Stage 32

popgun62

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I couldn't find a thread here, so I thought I would start one about Stage 32: https://www.stage32.com/home/

I am a novelist who is fairly new to screenwriting, and I am finding that I love it, maybe even more than writing novels, mainly because I have always loved movies and everything about them.

One of the best resources I have discovered so far is Stage 32. I stumbled on it by accident when I was researching places to send out my sci-fi/horror screenplay. After completing a script based on one of my own books a couple of years ago, I began sending it out.

The rejections piled up quickly. My agency at the time (Trident Media Group) did not represent screenplays and still doesn't. I began researching agents, managers and producers in Hollywood. I even tried a few actors. It was like pounding on a 20-foot-thick concrete wall. Not only was I not getting through, no one could even hear me.

I found some sites like Ink Tip, Virtual Pitch Fest and others, and they were all good, but I didn't feel that I got anything for my money with any of them. Stage 32, however - different story. I have gotten more accomplished with them in a few weeks than I have in the last two years. InkTip did help me craft a better logline/synopsis, but that was about it. I never hooked up with anyone on there or on Virtual Pitch Fest. I never tried Black List because everyone said to avoid them, so I did. I also entered several contests, at over $50 a pop, and didn't even make semi-finalist. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I have read a buttload of top-notch screenplays from major Hollywood productions and my screenplay holds its own with any of them.

Within the first week, I had pitched two or three producers/managers/agents etc. at $30 a pop on Stage 32 and began getting script requests. I don't know if industry people take them more seriously or what, I just know that I was getting results.

Fast forward a month or two and several rewrites, and I now have a screenplay being reviewed by one of the producers at the Dino de Laurentiis Company. Before Stage 32, I couldn't even get anyone to read my logline, let alone the entire script. And I am an author with several traditionally-published books. But with every rejection and every letter of feedback, my screenplay gets better and better as do my chances.

Anyhow, this isn't a paid ad for Stage 32 - I just really like them. Anyone who wants to get ahead in the industry and has no contacts, I definitely recommend them.
 
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zmethos

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I've been a member of Stage 32 for years, and I've made some good contacts through them. I can also recommend the I.S.A. site for screenwriters; that's how I got my short film produced.

That said, like any networking site, you'll really only get out of it what you put in. You can't put up a profile and hope someone knocks on your door. Producers and directors--people who have the ability to get movies made--have people coming to them. They [usually] aren't out looking for more (of course there are exceptions to every rule).

And while the pay-to-pitch can work wonders if you hit the jackpot, it can also add up quickly. I advise people to be selective. I've gotten a lot of reads through them but, even after one script was optioned, things can always fall through. (That one option did, unfortunately.)
 

dinky_dau

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I've heard some good things about Stage32 as well, but anything on the web needs to be taken with a large grain of salt.

It's always a surer bet to sleep your way to the top whenever you can. It's not 'what you know'...it's 'who you blow'.
 

dpaterso

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It's always a surer bet to sleep your way to the top whenever you can. It's not 'what you know'...it's 'who you blow'.
I won't ask you to name names, but how often did you do this, and did you find it helped your screenwriting career?

-Derek
 

dinky_dau

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I won't ask you to name names, but how often did you do this, and did you find it helped your screenwriting career?
-Derek

Sorry, I was just being facetious there. What I mean is simply that any personal contacts you develop yourself, are always better than any website. By hook or by crook, develop personal references. Whether its a friend of a friend, someone you meet at a bar or a party, someone your cousin met at a wedding once...do everything you can to develop those leads.

Of course, I'm sure that sleeping one's way up also helps. Not saying anything against that either.
 
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dpaterso

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lol I was being facetious too, couldn't resist. Can't argue with personal contacts and leads, I've heard that said often.

-Derek
 

dinky_dau

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lol I was being facetious too, couldn't resist. Can't argue with personal contacts and leads, I've heard that said often.

-Derek
You have a salacious sense of humor, then. Bravo. Keep up the good work.
 

popgun62

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I've heard some good things about Stage32 as well, but anything on the web needs to be taken with a large grain of salt.

It's always a surer bet to sleep your way to the top whenever you can. It's not 'what you know'...it's 'who you blow'.

I hear you about the websites. Believe me, I've been writing professionally since 2006, so I know there are a lot of scams out there. Luckily, I have managed to avoid them. All I can say is that I have met some amazing people through Stage 32 and made some great contacts inside the Hollywood industry. I have paid for many of their webinars and script coverage services, which are provided by producers, executive directors, heads of story departments - people I have heard of or whose credentials can be easily verified by an IMDB or Google search. Many paid services such as Blacklist and others provide feedback by unknown "script readers." I like getting it straight from the source.
 

Henri Bauholz

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I am a member of Stage 32 and have had good initial success with them, but as of present I have not optioned or sold anything. Lately, I have not sent anything out because I am tight on money, but I still consider them the best online option for promoting promoting movie scripts. You pay 30 to 50 dollars to have a film professional read your logline and if they decide to take the script further, there is no additional charge. I had one screenplay that got taken in by a development company and came back with a complete analysis.