Stage 32

Given the background history of the founder of the Stage 32:website, I would be very wary about filling out ANY survey requested by him. Maybe he's been losing money because of the industry strikes because fewer members are signing up and paying for pitches and classes. So now perhaps he maybe resorting to gathering data from membership to sell to a data mining company. If you believe the founder is sincerely interested in your mental health, please think this over carefully and do some research on his background.

The site used to be on its A-game, but that has changed. I joined in 2018, when they were starting out. And content was fresh with award-winning ideas, and real industry pros willing to lend their expertise. Not so much now. Their online content streaming doesn't work half the time, desktop OR mobile. Their CS is nonexistent. Its days before you get any viable response, if its not some idiot automated email with 'do not respond'.

Hey folks,

I just gotta share my experience with Stage 32. Recently, I jumped into Michelle Alexandria's 4-part class "How You Can Attract Financing To Your Feature Film While Spending Less Than $3,500," and, it's been a revelation. Michelle Alexandria is a powerhouse of insightful and actionable knowledge.

Hats off to Stage 32 for providing industry pros who know their stuff. The mentors and execs I've come in contact with are like guides who've been through the trenches and know the lay of the land. I know there are naysayers out there, but they're the folks who'd rather moan than roll up their sleeves. Stage 32 isn't some kind of magic wand; it's a tool, a resource. You've got to put in the work and those who have reap the rewards.

Webinars and classes aside, I've found my tribe within the community of creatives on the platform. Life's thrown me some curveballs, personally and professionally, but without all of the free networking, lounge discussions, and blog posts on the website, I would not be where I am on my writing journey.

I know I'm probably rambling but long story short - Stage 32 is the real deal.

It is common sense that haters are 99.9% more likely to write negative reviews about a screenwriting site than satisfied customers who have better things to do with their time, like go off to ponder and execute the notes they received from Stage 32's professionals who actually do read and care about your projects.

The site absolutely does provide a clear path towards getting exposure and professional representation, but sometimes amateur writers tend to have unrealistic expectations and/or a different assessment of their current skill level.

I'm a UK based writer/director. Anyone who has lived in the UK and, honestly, throughout Europe can speak to how difficult it can be to penetrate the U.S. market. I could write a book about it, but let's just say the barriers are many. That's where Stage 32 came in for me. This is a platform that breaks down every barrier from an educational standpoint absolutely, but even more so from allowing someone like me to get in front of U.S. executives who match my work.

Due to Stage 32 and the efforts of their fantastic, caring staff, I know how a U.S. literary manager through meetings I made on the platform. Further still, I am in talks with an agent on my filmmaking which was completely facilitated through Stage 32. I could have lived to be 150 in the U.K. And not had these kinds of opportunities.

I also have to mention that the networking aspect of the platform is what I call my heartbeat. Again, in the UK, there isn't all that much support. Everything is rigid and the community is made of haves and have nots. If you're not on the inside, you're on the outside. Here again is where Stage 32 breaks down barriers. They not only welcome everyone, but they make it fun and easy to get involved. My network is over 1200 strong and I'm constantly amazed at the quality of people I've been able to connect with.

I can't urge people enough to get on the platform! I see some of the negative reviews here and you can see that people are pointing blame while accepting none. Nothing is handed to you in this business. You have to work at it. But if you are serious about working at it the opportunities you'll find at Stage 32 are unlike any in the business. They are solely responsible for the massive progress I've had in my career over the last 2 years and they literally opened up America for me. I'm so grateful to RB who runs the platform and the entire team.

I've been a member of Stage 32 for 6 years now. I think there were about 100,000 people on the platform when I joined and now there are over 1,000,000, so I've had a front row seat for the incredible growth and expansion. As a filmmaker who took up screenwriting later on, I can't stress enough how much Stage 32's education, services and hands on approach with me and my work has accelerated my career path.

For starters, I was a finalist in their short film program in 2019. They set me up on more than a dozen meetings which led to me getting interest from a major producer to set up my next film as a director. Even better, the exposure on the platform helped me secure my financing, and quick!

