New Projects Casting - Gun Safety On-Set - Production Relocations & New Growth - Metrics & Advertising

By Abigail Hardin, October 26, 2021

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We at UTD are always looking for new ways we can help empower you, the actor. It is what our company was founded on and what motivates every action and new feature we create. It is why we set aside time monthly to offer free advice via workshops. We are always asking ourselves, how can we be more of service to our community? We take this so seriously that we have weekly meetings dedicated to brainstorming new ways we can reach and inspire more people.

As a company, we have been reading Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale. It is an old but great text and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to expand their career, business, relationships, and mental outlook. As we have continued this weekly work, it has become apparent that the truths in this book are universal and can apply to any and every aspect of one's life.

Synchronistically, last week Annie and I attended the Small Business Expo in NYC where we heard several fantastic keynote speakers. These professionals were speaking to hundreds of small business owners across vastly different sectors, yet one message echoed loud and clear - how can you serve your community? So, I want to close this introduction with our Mission Statement and encourage you to be the beacon of light you want to see in the world.

Mission Statement
The mission of Up-To-Date Theatricals & the Up-To-Date Actor is to inspire, motivate and evolve creativity in all whom we meet and work with. In so doing, our ideal is to awaken artists of all ages to their unique talents and abilities, to achieve their highest potential, and ultimately become co-creators with Divine Creativity. Through all of our services, our goal is to demystify the entertainment business and provide performers with empowering tools to transform their careers. To that end, Up-To-Date Theatricals is committed to helping our creative community evolve social consciousness through uplifting storytelling; storytelling with all its colorful diversity that inspires us to laugh at our humanity, while at the same time imaginatively showing us how we can and need to create a world where everyone can be spotlighted center stage and valued for their unique talent.

IATSE

While the IATSE news cycle definitely slowed this week, a few more articles trickled in. Here is an updated article with full details on the new contract.

CEO of ViaomCBS Bob Bakish expressed relief at the deal reached between IATSE and the AMPTP, calling it “beneficial” for all involved. IATSE still needs to ratify the deal and even as he spoke some members were walking back their expression of initial enthusiasm.

Lastly, here's a brief recap on how the strike was averted (for now).

Cinematographer Killed on Film Set

Last Thursday, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by a prop gun "discharged" by star Alec Baldwin on the set of the indie Western RUST. The incident has shaken the industry. An investigation is being launched into this horrific accident and leaders in Hollywood are demanding gun reform on sets. Countless articles have been written since Thursday, detailing what happened and the producer and crew's cooperation with the investigation.

Producer and star Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a "quick draw" stunt and was handed a prop gun that he was told by an AD did not have live ammunition. The gun misfired, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Hours before the fatal accident, seven of the film’s camera crew packed up their personal gear and walked off the job, citing a wide range of complaints. Several of those who quit wrote letters of resignation. "We cited everything from lack of payment for three weeks, taking our hotels away despite asking for them in our deals, lack of Covid safety, and on top of that, poor gun safety! Poor on-set safety period!" a member of the camera crew wrote on a private Facebook page. After the walkout, "They brought in four non-union guys to replace us and tried calling the cops on us."

Part of why this shocking and tragic event has shaken the industry is due to the greater demand for safety on set. Cinematography is the deadliest job in Hollywood. In the last 10 years, four members of camera teams have been killed on the set in the U.S. — twice the number of stunt fatalities.

Hollywood has had a long, difficult history with guns, which always comes back in the spotlight after a tragedy. Shows depicting gun violence are temporarily shelved after a mass shooting out of respect for victims. Studies exploring possible links between violent content in movies, TV series and video games are commissioned periodically. But guns have remained a Hollywood staple; they have been an indelible part of screen storytelling since the cinema’s early days, solidifying their leading role through the Western genre, which RUST falls into.

Already, directors and showrunners are responding:

THE ROOKIE Showrunner Alexi Hawley announced, "As of today, it is now policy on The Rookie that all gunfire on set will be Air Soft guns with CG muzzle flashes added in post," Hawley wrote. "There will be no more 'live' weapons on the show. The safety of our cast and crew is too important. Any risk is too much risk."
Eric Kripke, showrunner for Amazon Prime Video’s THE BOYS, tweeted: "No more guns with blanks on any of my sets ever. We’ll use VFX muzzle flashes. Who’s with me?"
MARE OF EASTTOWN director Craig Zobel revealed after the RUST incident that all gunshots on the popular HBO limited series are digital.

Launched by filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi, a petition to ban real guns on film sets has raced past 23,000 signatories after being launched Friday.

The American Film Institute (AFI) has established a memorial scholarship in Hutchins' name for female cinematographers. Hutchins graduated from the AFI Conservatory in 2015 and was selected as one of American Cinematographer’s Rising Stars of 2019 as well as a cinematographer for the 21st Century Fox DP Lab in 2018. She had since carved a place for herself in a field traditionally dominated by men. In inaugurating the fund AFI said, "We pledge to see that Halyna Hutchins will live on in the spirit of all who strive to see their dreams realized in stories well told."

Rest In Peace, Halyna Hutchins 🙏🕊

Production

The California Film Commission announced Monday that it has awarded $15 million in tax credits to two TV shows, inducing them to move production to California. The funds come from the increase to the state’s film and TV tax credit program authorized by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July. The shows are THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY on Disney Plus, which will relocate from Vancouver, and ABC’s yet-to-be-aired PROMISED LAND, which will relocate from Georgia.

