Producing

Hi Producing Lounge Fam!

This week's prize: a FREE Stage 32 Logline Polish. Your logline is how your script gets introduced to the world, and it's what producers, managers, agents, and executives read before they decide whether to open the script at all. Every member who completes the mission gets one.

Week 4: Report for Duty. And it's the easiest mission of the month.

Step 1: Register for Wednesday's FREE Community Open House. It's this Wednesday, September 23rd at 12pm PT. It isn't a presentation. You ask, I answer. Bring a project, a roadblock, or the question you've been sitting on for six months, and we'll talk about how you specifically should be using Stage 32 for your goals: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-september-2026-comm...

Can't make it live? Register anyway. You'll get the full recording and it still counts.

Step 2: Share the registration link with one of your creative circles. Your acting class, your film group, your community theater, your Discord, your WhatsApp group, your writing partner, the composer from your last short. Even the friend you invited to Introduce Yourself Weekend last week.

To claim it, comment on this post by Sunday telling us you registered and who you shared it with.

"Registered! I shared it with my 48 Hour Film group." or "Registered! Sent it to my production WhatsApp group and my writing partner."

That's it. If you'd rather keep it private, email me at Community@stage32.com instead.

This week's blog walks through more of the details: https://www.stage32.com/blog/creative-army-week-4-from-first-login-to-fi...

One prize per member per week. Complete three or more missions this month and you're entered for the Grand Prize Drawing at the end: a FREE Career Development Call with an executive of your choice!

So who are you bringing to the Open House? Tell us in the comments.

There is something I keep finding genuinely fascinating as I talk to more people about Echoes of Asgard. The moment I mention Thor, Odin or Loki, some people already have an idea in their head of what I must be making. I understand why. These names have been part of popular entertainment for years, and Marvel built an enormously successful interpretation that introduced them to an audience far beyond the people who were already interested in Norse mythology.

The strange part for me is how quickly familiarity can sometimes close somebody's curiosity instead of opening it. I am not trying to compete with Marvel's interpretation of Thor. They built their world, their characters and their relationships around the stories they wanted to tell. Echoes of Asgard is coming from a completely different direction. I have spent years going back through the mythology, the surviving material, the historical questions, the relationships between these figures and the civilization that would have to exist around them for our story to work.

What makes this especially interesting is that our industry accepts reinterpretation constantly. We have had zombies that walk, zombies that run, zombies that retain intelligence, zombies caused by viruses, fungi, science, supernatural events and almost everything in between. We have watched Batman interpreted in radically different tones. Dracula has been horror, romance, tragedy and action. Robin Hood has been revisited again and again. Sherlock Holmes has lived in multiple periods and genres. We regularly take an idea people recognize and ask what happens when another filmmaker looks at it differently.

Somehow mythology can occasionally receive a different reaction. People hear Thor and think they already understand Thor. They hear Loki and immediately understand his relationship with Thor through a modern interpretation. They hear Odin and picture the version of Odin they already know. That is where I find myself wanting to ask people to slow down for a minute, because the surviving Norse material is considerably stranger, richer and often very different from what popular culture has taught most of us.

Thor and Loki are a perfect example. The familiar brother relationship is not the relationship found in the Norse sources. Thor's mother is Jörð, which opens an entirely different conversation around his lineage. Sif, Thor's children, Loki's relationship with Odin, the meaning attached to Mjölnir and even the social roles surrounding these figures give us far more to work with than the simplified versions most people encounter first. Odin becomes increasingly complicated the further you dig into him. Loki becomes much harder to reduce to one convenient role. Thor becomes much more interesting to me once strength is placed beside responsibility, family, leadership and the people who depend on him.

That research eventually changed the way I was writing the world itself. I started asking what Asgard actually looks like if I treat it as a civilization before I treat it as mythology. Who grows the food? Who maintains the roads? How does trade work? Where do soldiers train? What does authority look like outside the throne room? What does a prince actually owe the people walking into battle behind him? When somebody becomes a legend generations later, what kind of person existed before the stories became larger than the life?

