New Projects Casting - Golden Globes - Streaming Changes - Diversity/Inclusion - Industry Insight - COVID Updates

By Sean Gregory, March 02, 2021

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Wasn't it just March like a month ago? What year is it? Buehler?

It's blowing my mind that we're coming up on a year of lockdown, though the industry was certainly bustling this week, so fingers and toes crossed that things continue to trend upward and that more good news is on the horizon. Be sure to check out the details on our upcoming workshops this month, we have a handful of events that we can't wait to see you at!

Upcoming Workshops

March is shaping up to be our busiest month of 2021 yet! Be on the lookout on our social media for more information and reminders, but here is the schedule as it stands now:

Golden Globes 2021 Recap

With the 78th annual Golden Globes in the books, award season is officially in full swing 🏆 Check out the full list of winners from last night's virtual event!

I really loved how they went about broadcasting this year's show, particularly that all the nominees were able to spend the night with their families in their own living rooms around the world. I mean, seeing Mark Ruffalo's kids draped over his shoulder as he talked about the importance of fighting climate change from his couch - what's not to love? Big fan of the Zoom sessions with the doctors and actors too. Yay first responders! 🩺 Technological blips and awkward pauses aside, I'm remaining hopeful that last night's event is a positive sign for the remainder of this year's awards show broadcasts.

The organization behind last night's soiree, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, came under fire last week for its overwhelmingly white membership, as many - including Amy Poehler and Tina Fey in their opening monologue - were quick to point out that while countless other film groups were making strides toward a more inclusive environment, the 87 member HFPA does not contain a single Black journalist. GREY'S ANATOMY star Ellen Pompeo shared a raw indictment of white Hollywood with an open letter to the HFPA on her Instagram, remarking that we cannot "leave this problem up to the Black community and all our communities of color to fix. It is not their problem, it's ours."

A quick glance at this year's nominees - leaving out several critically-acclaimed, Black-led projects like I MAY DESTROY YOU - is an easy demonstration of the effects of the white-dominated HFPA. "We understand that we need to bring in Black members, as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible," the group wrote in a statement. Several members of the HFPA took responsibility on behalf of the organization Sunday night to say that they will be evaluating and making internal changes, after processing the backlash from the community in the past few weeks.

Awards & Festivals

While Oscars night is still a far-off thought for the end of April, the Academy released its list of films that will be eligible to receive Best Picture nominations for this year's ceremony. As part of its Aperture 2025 initiative to boost inclusivity among Best Picture nominees, the Academy has already begun laying the foundation for films to keep record of the representation standards in any project seeking consideration for next year's Oscars. A new, confidential "Academy Inclusion Standards form" will be required from any producers who submit their films for contention in 2022 and 2023, with the full program implementation beginning in 2024. Not much is known about the contents of this form at the moment, but its existence is already serving as a call to action for companies to prioritize diversifying their casts and crew in the next year of filmmaking.

The Producers Guild of America continued their tiered roll-out of nominations with the announcement of their specialty categories, which covers Sports, Children’s, and Short-Form programming. Top names include content like ANIMANIACS, CARPOOL KARAOKE, and THE SHOP.

SXSW shared the final section of keynote speakers for this year's film festival, set to stream virtually March 16-20th. Pete Buttigieg, Priya Parker, and Charles Yu will join an already packed lineup with names like Ava DuVeray, former president George W. Bush, Kenan Thompson, and Chance the Rapper, among dozens of others in the festival's online events and workshops.

Industry Responds to Uptick in Anti-Asian American Violence

In light of the recent trend in violence against the Asian-American community during the pandemic, fomented by the continuously incendiary remarks of the former president over the last year, members of the entertainment community are coming together to condemn these hateful acts and empower cultural organizations to protect Asian-American Pacific Islanders around the US.

The 29th annual Empathy Concert, which took place last evening, centered around empowering and supporting the Asian Broadway community in the face of these racist acts, featuring performances from Eva Noblezada, Raymond J. Lee, and David Henry Hwang.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

QUEEN SUGAR showrunner Anthony Sparks penned an op-ed last week about Vogue's embattled cover photo of Vice President Kamala Harris in jeans and sneakers. "I believe Black history is America’s under-acknowledged superpower. It is our north star that bends us towards greater justice for all," Sparks opines, sharing his own stories of encountering discrimination in his early days in Hollywood, and how it continues to inform the work he does today.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio met with members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma to discuss the historical accuracy and representation of Scorsese's upcoming film KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON. Scorsese presented an overview of the film to a handful of Osage organizers to discuss its themes, portrayals, and representation of the Osage people during that time period.

SIMPSONS showrunners are finally handing over the role of Dr. Julius Hibbert to a Black actor, after having the character voiced by Harry Shearer for over 30 years. Kevin Michael Richardson's first episode as Dr. Hibbert aired Sunday night, joining the long-overdue recasting of characters like Carl and Apu in the series.

Female directors and directors of color saw an encouraging increase in TV director credits this past year, with the Directors Guild of America reporting that women-helmed offerings accounted for 34% of episodes in 2018-2019, and 32% directed by people of color. The study scanned over 4,300 episodes of TV during the year, highlighting the slow but steady growth in representation behind the camera in television. Numbers for Latinx and Asian-American women continue to stagnate, signaling the continued need for full diversification through directing pipelines in the coming years.

Nickelodeon has made it a point to fill its writing and artist programs with emerging talent from underrepresented communities, and the results couldn't be more promising. Both programs boast an 85%+ hire rate upon completion of the program, landing writers in positions throughout the Nick pipeline, as well as openings at HBO, DreamWorks, Netflix, and more.

