Screenwriting

@alex bridge Agreed! I feel like they are finally reaching back around with Lucy to do the arc they should have started with. I also feel like it should have been more her active choice to change and not just blamed on the drugs but that's just me.

I agree with you Maria...this season seems to be rudderless...although I am enjoying the flashback scenes that seem to be moving towards some revelations. The filler seems more like an excuse to showcase the many mutated animals that are in the game... Very cool pipe revolver CH Walley!! Impressive...

Curt Samlaska Well said. I agree, the flashback scenes are brilliant. I especially enjoyed Whiteknife's speech to Cooper, which further entrenched his character in our hearts and was brilliant. The first season felt so perfect that this one has so much to live up to. I'm off to watch the new episode!

Totally get this take. The end of season one felt so earned that real forward motion for Lucy seemed like the obvious next step. Walking her back makes things feel a bit looser, especially given how sharp the show can be.

That said, I’m still enjoying it, just with a little more distance than last season. Curious to see if the back half earns the reset. Can't wait to get started on recreating the weapons though. ;) Wednesday’s episode should clarify a lot.

E Langley Beautifully said. I feel the same enjoyment, yet with distance. The first season wrapped me up fully in it's tv arms lol.

Hi, Bassel Said! Welcome to the community. I’m a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. I wanted to let you know I moved your post from the Introduce Yourself Lounge to the Your Stage Lounge. You can promote your novel in your introduction post, but you need to introduce/reintroduce yourself to the community. You could check out other posts in the Introduce Yourself Lounge to get ideas for your introduction post. Let me know if you have any questions.

Stage 32 has a blog that'll help you navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry professionals all over the world. Screenwriters, producers, directors, executives, and more. www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...

Stage 32's next Community Open House will be January 28th. It'll also help you navigate the platform and make connections. It's free to sign up. You can find out more in this blog (www.stage32.com/blog/whether-youre-new-or-a-longtime-member-the-stage-32...).

I suggest adding a profile picture of yourself and a detailed bio to your profile. People will feel more comfortable networking and collaborating with you if they know what you look like. And if you have a picture, your profile will show up when someone searches for you. A detailed bio will help you build relationships/network on here. You could add things to your bio like why you became a writer, your accomplishments, your goals, and what movies and shows you like.

You can upload a picture by clicking the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner and selecting “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu, then clicking the red button underneath your location and choosing "Update profile picture."

You can edit your bio by clicking the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner of Stage 32, then selecting “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu, then clicking the red button underneath your location and choosing "Edit Profile."

Congratulations on finishing the core chapters of your novel! Between Two Worlds sounds interesting!

Thanks for the reminder, Mark Films and Mr. Hitchcock. One of my goals this year is sell 1-3 feature scripts. What's your goal(s), Mark?

Same here Maurice Vaughan I really want to see the breakthrough this year with 3+ scripts sold. Just gotta keep grinding! Have a great week.

How are everyones writing goals for 2026 going?

Talk about your project and your progress, Bartosz Koliński. That's what I do.

Make sure it's copyrighted first. And just exercise caution. Not everyone is out to steal your idea, but it does happen.

Stephen Folker Hi. that's very important advice, thank you

Maurice Vaughan Okay, how do I make it not look like pitching? I want to share my work, not just sale it. What I want to say is how to do it so that it doesn't look like just an advertisement

Bartosz Koliński You could write something like "I'm outlining my Comedy feature screenplay" or "I got to page 50 of my Action feature screenplay" and talk about how your script is going, what challenges you're facing, or what you learned while working on the project.

CJ Walley Couldn't agree more. It can be tricky when a producer with 20 action movies under their belt now is asking for a rom-com but this is why one can never rest on their laurels; It's all about getting the latest intel which we're always happy to share.

@meriem love to hear this. We're all learning and here to support one another.

Libby Wright so glad to hear! Sometimes we'll recommend an executive, sometimes a special initiative, a contest, perhaps a polish or share notes/thoughts on the material...everyone's path is unique; there isn't a magical way of making it in Hollywood but writers/creatives need to start thinking like athletes :)

Yes Geoffroy Faugerolas! Y'all are super heroes and it's so great that we have experts like you on our team that can help us tailor the resources we focus on!

As a newbie to film industry as a script writer, this kind of info is liquid gold. But, how do we reach out to executives in the industry, especially if we do not have connections. So we make connections first or by contests or referrals also how would this be for a foreign person.

Thanks! @Kobe likewise. Take care.

@Mikey, I appreciate that! And likewise, good luck with any current and future projects.

Thank you for this — it’s a question I’ve been sitting with myself as I finish a polished draft of my spec. I’ve been using a lot of my own “Shaunism tools” to stay grounded in the work: world‑building routines, character‑anchoring exercises, and the emotional‑logic checks that help me keep the script honest. Those have helped me get the draft to a place where I’m finally thinking about next steps.

From what I’ve learned so far, the prerequisites for seeking management or representation feel less like a checklist and more like a readiness moment. A clean, professional script is the baseline, but beyond that, managers seem to want to see:

A clear sense of your voice

A second sample that proves you’re not a one‑script writer

A logline that actually hooks

A willingness to collaborate and revise

A sense of where you fit in the marketplace

As for getting a thriller noticed without leaning on expensive contests, I’ve seen a few strategies that seem to work:

Targeted networking — connecting with people who genuinely love the genre

Peer referrals — writers vouching for other writers still matters

Script exchanges in curated communities — getting your work in front of the right eyes

Pitch events or virtual mixers — low‑cost ways to meet reps

Building a small but real presence — sharing your process, your themes, your voice

Thrillers are still in demand, but the ones that stand out tend to have a fresh emotional engine or a world that feels lived‑in. That’s where the craft tools — the ones we build for ourselves — really matter.

