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Richard "RB" Botto is the Founder and CEO of Stage 32. He started his creative career as an actor in New York and moved into screenwriting and producing upon moving to Los Angeles. On the screenwriting side, he is represented by David Greenblatt of Greenlit Creative. A film based on his script, THE END GAME, is currently in development at Covert Media.As a producer, he's worked on such films as the Sundance favorite (and Best Screenplay winner) ANOTHER HAPPY DAY written and directed by Sam Levinson starring Ellen Barkin, Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore & Thomas Hayden Church, the documentary CRUTCH, the road trip thriller WHAT LIES AHEAD starring Rumer Willis and Emma Dumont and the upcoming RAIN-BEAU'S END starring Ed Asner and Sean Young, plus and a variety of short films.He is the the author of CROWDSOURCING FOR FILMMAKERS: INDIE FILM AND THE POWER OF THE CROWD, the very first book on film crowdsourcing, published by Focal Press/Routledge under the American Film Market (AFM) Presents banner. It's available in print and e-book and available for free on Audible. He has been a teacher, mentor, moderator and panelist at such festivals, conferences and institutions as Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes, SXSW, Raindance, AFM, PGA, WGA, Columbia, Harvard and more on the subjects of filmmaking, producing, screenwriting, independent film, entrepreneurship, business, social media, marketing, crowdfunding and crowdsourcing. Prior to launching Stage 32, he was the founder, publisher and editor of RAZOR Magazine, a national men's lifestyle magazine which had a readership of 1.5 million at its peak. He was also a sports radio host on a variety of programs on ESPN and Fox affiliates. Additionally, he has appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News, and other news and entertainment outlets speaking on the film and tech industries. Oh, and he was once named one of People Magazine's Most Eligible Bachelors (no lie). Full Bio »
If you're ready to break through some of your most challenging writing issues, this is the webcast for you.
Participants talked about their most challenging writing issues, and what they can do to overcome them and move forward with a great script.
The Write Now Challenge
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It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife...well, actually it's more like the Write Now Challenge Webcast: Isn't it Ironic coming at you this afternoon at 4pm (Pacific)! In this challenge, members were asked to write a short scene (no more than 5 pages) using one of the examples of irony from the Breakdown Webcast: Dramatic Irony. As a reminder the examples for irony are below: Dramatic Irony: A literary and theatrical device in which the reader or audience knows more about a situation, complication, or conflict than the characters they are following. Classical Irony: This term describes irony as it was used in ancient Greek comedy—to highlight situations in which one thing appears to be the case when, in fact, the opposite is true. Cosmic Irony: Cosmic irony highlights incongruities between the absolute, theoretical world and the mundane, grounded reality of everyday life. Socratic Irony: Socrates would feign ignorance of a subject and ask seemingly innocent—but actually leading—questions to draw out information he already knew. Socratic irony differs from verbal irony because it involves intentional deception. Verbal irony, on the other hand, does not connote insincerity or deception. Situational Irony: occurs when there is a difference between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. With situational irony, our discovery that our expectations haven’t been met are the same as the characters in the story. Verbal Irony: is when a character says something that is different from what he or she really means, or how he or she really feels. This is the only type of irony where a character creates the irony.
We're back in the Writers' Room for the Write Now Challenge Webcast: A New Beginning! In this challenge - using the Breakdown Webcast: The First 10 Pages as a guide - you were asked to write (or rewrite) the opening of a feature or pilot using an technique you have not yet tried before. We had over 20 submissions and this super-sized webcast went a full 2 hours! During that time we read entries from members that were Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Drama, Romance, and much more!
Using the investigation scene from The Wire or the AI & Wu scene from Deadwood as inspiration, craft a scene where characters communicate using as few words as possible. As a second option, use the initial meeting between Sean and Will in Good Will Hunting or Annie's wedding shower meltdown from The Bridesmaids, and write a scene where your character snaps!
The Stage 32 team brings you an exclusive special event you won't find anywhere else! Christopher Lockhart, who works with Denzel Washington, Michelle Williams, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and more is known around town as the logline whisperer. He will be breaking down effective loglines and will be listening to logline pitches to critique and help yours get better! You don't want to miss this opportunity to learn from an industry heavyweight like Chris, exclusively in the Stage 32 Writers' Room!
Whether it’s epic battles between giant robots, a street fight, or someone chasing after the love of their life at the airport, the vast majority of movies and television use at least a bit of action writing. So we are challenged you to write an original or polish a scene with action, and really focus on making those moments of movement pop!
A great story starts with great characters and every great character starts with a great introduction. We challenged you to create or rewrite a scene where a major character is introduced.