The stars of RECLAIMING HISTORY: OUR NATIVE DAUGHTERS, a new Smithsonian Channel documentary born out of a folk band of the same name, are making names for themselves with their heritage and their music. The four-member group spoke about their experiences with banjo music, being nominated for a Grammy, and how their commitment to authenticity has perfectly lent itself to a unique blend of musical storytelling and representation.

Several Black comedians discussed the unique experiences they've had in balancing the expectation of making people laugh with talking about causes that matter to them. "I think it’s important for us to be able to say things that are really true to our audience and our people, like Black Lives Matter and those issues — at least give it a shot," Cedric the Entertainer said during a Television Academy event.

Other Articles of Note:

COVID Updates

Unemployment numbers among arts workers in NYC have continued to stagnate, as a new report from the city detailed how employment tumbled a record 66% between December of 2019 and 2020, with very little recovery up to this point. "This sector is the only major employment sector in New York City that remains below half of its pre-pandemic employment levels," the report concluded, underscoring the immense importance that any and all upcoming unemployment and grant legislation will carry in the community.

Lincoln Center has its eyes set on a spring arts and cultural bloom, announcing a new lineup of outdoor performance venues that will open in April. "The cultural community has an urgent role to play in the revitalization of New York, to showcase that our city is not just back economically, but spiritually and socially," said Henry Timms, president, and CEO of the theatre group. The current plan involves 10 outdoor spaces spread across the city, which will host dozens of performances and workshops, the first of which will be a kick-off event for city healthcare workers to celebrate World Health Day on April 7th.

Stream Me Up, Scotty

CBS All Access will soon have an updated look and new name. Paramount+, set to launch on Thursday, will take the place of the plateaued All Access streamer, becoming the new, international home to hundreds of ViacomCBS offerings, as well as planned future exclusive content. Two price tiers will be offered in the coming months: A $5.99/month ad-supported level, which will switch to $4.99/month in June, as well as the premium, ad-free level at $9.99/month. Analysts remain skeptical of Paramount becoming the latest entrant into the streaming race, pointing to a flaccid performance by CBS All Access as a negative indicator of what may lie ahead. "This is a ViacomCBS re-imagined for a new kind of marketplace and a new kind of consumer," chair of ViacomCBS Shari Redstone said in a teleconference.

Marching Into Politics

A host of entertainment unions and organizations came together to once again call upon President Biden to keep fighting for out-of-work members of the film and TV communities when appointing cabinet members and other committee heads. The missive also brought to attention the ongoing piracy issue that has only continued to grow during the pandemic, as many turn to internet viewing to catch the latest projects.

Industry Intel: Insights from the Pros

At 98, Norman Lear has seen and done it all. The award-winning producer added to his trophy shelf last night with his acceptance of the Carol Burnett Award for Lifetime Achievement, memorializing his decades of contributions to furthering conversations and pushing the boundaries with what was possible on TV. Lear recently spoke with Variety about what's been keeping him busy during COVID, and what's up next for the enterprising near-centenarian.

You may know Frank Langella from any number of things: FROST/NIXON, STAR TREK, or his newest project: THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7. The 83-year-old actor has been quietly working in dozens of film, TV and theater productions for over 50 years, and believes the secret to his success is simple: "I play my strong suit and try to disappear."

I'm not ashamed to say that one of my quarantine guilty pleasures has been the British classic AS TIME GOES BY. Something about the dry, snappy wit and sleepy theme song has been just what I've needed in these past few dreary weeks of February. Series star Dame Judi Dench recently spoke at a Vision Foundation seminar about her struggle with losing her vision, along with actors Stephen Fry and Hayley Mills. "You find a way of just getting about and getting over the things that you find very difficult."

Newly-minted Freeform network president Tara Duncan is making it a point to bring the Gen Z and millennial experience to the forefront of programming this year.

Producer Gary Foster is proposing a new set of protocols to combat abusive behaviors on-set. In a guest column for Deadline, Foster shared his experiences navigating his first producing role, and the mountain of interpersonal issues that outlined one of the most impactful and educational experiences he's ever had.

Quick Bites

Amy Poehler is remaining cautiously optimistic about the future of Upright Citizens Brigade, though acknowledges that the road ahead remains long and tedious. The group's co-founder shared that the current plan is to restructure the programming and change the organization into a non-profit: "We're basically using the fire of Covid to start some new version... Whether or not we'll be able to get there, I don't know."

Despite a leveling out of the recent downward trend of COVID over the last week, movie theater execs are crossing their fingers for March reopenings in LA and NYC as a sign of good things to come for the summer box office: "We’re optimistic that we’re going to be able to light up these theaters again come this summer."

Longtime NYC casting mainstay Calleri Casting has been renamed to Calleri Jensen Davis, in an effort to highlight the shared responsibilities of James Calleri, Erica Jensen, and Paul Davis in the agency. Jensen will take the lead on developing projects with BIPOC artists at the forefront: "As a Black business owner, and one of the few BIPOC casting directors in New York, this is a conversation I’ve been involved in for a long time."

Watch, Read & Listen

Thanks for sticking with me on this one, UTDers! Lots of news to start a new month 🤓 Don't forget to check out the details on all of our upcoming workshops, and please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about them. We'll keep our social media bumping with reminders throughout the month, as well as any updates and new workshops as they pop up.

Have a great week!

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