New Projects - Congress Passes Simulus & Save Our Stages - COVID Shutdowns - Streaming Shakeup - Creative Theatre

By Sean Gregory, December 22, 2020

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Happy Christmas Week, UTD!

I don't know about y'all, but I've been receiving some really positive vibes from the Universe this past week, and with our days officially over the Winter Solstice hump and headed back toward more sunlight (slowly but surely), I'm feeling like 2021 might just be not all completely terrible. Looking on the bright side these days, huh? 🌞

Did anyone get to see Jupiter and Saturn's Grand Conjunction last evening? My nerdy astronomer heart was bummed that it was too cloudy where I'm at, but I still reveled in all the good vibes and positive new beginnings that the day signaled. The Solstice gave me some time to reflect on my favorite poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. Theories abound as to Frost's true meaning behind the piece, but for me, it's always signaled the acknowledgment of a tough journey, the allure of packing it in, and the tenacity to continue on toward better days. Give it another read, if you haven't in a while. I think it may resonate with everyone after the year we've been through.

The news cycle is winding down a bit here for the holidays, but there is still plenty to report, headlined by Congress f i n a l l y passing another stimulus bill, including extended unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, and funding for the long-sought Save Our Stages Act. In the words of Mrs. Doubtfire: HELP IS ON THE WAY, DEAR!

Looking for a last minute gift or a treat for yourself? 🎁 Give the gift that will last throughout the year - an Up-To-Date Actor subscription! Nothing is more empowering or uplifting than the gift of knowledge.

The UTD crew will be taking the next week off from the Tuesday email, and will be back to start the year off strong on Tuesday, January 5th with our first email of 2021!

Let's Make a Deal!

After months of tumultuous back and forth, finger-pointing, and uncertainty among millions of Americans in need, Congress finally passed a second stimulus package yesterday afternoon that will provide targeted relief to sectors that need it most the next few months. Chiefly among the nearly $900 billion deal is $300 per week in federal unemployment assistance through the end of March, $600 checks to qualified individuals and dependents, as well as money set aside for further PPP loans, rent payment assistance, and vaccine distribution. The entertainment industry also received a big victory with the inclusion of the Save Our Stages Act, which will earmark $15 billion for theatres, live venues, and cultural institutions, providing a much-needed safety net for some of the hardest-hit businesses in the country.

Favorite Season? Awards!

With most film festivals still leaning on virtual presentations for the foreseeable future, the hotly contested winter awards landscape is starting to take shape for the new year. Both the New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association released their lists of winners for this year's submissions, with Kelly Reichardt’s FIRST COW taking home Best Film in the New York show and Steve McQueen’s SMALL AXE receiving the top honor from LAFCA. Check out the full list of winners from the New York and Los Angeles presentations and start building that 2021 Oscars check-list ☑️

Other festivals are hoping to get creative with their plans to bring festivals to life next year, with the Berlin Film Festival announcing plans to present a virtual event for industry members March 1-5th, with an additional in-person edition of the festival to take place in June for members of the public.

Earlier in the month, organizers for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival shared similar plans for a virtual format, accompanied by satellite presentations at in-person locations across the country. The hybrid festival will include 72 new features for audiences to enjoy, hailing from 29 countries and 38 first-time filmmakers. Among the 140 total projects, half were directed by one or more women - a first in festival history, in a year that was originally slated to be dominated by women-led features - and 51% helmed by directors of color. Festival Director Tabitha Jackson spoke about the process of selecting this year's films, noting, "Our process is a collective process. All the programmers are in the room discussing all of these films to make a program. There are certain things in consideration and having a program that reflects the world as much as we can, who we are and how we live is important to us."

Many distributors were not particularly keen on presenting their newest features to virtual audiences, choosing instead to wait until in-person events resume to give their projects a better shot at being picked up. All the same, insiders believe this will open the door to smaller, hidden gem productions that may have otherwise flown under the radar below higher budget films and bigger names to anchor them. The festival is set to take place from January 28th through February 3rd.