Those questions are why Echoes has grown into far more than the original scripts. We are building and testing Asgard in Unreal. We are working through previs, cinematography, movement, geography and the practical questions of how locations function before physical production begins. The characters have actual arcs across the series. The novel gives me another way to explore the world. The audiobook is coming. The proof of concept is being developed. The actors are being brought into the character work early enough to understand where these people came from and where they are going.

Perhaps part of the problem is simply that I have tried to explain too much of this inside pitch meetings and conversations where there is never enough time. Eight minutes disappears incredibly quickly when somebody needs the premise, the characters, the world, the production direction, the audience opportunity and some understanding of what makes the project commercially interesting. I can improve at that. I also realized that I needed somewhere where people who were genuinely curious could go beyond those eight minutes.

That is a major reason I built echoes-of-asgard.com. I wanted somebody to be able to actually explore what I mean instead of taking my word for it. The series is there. The character work is there. The civilization and worldbuilding are there. The research is there. The production development is there. Industry information is there. I would rather somebody spend time looking through what has been built and then come back with difficult questions than make a decision based entirely on hearing three famous names and assuming they already know the project.

I also think there is a business question buried inside all of this. Familiarity can be extremely valuable. Thor, Odin, Loki and Norse mythology already generate enormous curiosity around the world. That gives us an entry point. My responsibility is to prove that once people walk through that door, Echoes itself gives them a reason to stay. That is what I am trying to demonstrate through the story, the characters, the audience building, the website, the novel, the audiobook and eventually the proof of concept.

If you work in producing, development or distribution, I would especially like your perspective. When a project begins with mythology or characters that already carry enormous cultural recognition, does that existing familiarity make you see an audience opportunity, or does the popularity of previous interpretations make you more hesitant to look at what another creator is actually doing with the source material?

And if you think you already know Thor, Odin and Loki, how much would have to surprise you before you wanted to know more?

Hey everyone, I’ve been thinking about something a little more personal today.

I’m someone who connects very strongly with people and with the passion behind a project, so saying no is never something I take lightly. Even when I know a project isn’t right for me, I still think about the person behind it, the work they’ve put in, and how much courage it takes to share something creative in the first place.

As producers, we’re often pitched projects we genuinely like. Sometimes we connect with the story. Sometimes we see real potential in the project. And sometimes we simply like the person behind it.

But even then, the answer may still be no.

Not because the project isn’t good. Just because it may not be the right fit for our slate, our timing, our focus, or the kind of work we know we can truly support.

And I think that can be one of the harder parts of producing.

Especially in pitch sessions, when there’s a real person on the other side sharing something they care deeply about and have worked so hard to bring into the room.

I always find that part delicate, because “not for me” is not the same as “not good.”

So I’m curious: do you ever feel guilty saying no to a project you actually like?

And maybe the more personal question: how do you feel after saying no?

Do you carry it with you? Do you second-guess the decision? Do you feel relieved because you know it was the right choice? Or do you need a little time to emotionally let go of the project and the person behind it?

I’d love to hear how other producers process that side of the job, because at the end of the day, we’re all human, and even the right decision can still carry emotion.

https://deadline.com/2026/09/paramount-settles-antitrust-suit-to-seal-warner-bros-deal-1237109223/

Every creator on here has that one script, short film, or pitch that hit a brick wall. Maybe it was a financing deal that fell through at the eleventh hour, notes that completely derailed the original vision, or a submission that only brought in crickets.

Looking back, those painful moments are usually where the real growth happens even if it didn't feel like it at the time.

For those of you who have been in the trenches for a while: what is the most valuable lesson a failed project taught you about the business or creative side of filmmaking? Drop your thoughts below!

Curious to hear from the buyer's side of things when you're reading scripts, pitches, or query letters, what's the issue you run into again and again? Weak loglines? Bloated first acts? Characters who want something but don't seem to need anything? Dialogue that tells instead of shows?

As a writer, it's easy to get lost in your own story and lose sight of what's actually landing on the other side of the desk. I'd love to hear what keeps showing up on your end the patterns that make you pass, and the ones that make you keep reading.

What's the one thing you wish more writers understood before they submitted?

Hi everyone,

I’m Latrece Hill, an independent screenwriter and creator developing a slate of original vertical dramas as well as feature-length projects.

