Stage 32Reviews 102

After 2 months and $1k spent pitching hoping to attract representation but if nothing else at least valuable feedback to help improve my script, I walked away with nothing. A rushed 30 minute call (speed talking executives) and no written feedback for $150 a pop. You literally have to record the call and go back and listen to what was said to remember what was said. Each time a different executive would suggest something different to the same script. There is no networking just a bunch of folks subscribed; no responses or feedback to questions in chat rooms. I didn't want to believe the reviews I read before joining but now I do. At least one "executive" (female of Asian descent... Regina something) that I paid to have review my true crime drama pilot, one that 4 others agreed was good, stated otherwise mainly because she was long/late getting back with my review and I complained to Stage32 who must have communicated my complaint to her. She started my written review with an attitude and explanation about being in a car accident as the reason why she was late... very unprofessional and insulting towards the end saying, "If you don't understand the language I'm using ask someonr to explain it to you!" Ego-tripping "professionals" who are what's wrong with the industry. Had another caucasian executive suggest that I revert to stereotypes for my characters of color... make this one a parolee, the daughter a shoplifter, etc. Thanks Stage32, but no thanks! I'm with another platform and am happy for now.

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.

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!

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.

Stage32 has helped me immensely along my journey as a screenwriter. I've written many scripts under the mentorship of amazing people in the industry. I've also connected with prolific writers, so I'm excited to see where this journey with Stage32 takes me. I hope that anyone wanting to improve as a writer considers Stage32. For me, this platform by far exceeds any that I've come across in terms of being able to propel your writing to a standout level.

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.

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.

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've had scripts that were "Finalists" in their competitions, meaning they were one of 10 out of hundreds, if not a thousand submissions. They claim being a Finalist will get your project exposure to the industry, but I've never had so much as a single query. And forget "pitching." The credits of the "professionals" on Stage 32, if you research them, are exaggerated and blown WAY out of proportion. Some of them are lowly assistants, who have NO chance of putting anything into development. I recently paid for a written pitch with Libby Meyer, who supposedly works for Michael Shamberg, and though the project pitched lined up with what she pretended to be looking for -- I NEVER HEARD BACK. Not even a "thanks, but no thanks," though written pitches are supposed to receive feedback. Stage 32's "pitches" are just money-grabs by people hanging onto the business by their fingernails; people who cannot get anything done. If you do a verbal pitch, you will often get a rejection like, "... but the writer didn't tell me what color shoelaces the character was wearing on page 51, so I wasn't sold on the story..." You can feel them dislocate their shoulders, they are reaching so hard for some excuse to explain why they aren't "buying" your project -- which they could never have done, anyway. STAGE 32 IS A SCAM. Stay away.

I signed up for something I never actually used... A webinar with them and Netflix on budgets or something. AND THEY ADVERTISED IT WAS FREE! Tried to get them to cancel my subscription after. In response, they tried to charge my card. I messaged them again, and they tried to charge me AGAIN right after that email. Why they can't make it an easy process to hit unsubscribe is beyond me. Scum scammers. Joke's on them as I've moved all funds from that card.

Also, no matter how often you hit that unsubscribe button, the emails just. Won't. Stop. Ever.

Stage32 is a very cleverly designed site by its founder Richard Botto to profit from aspiring writers. It sells various services such as pitch sessions and script coverage. It offers no viable path for more mature writers to secure representation (agent or manager), even if the writer's work receives glowing coverage by the reader. Many, if not most, of the reviewers including those described as "executives" are on the very edge of the business, meaning they are not serious players in show business. Basically, if your writing is good or bad and you are seeking representation, they will politely advise you to "go find your own agent or manager because they are mostly an educational site." So in conclusion, Stage32 is one of the many sites on the net wholly designed to profit from aspiring writers with no real path to advancement offered. On the positive side, they are friendly and responsive to deal with, but also very expensive. (Stage 32 has a consumer rating of 2.38 stars from 71 reviews indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases.) The rating speaks for itself.

When you see the movie Bigfoot, remember that it was stage 32 that dropped the ball. She was short, to the point of being rude. They were drastically critical on my review and they are a complete waste of money. Don't waste your time. Zero stars, laterally. No talent people should not be discovering talent.

I was "married" (conned) by Bleu Pride for 2 years, and was directed to this website by someone else who was conned.

Everything this man claims to be ( he's had about 54 so called professions in his life) is FAKE. He will use you, con you, and take you for ALL you are worth.

