Screenwriter working with JUMANJI & TERMINATOR Producer after connecting through Stage 32!

Screenwriter working with JUMANJI & TERMINATOR Producer after connecting through Stage 32!

Screenwriter working with JUMANJI & TERMINATOR Producer after connecting through Stage 32!

Hey there. This is awkward. You don’t know me (more than likely). But I know you. I kinda studied you… mainly because you’re me. You have been at this thing we call “the industry” or “writing” or “film-making” or “storytelling” for somewhere between 8-30 years and you still have to answer the question, “You worked on anything I’ve seen?” with the answer, “Probably not.”

I even wrote a book about you. (Seriously.) It’s called Working Artists: A Middle-Class Artists Survival Guideand, no, you don’t know it because no one published it (over 30 rejections!) Although I spent four years of my life interviewing 25 artists from all different disciplines who had/have careers but you wouldn’t know their names. (It also has about 180 pgs of my own advice…hey, I got a healthy ego.) But “wait”, you cry. The headline of this thing said “Success Story” (or something promising a thing I did that was positive…not plug a book no publisher wanted to publish). I’ll get to that, and Stage 32 was instrumental in that win, for sure. I just wanted to talk directly to my mid-career peeps for a moment because not many people do. (I promise if you are just starting, or, for some reason you’re an established old-hand at all this, this will be interesting too.)

The main thing I want to say to you is simply this: I see you. I feel you. Your work is valid. My sincere hope is that you keep creating and no manner of “failure” or even what some people think of “success” ever strips that from you.

Alrighty. Moving on from the pep talk to the “my story” part. Guess what? I’ve been at this since I was 17. I’m now 46. I’m a staunchly indie creator and have been lucky enough to stay true to those roots most of my career. And now I do it on a different continent than when I started, and - I’m proud to say - it’s the fourth continent that my work has been seen and produced. And I’m the text-book definition of “nobody”.

Which is why Stage 32 is so darn groovy. They give nobodies some access that most other film oriented “career” sites simply do not. And when you’re a nobody with an actual body of work, that access is incredibly useful and can lead to further steps in your career/your projects.

If you would like my full background (which is wacky for sure) feel free to check out my profile on the site. (It careens from Shakespeare to Cirque du Soleil to fight choreography to VR to a distributed feature film that I wrote and directed… with some famous names for me to shamelessly name-drop and bask in their borrowed light.)

Suffice it to say I’ve been all over the entertainment business and done most of the side-gigs to survive while doing it. I’ve also tried a bunch of goofy stuff to attempt to get the attention of decision makers in ye olde film business. I’ve signed up for and paid for every film course/film biz/social-connector/book/site that you can imagine - and some you probably haven’t. And a lot of them were actually useful in drips and drabs. A nugget of info here, a small connection there, a new way of approaching material over there.

But what I was missing from, well, everywhere was the simple ability to show-off my talents as a storyteller to decision makers up the chain. Being a 20 year veteran I have a wicked solid horizontal network… I was struggling to fill in that vertical network with meetings so I could get down to some serious “wowing”.

Enter Stage 32. Now my profile says I joined in 2016… but, alas, it really wasn’t until about 6-8 months ago I discovered and made a decision to invest in the pitches and reads that Stage 32 has on offer.

I’d just been paid by some first-time producers to create a pilot and a bible. So, starting last February, I decided to turn around and re-invest that cash into Stage 32 pitches and reads. It was a significant enough chunk of change that I was able to shotgun my ideas to about 20-40 unsuspecting souls on this site.

Not only was I able to hone my pitches across seven projects, get real-time feedback, I was graced with more than seven requests from the S32 folks and 11 from the pitchfests - which would not have happened without the Stage 32 practice and feedback. Funnily enough, I met the wonderful Christine Torres in her capacity as an executive in one of the pitchfests and we are currently trying to work on a project together.

And here, finally, comes the “success” story. One of those Stage 32 pitches was with the super-groovy Erin Larsen from the groovy Robert Cort Productions - the wonderful people who brought us, among others, ON THE BASIS OF SEX and a pair of movies my teen-aged self absolutely adored - the BILL & TED movies.

Screenwriter working with JUMANJI  TERMINATOR Producer after connecting through Stage 32

Robert Cort has produced some of the most critically and commercially successful films in recent history!

Welp. Erin requested a read of my microbudget script WITHIN - which was also a finalist in the recent microbudget Horror Competition here on Stage 32, won by the massively deserving Martin Reese!

Erin saw enough potential in the script to share it with the rest of the team at Robert Cort Productions and - long-story longer - we are developing the material together with the idea that we would enter into a shopping agreement once we’re all happy with the script. I’m in the rare position of someone who primarily writes for no/micro/low budget stuff. To be asked to make the project BIGGER. Weird.

And that’s it! We are working together for a project that may or may not come together. And that is such a HUGE win for an indie human. This opportunity to work with a respected Hollywood producer’s team to re-break a story and turn it into something they’d feel comfortable to take to their network is something no other site or “opportunity” I’ve had extended to me.

So, my mid-career folkx, I wanna pull you back in close here for the closer. I hope you noticed all the OTHER sites I mentioned above: Upwork, FadeIn (Online Hollywood Pitchfest), social media in general (but key in my career: Facebook, LinkedIn, and now Twitter and Discord). I want to state, very clearly, that Stage 32 has floated me opportunities in an incredibly direct manner. Pay a reasonable price for pitches and reads and people with some actual decision making power will read your stuff.

