On the day of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown in California, I drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles, where I had rented a room in hopes of spending more time near the entertainment business and building my network. Less than 40 hours later, I realized that the timing couldn't have been more terrible, and I drove back home to Northern California, wondering how I would ever get my projects off the ground, let alone seen by reputable industry executives. __Within two weeks, however, one of my TV pilots, via a Stage 32 script consult, earned a double recommend from a TV Lit Coordinator at a prominent agency in Los Angeles. Two weeks after that, a 2-page pitch for the same show earned me a meeting with a literary manager at another prominent company. In the months since, my project has been shopped around to some of the most influential production companies in the business. It also recently earned a very exciting read request after being included in Stage 32's Double Recommend Lookbook. On top of this, multiple executives have read a different feature script that I'm equally passionate about. While it hasn’t yet sold, I’ve used the feedback I gained from Stage 32 connections to rewrite it and make it far, far better than it was. __All in all, Stage 32 has saved my 2020. If you’re approaching this business from the outside with no industry contacts to speak of, it can be a godsend. And if you’re on the fence, don’t fear. Just don your thick skin, put your best work out there, and be ready for whatever opportunities it might bring.
Matthew J. Beier