As I move from writing into the development stage, I’m particularly interested in understanding what producers want to see before considering a vertical project production-ready.

My vertical projects are structured as serialized 60–70 episode stories with strong hooks, escalating conflict, emotional reversals, and episode-ending cliffhangers. I’m currently refining the scripts and supporting pitch materials with production readiness in mind.

For producers who have worked with vertical or short-form scripted content: Beyond a strong concept and screenplay, what materials or elements make you take a project—and its creator—seriously?

I’d really value hearing the producer perspective.

— Latrece Hill

Hey everyone.

I've been thinking about something that comes up a lot for me when I compare producing culture in Europe and the US.

In Europe, we’re often used to looking first at public funds, national film institutes, co-production schemes, or broadcaster support.

In the US, I see much more of a culture of going out and building the money: private investors, equity, foundations, donors, charities, brands, fiscal sponsorship, and relationships.

Neither model is perfect, and of course there’s overlap. But I do wonder whether the culture around financing shapes how we approach producing.

And this is exactly why I think Stage 32 is such an interesting place to have this conversation. We’re a global filmmaking community, coming from very different cultures, industries, funding systems, and ways of thinking. That diversity means we can genuinely learn from one another.

Do European producers sometimes wait too long for the “right fund” instead of building alternative paths?

And on the other side, does the American model sometimes push projects toward marketability before they’re creatively ready?

I’d love to hear from producers working across different territories: what financing mindset has worked best for you, and what do you think Europe and the US could learn from each other?

I recently found myself thinking about a decision I made on my first short film.

It was my first experience directing a film, and I deliberately chose an actor who had never acted in front of a camera before.

So the combination was unusual: a first-time director directing a first-time screen actor.

I knew that experience matters. It can reduce risk, make a production more efficient, and give a producer more confidence in the people responsible for delivering the film.

But there is a paradox that interests me: if we always require previous experience before trusting someone with an opportunity, how does a new director or actor ever get that first experience?

In my case, I chose enthusiasm, commitment, willingness to be directed, and what I believed the actor could become in front of the camera. We worked through the scenes together, sometimes repeating them until I found the emotion I was looking for.

So I’m especially curious to hear from producers:

If you were financing a film and the director wanted to cast a talented but completely inexperienced screen actor — while the director was also relatively new — would that combination make you too uncomfortable to

Hi Producing Lounge Fam!

This week's prize: a FREE Stage 32 First 10 Pages Review. Professional eyes on the ten pages that decide whether anyone reads page eleven. Every member who completes the mission gets one.

Week 3: Welcome Week. Invite one person you know to join in on Introduce Yourself Weekend.

That person can come from any part of your life. Online, in person, your group chat, your old class, the friend you always talk films with. It could even be one of the two people you invited last week. If they're passionate about any creative medium, or they're simply fans of film, television, theater, online content, or music, invite them to come hang out with us and learn more, starting with introducing themselves.

And if you don't know someone new to invite, inviting a friend already here who doesn't normally join in counts too. Some of the best people in this community are quietly reading and never speaking up. Give one of them a reason to.

To claim it, comment on this post by Sunday telling us who you invited to introduce themselves, and share the link to your own Introduce Yourself post so the whole Army can give you a proper welcome. The celebration thread stays open all weekend. If you'd rather keep it private, email me at Community@stage32.com instead.

Here's the Introduce Yourself Lounge for you to use and share: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/introduce_yourself

And while you're in there, say hello to a few new faces. Welcoming each other is the entire point.

This week's blog is written by our own Sandra Correia, a screenwriter, producer, and director who started right here on Stage 32 only three years ago. She's the living proof of what this whole month is about, and it's a wonderful read! You can find it here: https://www.stage32.com/blog/creative-army-drive-week-3-the-connections-...

One prize per member per week. Complete three or more missions this month, and you're entered for the Grand Prize drawing at the end: a free Career Development Call with an executive of your choice!

So who are you bringing to IYW? Introduce them to us in the comments.

Hi all - so greatful to the response on my first post, heres a new thought.

How would one go about building a creative team? Isn't that the dream? A creative mish mash of all your favourite people making movie magic! How would you go about it?

Have a great week producing! x