My final word of advice here is to do what I did, if and when you can.

Get a payday from any gig you got and spend it on yourself, your career, right here. Pay for those pitches, pay for those reads, pay to join the Writer’s Room if you want/need a community. Stuff happens here.

I see you. I feel you. Your work is valid.

Much love, and in artistic solidarity.

PS: If this has inspired you (or confused you) hit me up on the site with questions. And if you wanna read 400 pages of interviews and advice on navigating being an artist that is about three years outta date (still plenty important info in there… and, hey Tanya Saracho is interviewed before she became… ya know… Tanya Saracho) I’ll send you the PDF for free.

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Got an idea for a post? Or have you collaborated with Stage 32 members to create a project? We'd love to hear about it. Email Taylor at taylor@stage32.com and let's get your post published!

Please help support your fellow Stage 32ers by sharing this on social. Check out the social media buttons at the top to share on Instagram @stage32online , Twitter @stage32 , Facebook @stage32 , and LinkedIn @stage-32 .

Get engaged
7

About the Author

Christopher Morrison

Christopher Morrison

Director, Producer, Screenwriter

Christopher is a multi-talented writer-director-educator who has worked on films, theatrical productions, VR, videogames, and immersive entertainments on three continents and more than 150 projects. He’s worked as a writer and in script development in the US as well as Europe and is fluent in both s...

Want to share your Story on the Stage 32 Blog?
Get in touch

7 Comments on Christopher's Article

Great article--dreams do come true.  I've already started the process for a film adaption of one of my books--A YA fantasy thriller that takes place inside of a (never before done) dream catcher world. Due to some A-list insider producer/director winks, dozens of review comments and my own gut instincts, this book may very well be a contender for the screen. Its POC, concept and commercial appeal has raised its potential very high. I'm awaiting the analysis and grade marks from a pro production manager, and I've signed on a screenwriter. My agent is totally supportive and standing by. This is NOT going to be easy. I've never faced a challenge like this in all my writing career. The expense, knowledge, contacts, and pure luck needed for this is project is nearly off the charts. You can only get all of your ducks in a row after you find the ducks! (if you catch my drift). I'm going to run a regular update commentary on my Author's FB page. I plan on using Stage 32 for the script pitch sessions. Authors out there might be interested in seeing what happens and what's needed during this exceedingly difficult process. A virtual thumbs up and crossed fingers would be taken to heart. And so I begin
4 years ago
Oscar Ordonez
Actor, Director, Editor, Filmmaker, Screenwriter
Thanks for your story, Christopher! 20 years of experience ultimately prepared you for those pitches and opened the doors to wonderful opportunities. This is the friendliest and most providing website for aspiring storytellers and we're all blessed to have such a direct line to people that make things happen. It's definitely important to take advantage of these resources, and as the saying goes "You need to spend money to make money" and what you said makes so much sense: invest in yourself! I just took some hard-earned money to buy script services and I'm excited to hear back from my reviewer :)
4 years ago
Karen E Ross
Filmmaker, Producer, Screenwriter, Script Consultant, Voice Actor, Actor
Wow, this is excellent news, Christopher! Congrats and well-earned, sir! And thank you for the encouragement - it goes a long way to lifting us all up! Also, it is telling how generous you are when you take time from your own success story to congratulate others as well. Thank you for such a resounding reminder of how we "nobodies" are the backbone of the industry.
5 years ago
Christopher Morrison
Director, Producer, Screenwriter
We still gotta chop-it-up about Ren Faires and flicks, yes? :)
5 years ago
Jill A. Hargrave
Documentary Filmmaker, Screenwriter, Actor, Director of Development, Script Supervisor, Singer
Congrats, Christopher! I agree with you that the Writers Room is the best way to network with other screenwriters, as well as being given the opportunity to hear from Executives, practice pitching, learning craft from Jason and participating in Writing Challenges. I'm so glad you are part of my Network. I joined the Writers Room in April and it has been the best investment in my career as I transition from documentary production to screenplay writing in the third act of my career. Thanks for imparting this positive message to keep on keeping on and doing what you love. Who knows when it will pay off.
5 years ago
Beverly Gandara
Screenwriter, Author
Congratulations! Your story is inspirational; simply, thank you for sharing. Keep soaring!  
5 years ago
Karen Albright Lin
Screenwriter
Congratulations Jason!  Very inspiring story.  Best of luck in your new venture... many theaters of applause to you!
5 years ago
Martin Reese
Producer, Screenwriter, Director
Awesome, Christopher! Great article! Very encouraging and inspirational. Once again you prove that if you put in the work, you will get results. Never quit.
5 years ago
Christopher Morrison
Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Much love right back attcha you talented, talented man (with supremely good taste in music). :)
5 years ago
Donn Swaby
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter
Christopher, my man! Congrats on the awesome win bro! I recognized your mug soon as I opened the email. Yours is an inspiring story that I and many other resonate with. Your passion for storytelling and tenacity in the industry are admirable. That's what it's all about. Keep going brother. Looking forward to hearing some more good things from you down the line. 
5 years ago
7