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  • All Blogs/ Entertainment Industry Insights: Mar. 27 2024

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Direct Submisisons Work! - Major Agency Update - Production Uptick - Tax Time

By Abigail Hardin, March 27, 2024

Eye544
Happy Spring, UTD!

In the past two weeks, there seems to have been an uptick in production. A large number of pilots have started casting and Film TV production seems to be gearing up for a busy late-spring/early-summer start. I want to take this time to encourage you to pay attention to the "New Project" notifications that you receive if you are an active UTDA member. Many of these pilots were announced several weeks ago prior to casting. If you see a project in early development that you are right for you can add it to your targets to be notified when casting information is announced. The same applies to film! Many times, indie films are very open to direct submissions when you are right for the project.

Direct Submission Success!

An Up-To-Date Actor member recently did just this and booked the female lead in an upcoming Indie feature! UTDA member, Kim Taff, learned about a new project from her UTDA notifications and took bold action. Read what Kim has to say about the process:

I wanted to share that earlier this year I had used the UTD website to set my notifications for various specific updates, and in February I received a notice about a feature film, WHERE TO LAND, being in pre-production.

I looked into it as much as I could, and I reached out to the writer/director pitching that I was a good fit for the world that he has crafted, and that I'd love an opportunity to audition. (A pitch email that you ladies have helped me craft over the years!) Hal wrote back to me immediately and offered me the chance to audition a month later for the Lead Female Role, and sure enough I booked it. I start filming in April (7 days on set!), and I'm so grateful for everything that I've learned and continue to learn about navigating this business through all of your guidance.

Way to go Kim!! 🥳 🙌 https://www.kimtaff.com/

Annie and I get asked all the time "does this really work?" The answer is, yes! If you do your research, get specific, and have your marketing materials in top notch shape, you can book your own work without an agent!

Tax Time

We are well into tax time, or at least tax preparation time. One of UTDA's lesser known features is the ability for you to populate PDF downloads of deductions and income based on the information you record for your auditions, meetings, bookings, and more. You can find all of your tax time downloads on your Reports page and here is an informational page on the types of deductions you can take.

Also, SAG-AFTRA recently hosted their annual tax time event on zoom. You can watch the whole event on YouTube regardless of being a union member or not. This is a great video that covers all updates and info for filing your 2023 taxes as a working actor.

Peace & Love 🌸

Agency Update

Bi-Coastal agency KMR has been in the news a lot over the past week. The agency has lost its ATA and SAG-AFTRA franchises and the future of the company is unclear at this point. The issue began over the company's inability to pay clients due money for booked work. The company has vowed to restructure but many agents have left including the entire commercial department in both Los Angeles and New York. Read the details in the articles below. To receive updates on this, make sure to add KMR or any of the associated agents to your targets list for future news articles, staff changes, and updates.

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