Proceed with caution... ugh he is pure evil.

He will come accross as a genius super amazing knowing everything about whatever field of work you are in... this is his con... RUN!

Jesus please protect anyone in Bleu Prides path and thank you for delivering me from his pure evil intentions.

The folks there are friendly BUT it is big on selling classes - not so great at actually supporting writers and creating a pro network. If you are starting out as a business newbie it is likely a good first step into the industry. If you are a produced writer it's not so good. The "meetings" with execs are not facilitated at all. Most screenwriting platforms have a host that ensures proper connection as execs often run late etc. but Stage32 takes your money then leaves you to it and too bad for you if the connection doesn't work. They don't try the backup/alternate number, nor answer emails in real time. They keep a veil as if they are really well connected but from my experience I doubt it. There are much better pro services out there in my view.

All these people do is email you constantly, every day, THEY NEVER EVER STOP, avoid avoid - they know nothing about film or tv - i feel bad for anyone that has paid - AVOID AVOID - SPAM SPAM SPAM

Nightmare and waste of time and money. My experience has being bombarded with emails, unreliable execs and poor customer service

I was on Stage 32 several years ago, not long after it was first founded. I paid several hundred dollars to make written pitches to execs. I followed the guidelines and put in a short 3 line bio.
1st pitch exec refused to read my script because my bio made her "uncomfortable" (!)
2nd pitch no response.

So I tried some more and this time I left off the bio, and followed the suggestion of comparing my scripts to other works. I can't really compare my scripts to anything as I've not seen anything that's similar to my scripts (!) well I gave it my best shot and got 2 non responders and 1 exec who said I'd totally confused him and he didn't want to read my script.

When I complained, I was banned from the site - they didn't say they'd banned me, but I couldn't log in any more.

Strangely I was still getting emails from them.

They contacted me on social media asking if I'd like to sign up... Googled, found this site, and it looks like nothing's changed it's still the same old same old...

Let's be honest, the so called "professionals" on Stage 32 are only accepting pitches for the money, not to actually find or help any script writers and make them the next success story. It's easy taking dollars from those that are desperate to make it big. All it takes is a few connections in this industry to start your own website like this. I'm a published author so I have some experience and knowledge to pull from, and I'll be happy to share how my first Pitch Feedback went on Joke 32. They wanted a short pitch or synopsis so I submitted a synopsis and logline. First off, the ‘professional' in question was two weeks late on getting to my scheduled written pitch. When he finally got around to it, he wrote things like this: "I would've liked to know the protagonists exact age. How many kids does he have or not have, what is the color of his eyes or his hair, how long was he in the military for, etc. LMAO! Are you kidding me?! This is a brief overview of a story, hence a pitch or a synopsis broken down into a page or two. If I wrote every ridiculous detail about how the protagonist looks, acts, what he eats and where he $#*!s, it would be 30 pages long. I guarantee if I had added all that, he'd say there were way too many unnecessary details. The ‘professionals' say a few pointless remarks to get paid I guess. He gave me 3/5 on every column, meaning he had no notion of how to rate any of it. I would've actually liked to have seen a 2/5 here and there rather than 3/5 on everything. At least that would show effort on his part. There was clearly no imagination behind his review, just a bland personality giving out a short sighted opinion. Remember folks, sometimes critiques don't mean much as we all have thoughts on someone else's work. That's why ‘Critics' and ‘Public Audience' on Rotten Tomatoes can't ever come close to agreeing on a feature. That's why on every single YouTube video, some people will like it and others will dislike it. It doesn't mean anyone's opinion is right or wrong so take it with a grain of salt. You have famous people like Walt Disney who was told he wasn't creative enough. Oprah Winfrey was told she was unfit for television news. Elvis Presley was told to stick to truck driving because he'd never make it. Well, guess what, those three individuals became some of the most famous and successful people ever! Imagine if they would've listened to those morons, the ‘professional' naysayers, who thought they knew what they were talking about. I'd steer clear if you want true professionalism. Heck, you'd get a better and more honest critique sending your writings to me. Trust me on this. Nothing written was of any value whatsoever.

I'd like to be an investor of this, but not a subscriber. This outfit really can't help anybody. They do a good job of setting up their program, but to get a project on anything, you must have actual intercourse with the egg's host. This is like an attempt to procreate through a wall. It is a waste of time. Save your money.

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'.