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Academy Awards Diversity & Inclusion - Ben Brantley to Step Down - Production Resuming - Regional Theatre Plans

By Sean Gregory, September 15, 2020

Eye972

I hope our switch to fall has proved to be an exciting new chapter in your 2020 journey. I've been experiencing an unexpected burst of creative energy this past week, which I can honestly say is the first time in a looong time that I've felt as though the Universe has been chatting with me again. I've also been thinking a lot about a line from my favorite book, The Great Gatsby (nerd alert, am I right? 🤓) — "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." Maybe a little something to chew on in the weeks ahead.

Let's talk news!

Academy Awards Restructuring

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced plans to substantially revise the criteria for films being eligible to win the top prize of Best Picture in the coming years. Deadline outlined the changes for the category, expected to be rolled out over the next two award shows in 2022 and 2023, before becoming fully implemented for the 96th Oscars in 2024:

"Having at least one Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, Black/African American, Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan Native, Middle Eastern/North African, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander or unspecified other underrepresented race or ethnicity as a "lead or significant supporting actor" is a potential requirement under the new guidelines, with those ethnicities also mentioned for prominent production and marketing jobs. Additionally, employing women, LGBTQ+, members of a racial or ethnic group, and people with cognitive or physical disabilities or who are deaf or hard of hearing might be required for at least 30% of actors in secondary and more minor roles; having a storyline centered on an underrepresented group; hiring creative leadership and department heads; maintaining at least 30% crew composition; paid internships; and representation in marketing and distribution also are potential areas in order to be a Best Picture contender. Producers don’t have to meet all of the requirements of the new doctrine, just half."

The changes were met with both strong positive and negative feedback from the Hollywood community, with some saying that the changes were long overdue from the 90+ year old Academy, while others believe the stipulations didn't have the teeth to enact real change in the industry. "There is a history at this institution of not giving equal opportunity and consideration for those who created art, especially from diverse backgrounds, so hopefully this will change that," producer DeVon Franklin said of the new guidelines. "So if anything, after 2025 this award will mean more because that consideration will have been given... This is not about tokenism, this is not about restriction, this is about inclusion, this is about excellence, this is about merit. And it is about everyone getting equal consideration for their art."

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The changes to Academy nominations guidelines come in the same week as the annual inclusion and intersectionality report from USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that there has been little change in representation in the highest grossing films over the past 13 years, with the number of female-identifying, LGBTQ+ and disabled characters seeing tepid increases since 2007. "This is a critical moment for the industry to commit to real and substantive change," Dr. Stacey L. Smith said. "Too often the results of studies like this one garner attention without action. As protests for racial justice continue, it is imperative that companies move beyond performative statements and commit to take actions that will result in inclusive hiring practices on screen and behind the camera." There was some positive news for women on the streaming small screen front however, as the annual "Boxed In" report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University found that 42% of shows on streaming services featured "clearly identifiable sole female protagonists," as opposed to 27% of cable and 24% of broadcast shows.

Fans of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise will be able to catch the work of the series' first female writer in the next installment, thanks to the continued lobbying of longtime star Michelle Rodriguez. "I wanted all the females in Fast & Furious to get some love," Rodriguez said in a recent SiriusXM interview. The action star noted that she is excited to have a female voice welcomed to the male-dominated writing room to give more authenticity to the female perspective in the next film. 

Nebraska Repertory Theatre and St. Louis Black Repertory Company will be coming together for a two-year collaboration aimed at developing works that promote social change. The partnership has already outlined a host of digital and in-person events to take place between now and spring 2022, many of which center around issues of systemic racism in the U.S. "These are very trying times and we are dealing with two crises, the epidemic of racism and the pandemic of COVID-19," St. Louis Black Rep Producing Director Ron Himes said in a joint statement. "We will survive COVID-19, but overcoming the racism we have been fighting since 1619 will take all of us working together. When we do, we will be stronger for the planning and the hard work we’re about to do to level the playing field and to prepare a brighter future for generations to come."

