Authoring & Playwriting

For all the authors and playwrights in our community, a place to discuss, share content and post tips and advice.

Ashley Renee Smith
Why The Book Is Often Better Than The Movie

In Depth Cine made this great video breaking down adaptations of books to movies and theorizing what works and what doesn't work about adaptations. It was an interesting and thought-provoking watch. What do you all think? Do you agree with his observations about adaptations?

https://www.youtube.com/w...

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Sam Sokolow

Great topic of conversation. Definitely a good thesis and a lot of super smart ideas here. Fantasy might be a specific lane because of the need to create a world on-screen that doesn't exist in our wo...

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Maurice Vaughan

Great share, Ashley Renee Smith! I agree with In Depth Cine's observations. I adapted three books way back, but I was learning as I went when I adapted them. I didn't have the advice and insight that'...

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Marsy Robinson

... so cliche', i know but....more proof that it really does take a village to make something great. always be studying the work of fellow artists so you can call on them to build your team. (costume designers, H/M, DPs, camerapeople etc, )

Leonardo Ramirez

Great ideas here, Ashley Renee Smith. I think there is somewhat of a balance between original content and movies based on books but in the pitching phase, it sure doesn't feel that way. I've already b...

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Ashley Renee Smith

Marsy Robinson, that's absolutely true! A movie could have the best writer or director in the world, but if you aren't surrounding yourself with great creative collaborators across the board, then it...

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Gavion E. Chandler
How to get your plays to see the light of the stage and publishing your plays?

I was wondering if anyone has advice on how to get your work to see the light of the stage and getting your plays published. Writing a novel, which I have done and trying to get a publisher interested in your book is pretty straight forward process. You write a book that has a target audience and yo...

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Gavion E. Chandler

Thank you and I appreciate the heads up and the link.

Domenic Silipo

Gavion E. Chandler , I used to run The Drama Book Shop in NYC so I do know a bit about the world of play publishing. I'm not sure that your focus should be on publishing your play rather than getting...

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Sam Sokolow

That's good advice, Domenic Silipo - I can't remember the last non-published play that I paid money to read but I recently reread Mamet's Glengary Glen Ross as a way to revisit something I was blown a...

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Domenic Silipo

Sam Sokolow , that's one of my favorites, as is much of Mamet's stuff. And what a great film it was too!

Domenic Silipo

Gavion E. Chandler , I spoke with an old friend today who used to work for Samuel French (one of the biggest, if not THE biggest publishers of plays). He confirmed that the main requirements for publi...

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Suspense Novel

Good afternoon, I’d like to get some feedback from the group about taking my suspense novel to a screenplay. What avenues would you suggest?

Thank you,

Stacy Leicht

Pat Savage

I don't know much about screenplays but there are experts in our Stage32 community that know all! Welcome!

Rufus Chaffee

Hello Stacy. I echo what DE White said. It depends if you’re looking to adapt it yourself or have somebody else do it. Screenwriting is a very different skill but many authors have done it.

Stacy Leicht

I don't have a background with screenwriting so I’d need an agent to help. Thanks everyone!

David Santo

Hi Stacy! I do this kind of work all the time. Here's an article I wrote about a few of the unique challenges :)

https://www.ghostwords.com/adapting-a-book-into-a-screenplay/...

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Sam Sokolow

Hi Stacy Leicht - I'd also recommend this Stage 32 webinar on the adaptation journey from book to film/TV. Micky Levy gives great advice: https://www.stage32.com/education?p=8944891724083...

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AMA with Grace Duah, Screenwriter/Producer/Actor on Wednesday, March 20th!

Hey All:

Grace Duah, Screenwriter, Producer, Professional Actress (GOSSIP GIRL REBOOT), & Stage 32 Thought Leader, will be hosting a free 24-Hour Ask Me Anything ("AMA") from Wednesday 3/20 to Thursday 3/21 in the Acting Lounge, focused on "Becoming a Professional Actor".

Post your questions now for...

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New project discussion

I've recently completed a 98000 word novel manuscript for a military thriller called the eastern range which I'm hoping to traditionally publish by a literary agent. I was wondering if anyone out there knows any agents or film professionals that would be interested in such a project. I'd be happy to discuss it with anyone who's interested

Sam Sokolow

Sounds like an epic piece. Congratulations on such a big accomplishment!

