Nolan. Kubrick. Spielberg. There is a moment in every auteur's career that looks, from the outside, like a mistake.

Tarantino wins the Palme d'Or for Pulp Fiction in 1994 and the crowd is divided. Supposedly, half the jury reportedly walked out during deliberations. Christopher Nolan releases Memento with no studio backing and a structure that runs backward because that was the only honest way to tell that particular story. Bong Joon-ho makes his debut with Barking Dogs Never Bite and Korean audiences don't know what to make of it because it's so unlike anything else being made at the time. Thirteen years later that same voice makes Parasite and walks away with the Palme d'Or, the Oscar for Best Picture, and the grudging admission from Hollywood that it had been sleeping on something extraordinary. Darren Aronofsky makes Pi on a $60,000 budget with a handheld camera and a vision so singular it shouldn't have worked by any conventional measure. Andrea Arnold shoots Fish Tank with non-professional actors in a council estate and redefines what British social realism can do emotionally. Xavier Dolan writes, directs, and stars in his first feature at nineteen and Cannes gives him a jury prize.

None of these filmmakers were being controversial for the sake of it. That is the part that gets misunderstood. They were being specific. They had something to say and they found the form that said it most honestly…even when that form broke every rule the industry thought was sacred. The controversy was a byproduct of the clarity. When you see something with absolute precision, the rest of the world eventually catches up. And usually, the people who called it a mistake are the first ones to claim they always believed in it.

To me, that's a template worth following.

As Cannes opens its doors again this year, I keep coming back to this idea that every filmmaker who genuinely changed the language of cinema did so because they refused to confirm what had already been done out of necessity. They believed so completely in the story they were telling and the way they needed to tell it that there was simply no other option. That purity of vision is what separated them from everyone else who had a good idea but softened it for the room.

Thankfully, you don't have to make a Palme d'Or film to follow that mantra. But you do have to ask yourself the harder question: are you telling your story the best possible way…or the safest way? Because the filmmakers who rewrote the rules didn't set out to rewrite the rules. They set out to tell a story.

That is the north star and always will be.

This Week in the Writers' Room

UPCOMING EXECUTIVE HOUR WEBCAST: MAY 13th @ 4 PM PT with David Brownfield

This week's Exec Hour welcomes David Brownfield, television producer and former SVP of Current Programming at CBS, where he oversaw the creative development of over 20 scripted series per season including CSI, NCIS, THE GOOD WIFE, THE BIG BANG THEORY, and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, for a live conversation with Stage 32 Writers' Room members. David also spent years at Dick Wolf Entertainment leading creative and production teams across seven Primetime series for the LAW AND ORDER, ONE CHICAGO, and FBI franchises, giving him one of the most comprehensive and battle-tested perspectives on television development available anywhere.

If you would like to join the Writers’ Room, access weekly events, submit to dozens of open writing assignments, and attend exclusive pitch tanks with industry executives- click HERE to accept my offer for a free month!

This Week’s Exciting Announcements!

Stage 32 Best of the Month: What Executives Are Reading Right Now

The scripts that have earned the coveted Double Recommend honor this month show one clear trend: executives are responding to genre mash-ups. High-concepts with commercial hooks and genre collisions that feel obvious in hindsight but that haven't been done yet were particularly popular. Think GAME OF THRONES meets PERCY JACKSON. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION meets MINORITY REPORT. JOHN WICK meets TAKEN. THE BABADOOK meets HEREDITARY. Executives are not looking for the next version of something that's already been done: they are looking for the thing that makes them think why has nobody done this before.

Contained scripts are also in demand. Budget-conscious, character-driven, two or three locations maximum. Executives request what they can actually get made. The scripts moving fastest this month are the ones that deliver a commercial premise inside an executable package.

The takeaway is simple: A killer concept, a collision comp, and a contained execution. That is what is getting scripts read and that is what is getting writers in the room.

Writer's Spotlight

Devere Rogers (Writer/Actor/Playwright)
Stage 32 Profile

Congratulations to Devere who is currently developing an hour-long period drama with Stage 32 executive Whitney Davis and John Legend's Get Lifted Film Co. after they met on Stage 32. The project is being pitched as BOARDWALK EMPIRE meets SCANDAL.

Devere Rogers graduated with a BFA in Theatre from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied musical theatre, hip-hop theatre, experimental theatre, and film and television. Devere's education also led to his participation in several Broadway workshops, which opened doorways to working off-Broadway with notable directors like Kenny Leon and Alex Timbers. Devere performed in Timbers' latest play Robber Bridegroom, which was seen at the Roundabout's main off-Broadway venue. Devere can be seen in a great supporting role opposite of Dave Bautista in the STX feature film MY SPY. He recently booked the series regular role of HBO Max’s OK BOOMER. He also landed the lead role in Brian Gallivan's NBC pilot, FRIENDS-IN-LAW, which unfortunately didn't go. His short, FOR FLOW, ran exclusively on HBO and Cinemax. Alongside acting, Devere wrote and produced a short film titled YING AND YANG, which was an official selection and award winner at over 15 different film festivals internationally in 2013. Devere's talents can also be seen in CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, GREY'S ANATOMY, WILL & GRACE, as well as Sherman's Showcase.

Click here to connect with Devere and say "Congrats!"

This Week In The Stage 32 Community!

This week, I want to highlight another great post from Stage 32 Executive and Thought Leader, Development Producer Sean Hussey, who sparked a conversation that I know will resonate with a lot of you:

“Outline, Treatment, then Write: A Blank Canvas is Not Your Friend”

If you’ve ever stared at a blank page waiting for inspiration to magically appear, this post by Stage 32 executive Sean Hussey (Buffalo 8/Bondit) breaks down why structure is often the real shortcut to creativity. It’s a smart reminder that outlining and treatments don’t limit originality, they free you to focus on the emotional and cinematic moments that matter most once you start writing. Jump in and share your outlining tips with the community.

Click here to join the discussion!

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