Production Resuming

As dozens of projects begin to establish their gameplans for resuming production in the coming weeks, many are feeling the pinch of an incredibly slimmed down pandemic insurance market, which has already forced hundreds of films to be scrapped so far this year. The majority of insurers dropped their pandemic coverage on new policies beginning in March, and the companies that are still offering the assistance say it comes with an exorbitantly high price tag. This has led Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to introduce the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act, or PRIA, aimed at making insurance coverage substantially easier for productions, particularly smaller indie projects, to protect themselves and their cast and crew. Two firms, Spotted Risk and Elite Risk, have stepped forward as the frontrunners in offering coverage to indie projects, having already begun working with a few dozen smaller budget projects for film and TV, with the hopes of opening up a fresh round of capacity in the coming weeks.

In the continued fight to maintain safe working conditions for cast and crew members, SAG-AFTRA announced an 80% reduction in COBRA premiums for members who will no longer be eligible for coverage starting October 1st. This comes on the heels of the union's updated earnings thresholds for health care being bumped up nearly $8,000, a move that SAG-AFTRA says is vital to maintain the longevity of the program for its members.

FILM

Variety compiled a super in-depth look at how filming locations around the world are reopening. Take a look at "The Big Restart" here!   As companies around the world continue to size up their barriers to restarting production, the overall number of projects getting off the ground in North America is particularly slower than what some in the industry believed would be the case at this point in the fall season. Several states, including New York, California, and Georgia, as well as areas in Canada, have been making it a point to advertise their production tax credits for companies that plan to film there, in the hopes of bolstering more interest from companies looking to begin shooting. Internationally, the U.K. is facing some competition in holding its top spot for Hollywood projects to film in Europe, as Hungary and the Czech Republic have begun toting their 30% and 20% film incentives (respectfully) to the U.K.'s 25%. The film restart has been seen as a major priority for governments around the world looking to attract business to their stalling economies, with Latin American countries like Colombia, Uruguay, and Brazil also pledging cash rebates and/or tax incentives for productions looking to set up shop in the next few months.

Filming in the Time of COVID: Two productions, WHERE SWEET DREAMS DIE and THEY/THEM/US are some of the first feature projects to resume shooting in the US under COVID-19 protocols, with the latter just wrapping production in Ohio and the former slated to begin shooting in NY and Chicago in November.

TV

While the film industry is by-and-large course-correcting in the days of COVID, projects destined for the small screen seem to be progressing at a much slower rate in Hollywood. Many studios are hesitant to order full series with so much uncertainty still looming in the months ahead; and, coupled with a host of exec shake-ups at several high-profile companies, it's becoming clear that there may be some disconnect between what the studio is interested in purchasing and what their programming needs realistically are. For better or worse, this year has led many to believe that the industry may finally break free from the traditional development cycle, with some networks already choosing to shift to a year-round model that allows for more straight-to-series orders. So while this strategy is inherently more risky for studios in the short term, especially in the climate of 2020, in the long-run, it may actually benefit creatives with more opportunities, and studios with more projects in development. Who knows what the future may hold!

It has been made clear that the effects of some governments' orders to completely lockdown their citizens early on is paying fruitful dividends now, as New Zealand has begun production on big-name series like Amazon's THE LORD OF THE RINGS and AVATAR. Australia had been on a similarly encouraging trajectory until numbers began to climb again in July, and other productions in South Korea are negotiating similar spikes in cases during an otherwise promising restart to filming.

COMMERCIAL

As the film, TV, and theatre industries continue to show signs of life in the last few weeks, the commercial industry has been chugging along with some semblance of normalcy since late April. As more commercial projects continue to take shape for the fall, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers has released its latest set of guidelines for companies to follow to maintain a safe working environment on-set. This update marks the sixth release of the AICP's guidelines dating back to April, this time beefing up periodic temperature checks on set and solidifying measures to continue polling cast and crew members for COVID symptoms before arriving to set, which the organization says has proved to be the best way to prevent the virus from spreading during production: "We must be mindful and realistic about factors such as time and cost that will be affected by necessary diligence. While we are constantly developing new practices to dovetail with outside entities, communication, and understanding of these new practices must foster confidence with all parties who are part of the process."