About 3 years ago, I moved into screenwriting. I connected with a manager on the platform who told the powers that be at Stage 32 that I had massive potential and that my script should be workshopped. Stage 32 set me up in one of their labs and I worked with Anna Henry to shape my script. Once the script was deemed market ready, I was reintroduced to that same manager who now reps me thanks to Stage 32.

It's rare in today's vitriolic world to find a community and a staff that is so kind, so empathetic and so willing to help, but the people in the Stage 32 community and those working for the company are exactly that. If you follow their CEO, Richard "RB" Botto on social media and on the platform, you can see he walks the walk and leads by example. Everything is just so positive and uplifting.

I cannot stress this enough, if you are serious about a career in film, you need to be on Stage 32. They'll provide you with all the tools. I owe my career to them.

This is full of fake accounts and profiles using legitimate director and producer names and images to prey on inexperienced wannabe filmmakers to send them money. For example I've attached an image of a fake profile who is using a legitimate producer's name and image to solicit $3,000 from people to fully produce their screenplays. Ridiculous. There is no moderation and seemingly no way to report these fake profiles. This is not a website that legitimate industry insiders use.

Lots of people want to write for TV or film and there are lots of platforms, services, contests, etc to help would-be and current writers. Stage 32 stands head and shoulders above the rest. Here are my personal observations why based on using their services over several years.

The craft of screenwriting is important -- Stage 32 provides access to industry reviewers to look at scripts as well as very well done how-to webinars (live and a great archive library). Since those are done by industry pros, the feedback is useful and cutting edge.

I find the greatest value however is the emphasis on understanding the industry. It doesn't matter that you have written the greatest script, if you can't get anyone to look at it, let along produce it. The Writers' Room of Stage 32 brings in industry executives who share their experiences on their journey to success. As the CEO RB Botto keeps repeating, you have to understand how the entertainment industry works to be successful.

Stage 32, and especially its Writer's Room, helps you improve your craft and understand how to sell your product. It's a winning combination.

Stage 32's business M. O is to sell courses and pitching opportunities. That's how they make money. That's why the website exists.

These sessions are allegedly with 'industry professionals.' But what you really get is a session with a person pretending to be an industry professional.

It's a total scam created to reel people in who don't know how the industry really works. In publishing this is known as 'vanity publishing.' (Google it.) Similarly, Stage 32 is 'vanity networking.'

Save your money.

I have used pretty much everything Stage 32 offers at one point or another. I stopped submitting written pitches because I was getting nowhere and feeling frustrated that about 25-30% of the time, the person only commented on the format of my pitch, not the contents. I started doing Skype/phone pitches in February. I was pretty sharp with them when I missed some pitch sessions due to a Skype problem. It turned out to be a problem on my end but they still gave me full credit toward other pitch sessions (and offered a refund otherwise). The sinkhole part is I probably do too many. The benefit is that I have had great experiences pitching almost every time. The feedback has been more helpful in terms of revising my projects. I have done some coverage stuff and have been satisfied with the professionalism and candor (good and bad). It's comparable to The Black List. I have hooked up a few times when RB has had Ask Me Anything hours. One time he stayed for an additional hour. His advice is honest, raw, and helpful. I get a lot out of some blogs. I am not sure how well the social media aspect is going, but I'm not good at networking. Bottom line is that my expectations about what it takes to succeed and how to be a success in the film and television industries have been right-sized and my projects are getting more and more laurels thanks to the feedback I have gotten from pitches and coverage arranged through Stage 32. And please Google me and see that I have been successful at getting a lot of writing published and am making almost no money yet. I know my work is professional level, but I am still working toward a breakthrough. Bear Kosik

Courses of inferior calibre, pitches to arrogant know-it-all industry execs with little to no power to greenlight anything hawking their meagre or even extensive experience for dollars, and the desperation of the site creators and users are palpable. Wasted a lot of money here over several years, six I believe. A better investment would have been AFI or making several short films or even a legit script analysis from a reputable skilled analyst. There are many paths to WGA or BAFTA membership; Stage 32 is not one of them. PS Those grifters keep emailing me, nearly a decade later, no matter how many times I unsubscribe. That is an FTC violation.

