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New Projects - Production Increase in USA & Abroad - Theatre Updates - Women in Film Harassement Hotline

By Abigail Hardin, November 01, 2022

Happy November, UTD!

We know spooky season officially came to a close last evening.... but we couldn't pass up sharing this great article from Playbill that highlights a few pieces of theatre that handle the Salem Witch Trials in a whole new light (move over, CRUCIBLE). And we'll just toss in this list of spooky TV shows too, in case you're not quite ready to put away your cobwebs and witch hat yet 🧙‍♀️

.....but if you are ready to fully embrace the spirit of Christmas, Hallmark and Lifetime are already lining up their slate for Christmas 2022 🎄

Speaking of the end of the year, have you already achieved your main 2022 career goal? If so, fantastic! However, if you are still working on manifesting your 2022 artistic goal, there are five active weeks before the industry takes a break for the Holidays - November 1st (minus Thanksgiving week) through December 15th

So, here are some suggestions to end 2022 on a career-high note:

1. Send a "Fall Success" update note to your industry database; thank the casting directors and agents who were instrumental in getting you auditions and bookings. Gratitude attracts success!
2. Upgrade your reels so that they match your talent and send them out to your database.
3. Target Film, TV, and Theatre projects currently casting and/or filming in your market that are a fit for your unique talent. Create a specific general submission.
4. Each day, affirm that you are already successful and state your goals out loud as if you have already manifested them. "I am so happy and grateful now that (Theatre, TV co-star, guest star, recurring, feature film & commercial) bookings come to me in increasing quantities from multiple sources on a continuous basis throughout 2022 or by December 31st, 2022"

Let's end the year with a bang! Start new and create a great week! ☮️

Production Increasing in USA and Abroad

Los Angeles is getting another facility upgrade thanks to a joint venture from the same team responsible for beefing up the Hercules Campus in Playa Vista for Google and YouTube. The nearly 75,000 square foot acquisition in Culver City will be ready for potential residents looking for hotly-contested studio space in the area by mid-next year - LA readers, your next soundstage may be waiting in the wings!

Down south, Georgia's generous tax credit has pulled the eye of yet another developer that will begin construction on BlueStar Studios, a sprawling 600,000 production venue that will feature 18 sound stages with a variety of sizes up to 40,000 square feet. The $180 million undertaking is also set to open next summer, with construction continuing on certain parts of the compound through 2024. More space for movie magic 🎬

Speaking on prime tax breaks: The small but mighty country of Malta has been making a name for itself as a filming haven over the last few years, with industry giants like Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Ridley Scott setting up shop there for projects like GLADIATOR and JURASSIC WORLD. With a 40% cash rebate available to productions that bring business to the country, it's no surprise that officials with the country's film office are confident that the future of international production will be headlined by the island country.

Theatre Updates

New PARADISE SQUARE Lawsuit

The fallout from PARADISE SQUARE continued to make ripples through the Broadway community earlier this month after producer Garth Drabinsky sued Actors' Equity for $50 million, claiming that the union's decision to add him to the Do Not Work list was the beginning of "an intentional campaign of harassment and abuse" against Drabinsky. The PARADISE producer, who was sued by AEA last summer for $300,000 in unpaid wages and benefits from members of the cast and crew, is no stranger to negative press: after a string of miscues with his Toronto-based company Livent, Drabinsky was convicted of forgery and fraud in 2009, and sentenced to 17 months in a Canadian prison. Equity plans to fight against the most recent lawsuit, calling its decision to place Drabinsky on their DNW list "fully consistent with [its] legal responsibilities to protect [its] members."

Hope for New Works

With the Humana Festival sadly in our rearview mirror, a glimmer of hope for new plays came from this year's inaugural South Carolina New Play Festival in August. American Theatre Mag broke down the similarities and differences between this fest and its storied predecessors - Humana, Sundance, Lark - and shared hope for what this fledgling incubator of new works may mean for theatre in the US and beyond.

Leadership Moves

A few more moves of note this last few from regional theaters in the tri-state area:

• Michelle Preston to Step Down From SITI as Company Sunsets
• NJRep Names Dee Dee Irwin as Managing Director

Women in Film Hotline Reports Rising

This year's Women in Film "Forging Forward" event had a sobering moment during a talkback with CEO Kirsten Schaffer, who noted that call volume for the group's Help Line to provide resources for individuals reporting harassment or abuse in the entertainment industry has doubled in the last several months. "The idea that nothing's changed, and that #MeToo is just a blip? I don't think it's empirically correct," journalist Jodi Kantor remarked. "But of course, the problem isn't solved. This is a global problem that affects women of all backgrounds, all economic strata, all over the world internationally." Kantor is the subject of the 2022 flick She Said, surrounding her and Megan Twohey's work with The New York Times on the Harvey Weinstein case. At a time when stories are continuing to come out regarding inappropriate behavior in the entertainment landscape, we applaud the efforts from Women in Film that are creating space for survivors to speak out on any abuses from their employers or colleagues.

Consent Series Launched

The field of intimacy coordination continues to evolve seemingly week by week and month by month, as more parts of the entertainment industry open up their doors to conversations surrounding the importance of consent and safety in intimate scenes on the stage and screen. Pornhub recently launched a new series, Consent Event, which featured actors from both traditional onscreen roles as well as adult films, discussing their experiences with consent in the workplace, and where they would like to see the industry moving in the years ahead. "When someone does have a concern or a boundary with what's being asked, we find it as an opportunity, creatively," THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE's Chloë Sevigny said. "How can we tell this story another way? Still conveying the [story], and work within the limits of our human talent? — I like to say 'human' and 'people' a lot to remind us that yeah, we are at work!"

Actors on Acting

Daniel Ratcliffe, Matthew Perry Talk Shop

After the final HARRY POTTER film wrapped in 2011, Daniel Ratcliffe was determined to make some space between himself and his wizarding alter-ego, looking to one of Hollywood's greats for the best path forward: Harrison Ford. With a career that has spanned decades since his first franchise roles in STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES, Ford became a de facto mentor for Ratcliffe's career trajectory: "I wanted to do whatever I have to do to have a career with longevity." If you've never seen some of Ratcliffe's more.... "out there" roles, namely in SWISS ARMY MAN or the Weird Al biography, they're certainly worth a watch ✨

Of the many entertaining nuggets in Matthew Perry's new retrospective book, his work with Salma Hayek in the '97 film FOOLS RUSH IN was a particularly interesting look at how some of our favorite on-screen people have the most unique approaches to their roles. In preparing for the intimacy between their characters, Hayek suggested that the duo spoon in Perry's trailer, and "look out at [their] future selves together" when professing their love during filming. The FRIENDS star was.... unimpressed, calling the advice "nonsense" 😬 worth a shot!