Mark Huffman

Congrats on finishing the manuscript! It’s the hardest part, for sure. If you haven’t gone to agentquery.com, that’s where I would recommend starting. You can search for agents filtered by what genres they want, and their preferred methods of querying will all be listed.

Anthony McBride

Paul Antonucci I was in the U.S. Army and write military-themed projects. Let me know if you need help.

Maurice Vaughan

98,000 is a lot of words to write, Paul Antonucci! Congratulations on finishing your manuscript!

Anthony McBride

Paul Antonucci I'm in Koreatown.

Tracy Richardson Talent Agent
Copyright Process

This is part of the copyright process.

Tracy Richardson Talent Agent

Image of the receipt before the download process. You can see the application process on their website, this is just the process before pitching my completed outline to producers.

Leonardo Ramirez

Tracy Richardson Talent Agent This looks like a screenshot of the US Copyright office entry point. But to be clear, the Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that in order to file suit for the protection of cop...

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Tracy Richardson Talent Agent

Thank you for your statement, this is the form showing the amount paid. After you pay the fee then you upload the document.

Tracy Richardson Talent Agent

Just submitted in the writer's room. Thank you for joining my support group.

Ashley Renee Smith

Final Draft definitely makes things more convenient, Matthew Kelcourse!

Ashley Renee Smith
New Sherlock Holmes Adaptation!

CW is officially moving forward with a new Sherlock adaptation- "Sherlock & Daughter". What do you think community? Is it exciting to have another adaptation of this classic character, or do you feel that Sherlock has been too played out in recent years?

https://deadline.com/2024/02/cw-orders-drama-s...

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Maurice Vaughan

David Thewlis is a fantastic actor, Ashley Renee Smith! I just checked his IMDb page. He's also gonna be in a Sci-Fi Mystery movie called "Littlemouth."

Terrence Sellers

Mary Helen Norris Agreed. It's always Sherlock. I'm glad to see that Hercule Poirot gets a bit more attention these days, but that's indicative of the same problem. It's always gotta be a long establi...

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Dan MaxXx

Pass

Jenean McBrearty

Cheryl Locks Her Homes. Say No to the Mess.

Ashley Renee Smith

D.E. White, Enola Holmes is a really fun adaptation, I agree!

Stage 32's upcoming FREE Webinar: How to Navigate the Cannes Film Festival Marche du Film

Hey, All!

You don't want to miss out on Stage 32's upcoming FREE Webinar on Wednesday, March 13th, about How to Navigate the Cannes Film Festival Marche du Film taught by the Executive Director of the Marché du Film of the Festival de Cannes, Guillaume Esmiol! Whether you're going to Cannes this year...

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Geoff Hall

Leonardo Ramirez I’ll try and be there, even though it’s at Midnight in the UK! :-(

Kenneth Adrian Ellis

Wonderful idea of a presentation!

Gregory Barone
Just wondering!

I just want to ask (I think I asked this) but can someone like myself post a part or a chapter of a story they are working on to get some critiques or is this more for scripts, summeries and longlines?

Gregory Barone

Sallie Olson sorry, I haven't sent it yet.

Sallie Olson

Gregory Barone Oh, okay. LOL! I'm going to run to the bank. I'll check my email when I return, so no rush. :)

Gregory Barone

Jenean McBrearty just to let you know I don't read any of Dickens's books. seen some of the movie adaptions of his stories. so I just look u up on FB with the same name as on here?...

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Sallie Olson

Gregory Barone Notes/comments sent to your email inbox a few minutes ago! Let me know if you have any questions! :)

Jenean McBrearty

Yep. I use the same name.

Geoff Hall
A Brief Interview with Frank Herbert

Here’s a snippet of an interview with Frank Herbert, author of the “Dune” books.

He really tells us where Villeneuve’s Dune trilogy will end, as he sees that good leaders are eventually corrupted by power.

Are you a fan of the Dune books? Do you think it will ever be syndicated into a TV/Streamer seri...

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Suzanne Bronson
Check out the March Education Schedule!

Thanks a ton to the education team for putting these together and to Ashley Smith for sharing with us. There's a lot of great stuff here. Check out the blog link for details: https://www.stage32.com/blog/stage-32s-march-2024-education-schedule-3654...

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