Have had mixed experience - some very helpful constructive criticism but also 2 cases where reviewer didn't seem to have read script - they got key things wrong and not familiar with a major character.

Thought I'd give this a go; booked a session with a Studio Exec. They never turned up for the Skype. $35 taken for nothing. No follow up. Will issue a chargeback.

I recently purchased from Stage 32 my first pilot read and 2 pages of notes from Aubrey Campbell. Yesterday, I received my coverage in an email. I had no expectations. I practically fell out of my chair reading Aubrey's notes. Her Comment Summary was like receiving a life sustaining blood transfusion.
Comment Summary: Though the premise here is very strong, the situation objectively hilarious, and the potential staggering, I feel this pilot needs a bit more work in terms of character, joke punch ups, and some technical edits before it's in its strongest form.
I am so grateful to Stage 32 for making this opportunity possible. Jason, Amanda, Richard, and Aubrey Campbell, thank you, thank you, thank you!

It took 3 weeks to get feedback from a pitch session where it appears the "executive" did not fully read the script, but possibly just read the summary. This industry "executive" was not listed in the IMDB and a good deal of the industry people they drum up are either not in the IMDB or their profiles are blank. Do your research before you waste your money.

Stage32 is a wonderful site that presents people with networking opportunities and to gain insight into the industry. The site is very clean and user-friendly. I highly recommend for anyone looking to network or learn more from those within the industry.

Now Stage32 bought Happy Writers which incorporated into their site. Also another great idea to give writers an opportunity to present themselves in various fashions. But beware that this also costs money and can be used as a money making scheme. I have had coverages done where the feedback was riddled with blatant lies. That included feedback given as if the person didn't read the script or take the time to pay attention to some or all of what they were reading.

One, in particular, where it specified I should invest in Final Draft as my script didn't have any page numbers. Funny thing is I enter all my scripts into Final Draft 9 which automatically formats and puts the page numbers on which was displayed in the PDF file I sent to them.

With anything, there will always be glorified success stories but beware of some of the underlying hidden dangers that can be brought about whenever money is involved.

That is just my honest feedback of my experience with using all that Stage32 has to offer.

Writers be very aware, out of the eight week course, you are given 3 One-to-One's to gain feedback for your 1-hour pilot with Colleen Labelle. Feedback on your Beat Sheet. You are given 10 minutes. The second One-to-One feedback on your Scene by Scene. You are given ten minutes. Remember you are writing a 1-hour pilot. You can imagine what you get for your third One-to-One when you have written your full script. I didn't hang around for them to waste any more of my time and money. Stage 32 claim in their advertising of this course; "You will receive direct and personalized feedback on your work throughout the eight weeks so you walk away with a vetted pilot script that you can shop to producers, executives and production companies." If anyone knows of any producer or production or poor reader who would happily read my script that has had this little feedback and no script rewrites, do send me their email. Stage 32 and Colleen Labelle (Stage 32 can't even get the woman's name spelt correctly) think this is industry standard. Stage 32 don't surprise me. But a member of our industry happy to put her name to a course that claims that your script is vetted and good to go out to the industry is extremely disappointing. I am sure Colleen Labelle would not want to spend her weekend reading a script that has gone through this limited process to land on her desk.

Stage 32 is heads and shoulders above any other screenwriting platform in the world. It's founder, Richard "RB" Botto, is a screenwriter himself, so truly cares about writers. Nowhere else do writers get Skype meeting with top industry executives and pros. For $35, you can pick and pitch a professional open to your genre. There's also a ton of free educational material, and its the best social networking platform for creatives that exists today. Are there scammers on S32. Yeah, for there are over a million members and the S32 staff is made up of only 25 employees (the staff is trying it's best to catch up with their astounding growth in membership), so each writer must do due diligence when communicating with others on the site; for example, Katherine Bigelow sent me a Network Request, like a FB Friend Request, the other day. Did I believe the great Katherine Bigelow was really sending me a Network Request? No, I'm not stupid, so I reported the scammer to the S32 staff, and they immediately removed the account. Will this scammer try again? Of course, he or she will. Is that S32's fault? No! I pitched Tatianna Kelly last month on Skype, which was a thrill, for she is one of my favorite producers and one of the nicest people. S32 creatives are wonderful, and we are so supporting of each other, because S32 maintains a positive atmosphere. Richard "RB" Botto in a tremendous leader that has created a platform that has given creatives from all over the world access to industry pros. Long live S32. By the way, membership is free.

