Latest Blogs
The Latest Stage 32 Blogs
4 Steps to Writing a Bio That Gets You Noticed
Many of us feel panic and dread when we sit down to write our bios, cracking under the self-imposed pressure to paint a perfect portrait of who we are in this point in time. But what if I told you that a great bio simply started the conversation of what you can bring to a project and then motivated your reader to to keep that conversation going with you – through a meeting, an audition, a Twitter follow, or a viewing of your reel? Most of us make the mistake of writing a bio that looks bac...

The Ten Commandments of Crowdfunding For Filmmakers
Hark, Filmmakers! For I hath climb’d the Big Data Mountain and I returned with holy verses for when thouest plans to commit thyself to speak to the masses via crowdfunding and ye shall thee listen… ok I can’t keep this up. I’ll be honest – I liked the headline, but carrying on the tone will get tiresome for you and I. So here’s the skinny. In the past few months I’ve been studying a lot of crowdfunding campaigns by filmmakers. 47,809, in fact. I gathered data on all crowdfunding campaigns laun...

Screenplays for 10 Films With Award Buzz - Free!
Hey guys. A couple of months ago, we posted the screenplays for Ex Machina (which we're breaking down on Tuesday - click here for more details! and 4 other indie darlings here. Today, we're back with 10 more screenplays, all with awards buzz, available for free including Spotlight, Straight Outta Compton, Carol, The End of the Tour, Trainwreck and more. No matter what your discipline, there's something to be gleaned from reading successful screenplays. And for screenwriters,...

Actors Anonymous Podcast (VIDEO ADDED)
Our Founder and CEO, Rich "RB" Botto, was a guest on the extremely popular Actor's Anonymous podcast hosted by Jordan Burbank and Weesam Keesh of MTV's Awkward, The Mentalist and NCIS: Los Angeles. In a lively and spirited hour or so (filmed at the Stage 32 offices), the trio discussed a life in the arts including RB's early days of acting and his pursuits in screenwriting and producing. They also discussed the importance of support in a creative's life, as well as the need to embrace a collabor...

Creatives: We're In a League of Our Own
The next time you watch a telecast of a major awards show, complete with celebrities, red carpets, adoring fans and the press, consider the small army of artists, technical experts and creative crafts people it takes to initiate, develop and produce the productions that are nominated or honored. No matter what part of the entertainment industry we’re talking about - film, theatre, music, dance, writing, performing, etc. – it literally takes a village comprised of skilled professionals to make...

10 Things I Learned Producing a Web Series
Anyone who has ever produced anything knows the title 'producer' can also mean: writer, director, actor, wardrobe, casting director, prop master - you get the picture. Amongst all those titles, I got the lucky experience of adding 'editor' to my list. Don’t get me wrong. This was not a one-man job. I have two incredible producers who are part of my team: Ryan Demaree and Peter Marr - and my project would not be what it is today without them. Even with their help, there was still a lot of roo...

Don’t Rip off the Alien!
With such a vast library of great films to look to as paradigms, you’d think it would be easy to make a great movie. We’re in the age of reboots, adaptations and (dare I say) rip offs, all of which offer a great foundation for us to work from. So why is it that a lot of these fall short? It’s really quite simple. YOU’RE RIPPING OFF THE WRONG THING!! OK, so obviously I should elaborate on this. I’m a person who likes to explain things via analogies. So in this particular case, I’ll use four o...

Why Crowdfunding Is The Single Best Form Of Independent Film Financing
In 1885 the US found itself in the embarrassing position of being given a lovely statue by France but they had nothing to put it on. So the American Committee of the Statue of Liberty established a crowdfunding campaign to raise the $100,000 needed to build the all-important plinth. After it was featured on the cover of Joseph Pulitzer’s The New York World newspaper, they finally really did it, raising $101,091 ($2.4 million in today’s money) from over 160,000 donors. In 1885, crowdfun...

Get Your Hustle On - Your Indie Film Hustle!
Our Fearless Leader was a guest on the extremely popular indiefilm podcast, Indie Film Hustle, hosted by filmmaker (and Stage 32 member) Alex Ferrari. This was one lively show. RB and Alex covered a ton of ground on a variety of indie film topics. We ask that you not only listen, but spread the love by sharing the show on social media! Thanks in advance! Here's a description of the show from the man himself, Alex Ferrari: Blueprint to Make it in the Film Business with Stage 32 Have you...

From A Small Town To The Big Screen
I was 8 years old, knowing I wanted to be an actor, but I was 909 miles away from Hollywood. This was... brutal. Obviously, I had no control over anything. I would beg my parents to take me to “where they make movies.” My parents moved from Los Angeles to Idaho for a calmer life and they told me I was free to move to California in 10 years after I graduated from high School, which I did. In Idaho, I was 909 miles away from where I wanted to be...Hollywood When I was 8, my dad said...