(Also - kudos to anyone that got the Moira Rose reference for this section 😎)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Film

After years of inaction and markedly slow progress in the fight against inequality and bias in Hollywood, it seems that the tide has started to turn for the better, though much work still needs to be done at every stage in the industry. Anita Hill, chair of The Hollywood Commission, an organization that seeks "to create a safe and equitable future for the entertainment industry," released an op-ed last week detailing the commission's latest survey of over 9,600 current and former industry employees. The report found that women are twice as likely as men "to experience every form of biased or unfair behavior" and report abusive workplace conduct while on the job, highlighting the still-present negative conditions that women are facing in the entertainment industry. Hill writes in her piece:

Hollywood can now harness this same urgency, decisiveness, and boldness to ensure that collaboration, diversity, and inclusion remain central to our industry’s workings and culture. Unfortunately, a majority of workers today do not believe that Hollywood has a culture that embraces diversity and inclusion as a core value. Just 49% believe that Hollywood welcomes and values diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, and only 39% believe that Hollywood acknowledges and respects the dignity, unique perspectives, and experiences of every person... Hollywood was born of innovation. It can be rebuilt by it, too.

TV

The Television Academy Foundation announced the appointment of Cris Abrego as chairman of the organization, making him the Foundation's first-ever Latino chair. "During these unprecedented times, we are expanding our reach to serve an even greater number of diverse students from across the country, advancing the Foundation’s goals of helping to shape the careers of the next generation of television professionals," Abrego wrote in a statement.

The team between GREY'S ANATOMY and STATION 19 took on the issues of sex trafficking and police brutality in their midseason finales last week, the latest turn in the shows' commitment to mirroring real world issues that persist in 2020. No spoilers here, but we encourage you to read the interview with showrunners Krista Vernoff and Felicia Pride and how they approached these sensitive and important topics in the episode.

Former GREYS star Katherine Heigl is set to take on the role of Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president in the US. WOODHULL will pull from several biographies about the trailblazing female politician, who first ran in 1872 for the Equal Rights Party with abolitionist Frederick Douglass as her running mate.

Home Box Office Takes on New Meaning

HBO Max has been no stranger to headlines this year, drawing both joy and ire from audiences, filmmakers, and production studios since its release in late May. Now, we're finding out that WarnerMedia did not inform effected filmmakers, before going public with the decision, that they would be releasing the filmakers' blockbusters on their streaming platform as well as a theatrical release.

While Warner CEO Ann Sarnoff said the decision was warranted by the fear of information leaking before going public, many A-list directors have shared their thoughts on what the strategy means for the future of movie releases. DUNE director Denis Villeneuve remarked, "There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here," with long-time Warner partner Christopher Nolan chiming in with support of the filmmakers: "It’s a question of ethics as well. It’s a question of partnership and collaboration. They did not speak to those filmmakers. They did not consult them about what their plans were for their work. And I felt that somebody needed to point out that that wasn’t the right way to treat those filmmakers."

Other members of the HBO Max family have spoken to the strengths of the streamer's foothold in the industry. Directors of THE UNDOING, LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, PERRY MASON and more recently sat down with Variety's FYC Fest to discuss how the platform has allowed them to leave their unique mark on their own projects.

Congressional leaders are hailing HBO and other major streamers to give a little love to customers this holiday season, with the results yet to be seen. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) called on leaders of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max to make their content free for the holidays in order to incentivize people to stay home and stop the spread of COVID-19. "Many Americans have already turned to your platforms as 'safe at home' tools, responsible alternatives to public gatherings at locations like movie theaters, concert venues, and sports arenas," King wrote, noting that the freebie streaming could be "an opportunity for creative, socially responsible thinking" for Americans. Is a Christmas miracle on the horizon? Guess we'll have to wait and see 🎄

COVID Updates

Film & TV

With COVID numbers surging across the country, it comes as no surprise that productions are also beginning to feel the pinch of historic daily case numbers in places like Los Angeles. IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY recently had to pause production after a Zone A production member tested positive, forcing the show to take an early holiday break, with plans to resume in January. This news comes after Apple TV+'s MYTHIC QUEST experienced a dozen positive tests at their production site in Studio City, creating backlash from crew members after showrunner and star Rob McElhenney claimed there was "zero evidence of any transmission" on their set.

Some production crews have conversely enjoyed some of their best work to date while shooting this year, as MIDNIGHT MASS creator and director Mike Flanagan shared that his team's ability to pull off 83 uninterrupted days of shooting quickly became "the best production experience" of his career. "We embraced the new normal. We didn’t pay attention to rumors that other productions were being looser with their protocols, we didn’t panic if we heard about other shows having cases or shutting down," Flanagan wrote. "We just took care of each other and stuck to our protocols."

Commercial production received a boost of safety support last week, as news came that the Directors Guild and Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) agreed to a contract extension through November 30th, 2021. The new agreement outlines the groups' recently approved COVID protocols that commercial creators must follow to ensure safety on sets throughout the next year of operations.

