use open-ended communication apps like Slack in this industry. The reasons are too many for this comment.

You're welcome, Sebastian Tudores. I'll check out Causality. Thanks.

Final Draft

For scriptwriting I love my Final Draft. I love Scrivener for my other writing needs. Between them both, I get everytthing written I want to- novels, lookbooks, scripts, etc.

I will second Canna and say I love Final Draft. It's intuitive, consistent and easy to learn. I just upgraded to FD13 and am amazed at all the new tricks it's learned. A tad expensive, but worth it and I got a discount as a returning client. Highly recommend

Sorry, should have typed Cynna - spell check got me

I started with Writer's Duet, that got me quarterfinalist on the Final draft competition. But now I prefer final Draft

This is fantastic!!!

Lindsay Thompson Totally agree, these ones are great!

If you email us at edu@stage32.com with a quick note about your current project, we’d be happy to recommend webinars or classes that would be a great fit. We’ll also send you a discount code! :)

And please feel free to share here what cinematography topics you’d love to see us focus on next year.

Thanks for that list, James Lagrimas ! There's so much to go through in the education offerings, that having someone distill it down to a specific area of interest is appreciated.

I didn't know there were books, Autumn Carpenter. I'll have to check them out. Thanks.

your welcome! I got to get them too. I only found out like 3 days ago so :) I knew they were books but I didn't know they had 6 I only thought they had 3

What kind of band/group is Stray Kids, Autumn Carpenter?

its a K-pop group of 8 members (male) Bangchan(leader) Hyunjin, I.N, Seungmin, Felix, Han, Lee Know, and Changbin. They are really good in my opinion. Although a lot of people don't like K-pop.

I'll check them out, Autumn Carpenter. Thanks. I gotta check out KPop Demon Hunters too.

Fantastic! Maurice Vaughan

I'm loving the global reach Stage32 is establishing with real value for those involved Maurice Vaughan - thanks for posting this :)

You're welcome, Sebastian Tudores. I'm loving it too. Which Certification course did you take?

Sounds like there's no more doors to kick down Maurice Vaughan with where you are! Well done on feathering your nest so widely! Pitch decks, scripts, stories.... now that's variety!

It sounds like all that discipline has paid off @darrell by keeping at it and showing up. I like hearing you are an 'all or nothing' kind of person and completely committing to the dream is truly inspiring! I think I need to fear less and trust the process like you have. Great response!

I like your age groups @mone't I think characters 40+ have so much to say and lived experience. So many people that age and older have great stories and have learnt valuable lessons. I can't believe you were told that. That is a bit of a surprise. I hope you find success with your stories, it sounds like they need to be told and would entertain!

Thanks, Lauren Hackney. I also started offering paid script feedback, but I got too busy and had to stop. It helped me get better at giving feedback and writing scripts, and I made some connections.

Oh, you might laugh at this — but it’s 100% true! :D

While writing my novel, I was listening to music from a well-known artist. Since my main character is also a musician, I had this wild idea: why not reach out and ask if he’d like to make a cameo someday? Not as a lead, of course — more like how Ed Sheeran appeared in Yesterday or Bridget Jones.

With no direct contact, I ended up emailing his media team and pitched the idea. I even explained how everyone would win:

it would be a guaranteed hit,

and if studios saw his name attached, I wouldn’t even need to shop the script — they’d come straight to me! :D

They haven’t replied (yet), but I’m proud I tried. Honestly, I’d give a kidney for someone to notice Grace and Mason’s story. :D

Meriem Bouziani Thank you Meriem!!!! I will bring all of this support and positive, high energy with me, it means so much when people come together and lift each other up.

Congrats Juliana! My granddaughter's name is Juliana, so I know you'll be a success!

Steve Dini Oh Steve, I'm smiling so so much right now! Thank you!

Congratulation Juliana Philippi and all the best !!!

Priya Mistry Thank yo u so much Priya : ) same, same, same to you!