Curious to hear what’s been working for others too.

You're welcome, Ryan Wilford.

@Shaun, hi! Thank you for taking the time to share your insight, I appreciate it. I agree with everything mentioned. I love sharing my process and journey with others as well as hearing theirs. I'm finding my voice more and more as I continue to write.

Learning the marketplace and the how it moves is something I definitely still need to learn. Luckily, I've been taking action as far as getting my script reviewed, networking and really trying to build an organic, real network.

Thanks again! Good luck. You mentioned polishing your draft. If you don't mind, what's your current screenplay about? Genre?

Hi, Lily Bunny. Welcome to the community. It's hard to read the picture in both of your posts. Maybe paste the info in your post. You can edit your post by clicking the downward arrow to the right of your name and selecting "Edit Post."

Stage 32 has a blog that'll help you navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry professionals all over the world. www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...

Stage 32's Community Open House will be January 28th. It'll also help you navigate the platform and make connections. It's free to sign up. You can find out more here: www.stage32.com/blog/whether-youre-new-or-a-longtime-member-the-stage-32...

I suggest adding a profile picture of yourself and a detailed bio to your profile. People will feel more comfortable networking and collaborating with you if they know what you look like. And if you have a picture, your profile will show up when someone searches for you. A detailed bio will help you build relationships/network on here. You could add things to your bio like why you became a writer, your accomplishments, your goals, and what movies and shows you like.

You can upload a picture by clicking the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner and selecting “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu, then clicking the red button underneath your location and choosing "Update profile picture."

You can edit your bio by clicking the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner of Stage 32, then selecting “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu, then clicking the red button underneath your location and choosing "Edit Profile."

You're right, Shahin Rashidhashemi. Screenwriting is very close to gardening.

#1. You can network/build relationships, pitch your script, enter contests, submit your script to managers and agents (I suggest building a portfolio of scripts first though), and/or make your script yourself. What's worked best for me is networking on Stage 32. Here are some blogs on networking: www.stage32.com/blog/tags/networking-41

#2. I'm also a ghostwriter and pitch deck designer.

Try In New York, a burned-out French executive and disillusioned movie star walk away from their carefully constructed lives and collide by chance. Over the course of one adventurous afternoon, a two-hour elevator stop leads them to reveal their desires, dreams and fears to each other. And ultimately leads both of them to change their lives forever.

Bonjour, mademoiselle Bete. My thought, in a bipedal anthropomorphic world of New York City. A French female blue mouse named Angelique Clausier who just moved to New York to explore her dream of owning a fashion design store met a male red mouse named Marque Antoine a recent French expatriate who moved in in order to make a living selling cars. Bumped into each other and already at first disagree with their ideas and then they each share sharing their ideas of making their American dreams.

A French woman and famous American man who spend an unplanned afternoon together in New York are forced to confront whether they can return to the lives they were living.

Howard Koor and E Langley thanks so much for sharing these loglines -- really appreciate it!

Happy to contribute:))

I think we're actually seeing some light! Japan's biggest live action film this year was a 3 HOUR (yes 3 hours!) period piece movie KOKUHO that the've submitted as their Oscar contender. And, A24 picking up Eddington was a huge step in the right direction, I just think they needed to do a better job at promotion for it.

Historic cowboy series are perceived to have been grossly misrepresenting of history. They also do not sit well with current societal values if recreating those myths. Recent dramas seek to right that wrong but can create discomfort. I think properly selected historic dramas have a real key place over the next few years and beyond.

So much so I have written a Pilot and a Bible etc. for one called 'The Georgia Diaries'. It commences forty years before the American War of Independence. It tells of the dream of creating a slave-free, corruption-free America Utopia. The story of the English, the Settlers, the friendly Native Tribes, the Highlanders, the Spanish-Florida enemy, the Italian Catholic church. Georgia, and Savannah Town is a deliberate microcosm, where the same human aspirations, issues and politics of the modern world can be examined and informed: Struggle; Freedom; Property; Prosperity, Race Relations; Families; Survival and speculations on the future.

I think historic dramas will be a major audience puller, especially when they are true stories.

Casey, I'd like to take a stab at it.

I keep reading that production companies (especially American ones) shy away from period pieces because they're more expensive to make than contemporary stories.

The way I see it, another reason exists for US media companies' reluctance to tell stories about yesterday's people. I know...it's political.

And I'll just leave it at that.

It'd be great to see more period pieces get made on this side of the pond...not only for the entertainment value, but also because with the right kind of productions, we can, at long last, realize that we'll end up repeating our history if we don't learn from it.

Thanks so DOGGONE much for posing the question!

I rewrote a Civil War film that we shot in late 2024. The politics are too incendiary right now, but the setting is powerful, and there's a lot of interesting drama within it.

Period films struggle when they feel like observation instead of participation.

The ones that endure treat history as a setting, not the subject, grounding the story in desire, contradiction, and interior life that still feels contemporary. Relevance come from character, not chronology.