Theatre

When lockdown began in March, I think it's safe to say all of us had little to no clue that the rest of 2020 would unfold as it has. But, as we artsy folk had always done, we adapted. We took up new hobbies. Revisited old ones. Moved home or stayed where we were. Made the best of the cards we had been dealt, rapidly realizing that a pandemic thriving on person-to-person contact portended a grim outlook for the future of live events. Broadway News spoke with a handful of performers about how they took their cards and ran with them, and where they find themselves nine months later.

Entertainment Good Guy Lin-Manuel Miranda recently sat down with Variety to discuss where he thinks the industry is headed in the coming year, and called attention to the far-reaching effects that a shuttered theatre sector will have far beyond the reaches of the stage. "The things we don't talk about are the seamstresses and the front-of-house staff and the ushers and the restaurants around the theater district... It's not just actors; it's an entire ecosystem that exists around the theater business."

A View from the Stage

Actors Equity has officially extended its flexible due dates for payment of member dues, allowing those who have not paid either April or November dues in 2020 to remain in good standing through May 31st, 2021. Equity is still encouraging any member who is able to pay to do so ASAP in order to support the continued efforts of the union in the next year.

Professional non-profit stage network Theatre Communications Group shared the findings from its 2019 Theatre Facts industry report, which outlines the performance and development of non-profit theaters' finances, attendance, and operations over the last year. The 40th annual report found that income & ticket sales grew from their numbers in 2015, though corporate giving among member houses had decreased slightly. "At a moment of such considerable uncertainty about the future, it is important to acknowledge the enduring importance and resiliency of the theatre field, its practitioners, and supporters," the report states. "We should not forget the essential role that theatres play in fueling creative expression, community development, emotional health, cultural literacy, and social cohesion and integration."

New York Theatre Workshop presented its inaugural Youth Artistic Instigator program to virtual audiences last week, with the goal of highlighting and promoting the voice of the next generation of theatre-makers. "The voice of a teenager is one to be reckoned with," one participant shared during the show, underscoring the program's importance to teens in a year where many would typically be making plans about careers, schooling, and more with the help of in-person concerts and showcases. "It's so needed in so many ways, with how disruptive this time has been for high school students," wrote program creator and teaching artist Nana Dakin. "Theatre is the first place that I found my own sense of wholeness and agency as somebody the same age as these students."

Massachusetts-based New Repertory Theatre announced that Michael J. Bobbitt will leave his post as artistic director after a two-year tenure to serve as executive director for the Mass Arts Council starting February 1st, 2021. "We are happy that Michael will now have a role in which his leadership and motivational skills can influence the cultural and artistic communities across our state," New Rep chair Jo Trompet wrote. "And we are proud to have recruited Michael to a state in which he has already made such a great impact."

The 2020 Steinberg Playwright Awards announced their recipients yesterday, choosing to award $10,000 to 20 individuals rather than their usual $200,000 endowment to one singular playwright in response to the overwhelming difficulty that COVID has presented to the industry this year. Read the full list of recipients here!

WGA Strike Winding Down

After a 20-month standoff between CAA and the Writer's Guild, it appears that the two have finally reached an agreement. A statement released last week from the WGA reads: "The WGA and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) have reached a deal on a franchise agreement. Therefore, effective immediately, CAA may once again represent Guild members for covered writing services. WGA and CAA have also agreed to withdraw the legal claims each has brought against the other in federal court."

The news comes as the WGA and the last major agency holdout WME were put on blast last week by U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte to hopefully put the contract issue to bed once and for all. Birotte asked the two entities to put their "egos" aside and follow in CAA's steps: "When I see all this back and forth, I have to ask the question: 'C'mon folks, get together, get this done." WME recently promoted an unprecedented 25 individuals to partner status, prompting some to wonder if a deal with the guild may be on the horizon in the new year.

Both agencies have been at odds with the union over the intricacies of packaging deals for TV series, along with CAA's divestiture from affiliated production company Wiip. The resolution of the nearly two year battle between the entities should open up agreements between their members and studios, clearing the air for fresh development in the new year.

Holiday Guide for Actors 🎄

For Your Viewing & Listening Pleasure

That's all we got, folks! We hope that everyone has a wonderful, safe holiday season and that the New Year ushers in a breath of fresh air for all of us, as we say goodbye to, well... whatever 2020 was.

Some quick wisdom from our career guru Annie Chadwick: "Grab a quiet moment to meditate and allow the Universe to speak to you and give you guidance for the New Year. Set an intention that will carry you through 2021. There is new hope for a new year that awaits its birth."

Wishing you the Happiest of Holidays and a joyous New Year!

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