Insofar as six of my scripts received a "consider" for the project and a "recommend" for the writer, I cannot complain about the reviews I've gotten. But paying to consult with industry execs has been a bust, an expensive one at that. I have consulted with a dozen, as of this writing. Nothing from these conversations or written reviews tells me that these folks know more about storytelling than I do. When I defend choices I made, for example, I usually get some form of, "Yeah, you're right." When I ask if they can help me get the script in question on a pathway to a sale, there's always a pause, then a soft "no." Yet these people are managers. So if they know less than I do about the craft of screenwriting and they can't give me tips on how to sell my material, what good are they? This is why I titled my review "Nowhere to go." A platform such as Stage32 could be more beneficial to veteran screenwriters if it could arrange for people in a position to buy or option a script to consult with writers than to continue offering consults with C. E.'s or managers or other would-be rising stars. BTW, The Black List has rated four of my scripts a 7. I offer this only as evidence that I know what I'm doing (much more so than the people I've paid major bucks to read and review my scripts). My advice: figure out a way to connect us with buyers.

After a Free Workshop I now have 200 dollars worth of charges.
I have not used the service ever. I was refused a refund for the charges.
However offered me a coupon for their other services.
After cancelling the subscription I never signed up for I am still being charged.
Avoid any business with business tactics that have no regard for the consumer.
In the end the unethical practices will hurt you. NOT HELP YOU!

In the fall I decided to change careers and become a screenwriter. I stumbled on an ad for Stage 32 and joined right away. Then I found out they had a Writers' Room specific for writers who want to have a more dedicated space to get feedback from each other and learn in weekly classes. Choosing to join Stage 32 changed my life! I decided to treat it like I was back in school (because who has time to wait an entire year to go to screenwriting schoo? L) and with a lot of dedication, consistency, and mentoring with a Stage 32 executive, I completed my first script. I then received feedback from multiple fellow writers and started a Stage 32 screenwriting certification program. I continued to further develop the script. Then, only about 6 months from joining Stage 32, my script was ready and it received interest immediately! I'm now in the process of optioning my very FIRST script from a producer who saw it in its early version and was blown away by the progress it made. All because of Stage 32 and everything they offer. I could not be more grateful! I highly recommend this joining and going all in if you're serious about a writing career. And then putting everything you've got into it.

I really don't know where I could find in one place a powerhouse of information and a connection to Hollywood executives, agents, producers, and managers, other than Stage 32. For a nominal fee, you can get your script in tip top shape for industry insiders. Great place for the newcomer and veteran alike. I've recommended Stage 32 to many people that are in my shoes. We are lucky to have such a place. Thank you Stage 32.

I have sent in a number of pitches on my two Scripts to be analyzed and reviewed by professionals. I can only say that I have never heard of any of these people but I have been out of the industry for sometime since my co-writer passed away. There is often times a long wait for a response. However, if you send an Email requesting help you will most certainly get it as I have. That website is Writer *******@stage32.com. Yesterday I responded to an email sent asking if they were on vacation this month as I had not received any emails noting producers looking to read Scripps or pitches. I immediately heard back. So, I sent a reply saying what about the script contest when is that going to be announced? The response I got was. " what contest? ". I have not received a reply from my next message which read "the annual screenwriting contest which I entered" I do think that sometimes the producers don't have time to read the Scripts and so, they just go to anyone who can read them. My general impression is good but open to calling it a scam. LOL