THEATRE

Many question marks remain about the future of reopening theatre on Broadway and beyond, as many in the industry continue to do their best to create timetables that companies can work toward, while still accounting for unknown variables and holding safety above all else. Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin is steadfast in her belief that the League is doing everything they can to get productions back off the ground: "There are 20 labor task forces, one for each union...We have developed protocols for over 200 actions...everything down to the minutest protocols, for example, for how to protect wig dressers. And we are talking to the city. They may very well close down some of the side streets [of Times Square] to give us easier theater ingress and egress." It's a long shot from any sort of concrete certainty, and with Dr. Anthony Fauci recently postulating that he believes theaters are looking at a year wait between the time a vaccine becomes widely available and the time houses are back to being filled to capacity with audience members, many in the theatre community are left to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

Senator Chuck Schumer stopped in Syracuse recently to promote the Save Our Stages Act, his co-sponsored bill aimed at providing desperately needed federal funding to independent live venues around the country. "Here in Central New York, arts organizations have lost $15 million, 90% of our independent venues say they're going to close if they don't get federal funds," Schumer remarked, underscoring the incredibly dire situation that the vast majority of arts organizations find themselves in amidst the ongoing pandemic.

Brantley's Final Bow

He's undoubtedly sung high praises or voiced his disdain for some of your favorite productions on Broadway over the years, and now his reign as king of the New York Times theatre scene has come to a close. Ben Brantley recently confirmed that he would be stepping away from his post as chief theatre critic with the Times effective October 15th, after more than 17 years at the company. "[W]hen the theater returns, I hope to be there—as a writer, an audience member and, above all, the stark raving fan I have been since I was a child," Brantley wrote in a statement. Thank you for sharing your voice with us, Ben!

Regional Theatre Reopening

Book-In Repertory Theatre will be hosting a series of online audio dramas, beginning on October 28, as part of their 2020-21 season. The company will put on three short stories and two longer works in serial form over the next year, featuring work from several well-known and up-and-coming playwrights.

Goodspeed Musicals is setting the stage for their return next summer, announcing this week that they will kick off their 2021 season with Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC, followed by the World Premiere of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES in September.

Theatre Under The Stars in Houston, TX has delayed their 2021 season once again, pushing back Opening Night until May 21st, 2021 with the national tour of COME FROM AWAY. The season will be rounded out with productions of SOUTH PACIFIC, ROCK OF AGES, the Broadway-bound revival of 1776, SISTER ACT, and THE LITTLE MERMAID.

Theatrical Outfit, based in Atlanta, will now feature a mix of digital and in-person programming for its 2020-21 season, including the launch of Made in Atlanta, a place-based new play program intended to give voices to artists discussing stories of the city and region.

Tidbits & Odds-and-Ends

Erin May has been promoted to Vice President, Drama Development at 20th Television, joining a C-suite of other female execs and helping to seek out new talent, as well as overseeing projects from pitch to screen across all types of programming.

Playbill's eight-part video series MEASURED IN LOVE chatted with Emmy-nominated choreographer Sonya Tayeh (MOULIN ROUGE, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE?) about her career path from Detroit to Broadway, and how her experiences in both cities helped shape her identity as an artist.

This year's Broadway Bares efforts have brought in a total of $967,816 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, thanks to their virtual Zoom-In event and Broadway Bares Stripathon. "To every artist who participated in Broadway Bares Zoom In and the Stripathon...'I can no other answer make but thanks, and Thanks and ever Thanks...' What we do TOGETHER makes a difference!," creator Jerry Mitchell wrote in an Instagram post.

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