New Projects Casting - New UTDA Features - HFPA Restructure - Streaming - Safety On-Set
By Abigail Hardin, November 09, 2021
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It's an exciting week here at UTD! Our associate Sean Gregory hosted an Instagram Live yesterday answering your questions and showing folks how to use many of the features on the Up-To-Date Actor. Follow @uptodatetheatricals to catch the next one. Look for Sean on our IG Live Mondays at 7 PM ET.
I super enjoyed watching the NYC Marathon coverage this past weekend. As someone who has never been interested in running (🙋ðŸ»â€â™€ï¸ volunteered to be the goalie on my high school soccer team solely because I didn't have to run), I found the runner's personal stories and determination so inspiring. It fueled me with an energy to both up my personal health and set career goals with laser focus. I won't go as far to say I might run the marathon in my future, but I have pulled out my running shoes and am looking at them with new light.
Part of that laser focus has been to create clear end-of-year goals. We all set goals in January, but why wait? Each day is a gift to create a new habit and take action towards the life you want. Here at UTD, we're trying to make the most of what's left of 2021 and sow the seeds for a dynamite 2022. I encourage you to do the same!
Please read about some new and refined features below! We will be releasing some very cool new features in the coming weeks. Look for info in these weekly emails.
Many of you have asked for this, you can now add a second ethnicity on the Up-To-Date Actor. Read more below on how you can use this to filter with greater specificity and learn about more projects that are a match for your unique skills and demographics.
Get out there and create a great week!
New Features
Second Ethnicity
You can now add a second ethnicity to your Up-To-Date Actor profile. If you are a multi-ethnic you can use this second ethnicity to discover more new projects as well as use both ethnicities to filter through Talent Agents and Talent Managers looking for diverse and multi-ethnic talent.
To edit your profile, click "My Account" from the sub-navigation under your name & picture on your Dashboard. Or click the main navigation (three lines in the upper left corner) and click "User Info" --> "Edit Profile". If you are creating a brand new account you will be able to add the second ethnicity when creating your profile. Lastly, if a second ethnicity does not apply to you, no worries, just leave it blank.
Once your ethnicity is set, play around with the filters to get specific and find Talent Agents, Talent Managers, and Projects Now Casting who are looking for your unique talent.
Filtering Literary & Creative Agencies
More filters are available for Talent Agencies and Talent Managers on the Up-To-Date Actor. Now, in addition to finding agents and managers who represent talent for film, TV, Theatre, Commercials, etc. you can also search for companies that represent creative types. Click on "Filters" a the top of each page to take these selectors, and more, for a spin.
New Filters Include:
- Choreographers
- Dancers
- Directors
- Hosts
- Influencers
- Literary- Playwrights
- Literary - Screenwriters
Need more help with filtering on the Up-To-Date Actor? Check out this brief tutorial on Filtering Agents & Managers. New to the Up-To-Date Actor and want to learn more about the features we offer? Check out all of our tutorials!
Actors on Acting
As UTD's resident Lady Gaga fan, I have to admit I'm super excited to catch her upcoming turn as former Gucci heiress Patrizia Reggiani in HOUSE OF GUCCI. Gaga spoke with British Vogue about her process of getting into character to tackle the role over a three-year span of shooting, noting that she "lived as [Reggiani] for a year and a half" and spoke with the thick Vignola Italian dialect for nine of those months. Gaga's decidedly Method approach to the character led to what she called "psychological difficulty" toward the end of filming: "I remember I went out into Italy one day with a hat on to take a walk. I hadn’t taken a walk in about two months and I panicked. I thought I was on a movie set."
Will Poulter has had a breakout year in film and TV, and if his latest role in the upcoming GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 is any indication, he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. The MAZE RUNNER and NARNIA star's recent work in Hulu's DOPESICK, tackling the opioid epidemic in the US, provides a backdrop for what he calls the "social application of the work," an increasingly important element in the projects he chooses to take on. "We're under no illusions about the fact that the TV show alone isn’t going to reverse the opioid crisis," he said. "But we really hope that it will contribute to the conversation that is being had around how we make people accountable for what happened." Poulter is also quick to credit his team and base, saying that they keep him grounded and ready for what's next: "I'm really lucky that I have a really tight knit and very qualified team, who I’m very reliant on for guidance."