As production has bounded back post-pandemic, 90-miles north of Manhattan, the Hudson is seeing a surge in new production. According to the Hudson Valley Film Commission (HVFC), the area hosted no fewer than 15 film and television projects in the second quarter of 2021, including THE WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS, THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS, and LIFE & BETH. The three-month period was the most active production in the commission’s 21-year history, with direct spending estimates amounting to $25 million.

As big studios have been drawn up state, there is concern that indies will be pushed out. Urging big companies to tap local talent, Hudson Valley casting director Heidi Ecklund says: "We'll save you money and deliver amazing actors. A production hub is fantastic, just don’t mow us over. If you take our beauty away, and leave us with nothing, that doesn’t help. Please don’t push out the community that’s worked so hard since the early 2000s to build the region and make it what it is."

Across the river and further south, Independent film and television production company Phiphen Pictures will open Phiphen Studios, a 10,000-square-foot boutique post-production and office space, in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, in 2022. The project is led by Phiphen Pictures founder Molly Conners to support and grow New Jersey’s film community following the reinstatement of its film and television tax credit, which runs through 2028. It’s a new construction and could eventually expand, including adding sound stages.

Streaming

Netflix is making a major shift in how the company reports viewership data for its content, shifting to a metric that is more closely aligned with traditional TV metrics. As part of its third-quarter earnings release on Tuesday, the streaming giant disclosed it will soon begin reporting viewership stats measured as the total number of hours viewed of a program during its first 28 days on the platform. For years, Netflix has only reported the number of households who watched at least a small portion of a program.

Disney is breaking with a big Madison Avenue tradition. The owner of ABC, ESPN and Hulu intends to ask advertisers and buyers to convene at a new, as-yet-undisclosed location where executives can interact with the company's entire media portfolio in a more hands-on way, says Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales. "We need to modernize our presentation and how we show up," Ferro told Variety. Doing so has become increasingly important as more advertisers look for ways to run commercials alongside video content that appears simultaneously across many kinds of media outlets and use data to purchase ad time with more precision. Ferro expects to invite advertisers to a new kind of Disney upfront showcase that is experiential in nature, she says. In the months ahead of the extravaganza, the company will hold separate presentations, some virtual, for programmatic advertising in live events, on October 27; a week of discussions about advertising technology and data, in late February and early March; and sports in April.

Up & Coming Filmmakers

We are always encouraging you to be aware of the next wave of talent (Writers, Directors, Filmmakers, etc.). You never know who will be the next Scorsese! Research up-and-coming talent and reach out to them. Check out writers on newplayexchange.org as most writers are writing for stage AND screen! Build relationships from the ground up, offer congratulations on nominations and awards, add a google alert, and put them on a list of industry professionals to target & watch.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report for 2021 finds TV viewers embraced content from diverse writers rooms and featured diverse casts. The report, which covers statistics for the 2019–20 TV season, tracks racial and gender diversity among key job categories, as well as ratings and social media engagement for 461 scripted shows across 50 broadcast, cable, and streaming providers. For example, among households of all races in 2019–20, the scripted broadcast shows that earned the highest median ratings were those in which people of color were credited were between 31 percent and 40 percent of the credited writers. Popular shows include Netflix's GENTEFIED, BET+'s FIRST WIVES CLUB, and HBO Max's DOOM PATROL.

And while this is a positive direction for TV viewership, adequate representation remains a struggle for many marginalized groups. People who identify as Hispanic or Latinx make up 18.5% of the United States’ population, but as UCLA report indicates, the country’s demographic reality is not being reflected on our small screens.

In fact, the share of total cast roles in television for the 2019-2020 season for Latinx actors stood at just 6.3% for broadcast, 5.7% for cable and 5.5% for digital. Though in broadcast Latinx actors were slightly more prominent, standing at 7.1%, numbers still remained flat last year, with 3.9% cast in cable main roles and 4.7% in digital. While the report showed that TV content from diverse writers’ rooms and/or with diverse casts resonated with audiences during the pandemic, Latinx actors, directors and writers still remain largely shunned by the industry. The report analyzed key job categories, as well as ratings and social media engagement scores, for 461 scripted shows across 50 television programming providers.

Dave Chappelle has spoken out about the controversy over his Netflix special THE CLOSER in a new stand-up video, saying that he is willing to meet with transgender Netflix employees or other members of the trans community, but won’t bend "to anybody's demands." In the video, Chappelle remained unapologetic about the special — which was accused of containing transphobic and homophobic remarks and led to a walkout at Netflix. "It's been said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix and I refused. That is not true — if they had invited me I would have accepted it, although I am confused about what we would be speaking about," Chappelle said in the video. "I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. It seems like I’m the only one that can’t go to the office anymore."

It's that time of year ❄️

Lastly, it's that magical time of year where before the ghosts and goblins have fully come out to play, we are already bombarded with snowflakes, presents, merriment, and good cheer. I'm talking about the Holiday Movie Showtimes & Schedules! So if you're more of a mulled wine than pumpkin beer kind of person, you can start planning your "hugge" nights at home.

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