Broadway star Laura Benanti is speaking out about her difficult time performing on stage in the early 2000's, suffering several injuries that would plague the actress for years afterward. "When I was 22 years old I broke my neck," Benanti wrote on Instagram. "I was a 22-year-old girl who didn’t know how to say 'this doesn't feel safe to me,' I was a good girl. A nice girl. I wanted to be liked. So I did it. For months and months." She went on to document the months of surgeries and second opinions she would go on to receive, saying that the industry's desire to suppress what could be deemed as "problematic" behavior kept her from speaking up for years afterward.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
A new industry guide for producers and filmmakers hopes to increase the amount of Native American representation in film and TV. "The Time Is Now: The Power of Native Representation in Entertainment", developed by Native- and women-led non-profit IllumiNative, outlines data surrounding the desire to see more Native American storylines and characters on screen, as well as best practices for addressing cultural biases and actionable steps to including Native creators in writers rooms and production staffs. "The benefits of doing it right, engaging Native people in meaningful ways, hiring them and making sure they’re a part of every process, that makes it a great outcome for everyone," IllumiNative founder and CEO Crystal Echo Hawk said. "There’s such a richness out there, our culture is not for sale and is not to be appropriated... We just want to be respected and engaged with in a meaningful way."
Agency giant UTA announced a slew of new promotions throughout the company last week, reporting that about 60% of the updated positions identified as women and one in three were employees of color. "We look forward to seeing all of the great achievements this group will continue to accomplish in their new roles as the company innovates, expands, and flourishes," UTA co-president David Kramer said.
Emerging filmmakers in the Greater Philadelphia area are set to get a boost through a new partnership between BlackStar Projects and Xfinity. The Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, a year-long program designed to support Black, Brown, and Indigenous film artists throughout Philadelphia, announced its first round of fellows last week, who will receive mentorship, funding, and access to equipment to get their projects off the ground. The films will then receive a premiere at the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival, as well as being featured on Xfinity's Black Experience channel.
HFPA Restructuring
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association continues to revitalize its structure and best practices, this week announcing the arrival of the organization's first chief diversity officer. Neil Phillips will helm the HFPA's DEI strategy and approach to reforming and broadening the group's overwhelmingly white pool of journalists, which has been the subject of immense backlash in recent years. "I've spent my entire career managing my own discomfort and diving deeply into the realm of breaking the bonds of systemic racism and having the uncomfortable, yet productive, conversations that can radically change organizations and individual lives," Phillips said of his past work in advocacy and support groups for the Black community.
Even with NBC's announcement that they would not host a live broadcast for the Golden Globes in 2022, the HFPA is still moving forward with plans to hold some sort of ceremony, though the details seem to be few and far between as of now. Film and TV critic Michael Scheider argues that the group should move forward without submission requirements for the upcoming year of nominees, instead relying on true industry opinions to populate the categories rather than submissions from studios and producers. The move would also eliminate any backlash that these entities could face for interacting with the HFPA, while still keeping them in contention for a Golden Globe that may easily put a studio, director, or actor on the map with just one win.
Streaming
ViacomCBS released its Q3 numbers last week, showing growth in streaming interest for its Paramount+Â platform, but overall lacking in revenue results. Streaming revenue for the company topped $1 billion for the first time, as total revenue jumped 13% to $6.6 billion, falling short of industry analysts' expectations for the company. CEO Bob Bakish said the company will continue to experiment with the best way to release films - either through day-and-date practices or theatrical windows - and still remained optimistic about ViacomCBS' trajectory for the years ahead.
Netflix is once again under fire for its handling of CUTIES, a 2020 Sundance film that received immense public backlash for its portrayal of children in suggestive situations. A report from The Verge found that Netflix edited its algorithm to suppress the film and essentially hide it from most search results, saying in a company press release that it was "suppress[ing] promotion and related search queries" to "avoid looking like we have removed the film page from service, are moving release date and/or not launch the film." The findings from the report are being touted as evidence that the streamer has the ability to hide certain titles when it sees fit; while many have been calling for similar measures for the transphobic-comment-laden Dave Chappelle special, no such measures have been taken to remove the content from the platform.
Political Updates
A new iteration of the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act has entered the halls of Congress, with many in the industry hoping it will reach President Biden's desk and provide much-needed relief to productions sooner than later. PRIA would require insurance companies to cover pandemic-related claims and losses, in the event that a business cannot operate due to an outbreak of disease declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as a "covered public health emergency," and would cover 95% of the claims via government funding. Insurance companies have resisted the validity of the measure, arguing that it is impossible to provide coverage against a pandemic, but industry advocates remain hopeful that the involvement of government funds in helping to pay for the measure will make it attractive enough to be passed by Congress in the months ahead.
RUST Investigation Continues
As the police probe into the fatal RUST shooting that took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins continues, both the embattled first assistant director and armorer are speaking out about the incident and deflecting any potential blame in what continues to be a muddy and confusing investigation. First AD David Halls, who was previously fired from a film set in 2019 over gun safety issues, admitted to the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department that he did not remember checking all of the rounds in the gun before it was handed to star Alec Baldwin in the minutes leading up to the shooting. "It's my hope that this tragedy prompts the industry to reevaluate its values and practices to ensure no one is harmed through the creative process again," Halls said in a statement.
Lawyers for armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed took to the TODAY Show last week to share their latest theory on how the tragedy unfolded, postulating that foul play may be to blame for the incident after reports that live rounds had been found in the box marked as dummy rounds on set: "[T]he person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set." Former crew member Lane Loper called this statement "dangerous and irresponsible" to make publicly, considering the shooting was the third mishap involving a gun on the RUST set.
Producers for smaller-budget films are swirling to defend the nature of their projects in the aftermath of RUST, being quick to point out that "low budget does not equal unsafe." Producer Tom Nunan noted that "typically people on movie and TV sets are following rules, following established behaviors and regulations that keep people safe," but with the advent of dozens of new productions popping up given the increase demand for content from streamers, it's becoming less common to have a wealth of experience on film sets across the country. "Sometimes an ambitious project is forced to cut corners to save money," producer Peter Phok said. "But, it takes an experienced line producer at the helm to recognize that some corners can’t be cut."
Alec Baldwin has stated that police officers should be employed on all film and TV sets that utilize guns. Tweeting from his now private account, and also sharing the same message on his personal Instagram page, Baldwin wrote, "Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety."
Over 200 cinematographers have come together to call for a permanent ban on "functional firearms" on film sets, standing behind the death of Halyna Hutchins as being the necessary wake-up call the industry needed to make the change. "We have safe alternatives in VFX and non-functional firearms," the statement said. "We won’t wait for the industry to change. We have a duty to effect change within the industry ourselves."
Quick Bites
Amazon is already jumping into the awards season frenzy with a new pop-up in NYC's Bryant Park. The Alcove Bar at Bank of America's Winter Village will play host to themed cocktails from some of the studio's movies and films that are expected to be up for contention in this year's award season race, including titles like BEING THE RICARDOS, HARLEM and THE PURSUIT OF LOVE ðŸ¸
Shanghai Disney reopened last week after a COVID scare trapped tens of thousands of visitors inside the park awaiting negative test results. Officials from the Chinese government detained 33,863 individuals and required negative tests from all after a woman tested positive in the park one day prior. The move is the latest in a string of increasingly strict measures being taken to reduce the spread of COVID in the country ðŸŒ
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health laid out its latest guidance for a path to maskless indoor and outdoor entertainment events in the months ahead, relying on CDC guidelines for low transmission and hospitalization numbers as well as an 80% vaccination rate for all residents 12 and older. The country is currently on track to reach these goals in the next few months, but recent upward ticks in cases are potentially endangering a maskless LA for the time being 😷
The first movie scenes shot in space are officially in the editing room, as Russian director Klim Shipenko and actor Yuliya Peresild hailed their 12-day stint aboard the International Space Station capturing more than 30 hours of footage for THE CHALLENGE an overall success. The team sat down with Deadline to discuss their inspirations for taking on the interstellar expedition, the preparation for the trip, and what the future of filmmaking in space may look like 🚀
Nearly a month after IATSE and AMPTP negotiators reached a deal for a new TV contract to avoid a strike in Hollywood, the full 49-page agreement was released for union members to read last week. Check out the full breakdown here! 📃
The seemingly-endless world of Harry Potter rumors continues to churn this week, as SORCERER'S STONE and CHAMBER OF SECRETS director Chris Columbus shared his dream to direct original series stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint in a movie adaptation of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD. "It's a great play and the kids are actually the right age to play those roles. It’s a small fantasy of mine," Columbus said in a recent interview celebrating the first film's 20th anniversary. I'm certainly not opposed to it 🤷✨