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New Projects - IATSE Deal Reached / Strike Averted - Production Boon - Streaming & Metrics

By Abigail Hardin, October 19, 2021

Eye660

Have you heard? The once-impending, nationwide, IATSE strike has been avoided! This is BIG news. Read more below for more info, industry response, and a detailed history of the union and this watershed moment.

Annie and I had a great time last week answering your questions at Actors Connection FREE @ Three. We always enjoy being able to encourage you to get specific and take BOLD action. It seems like time keeps moving faster and faster, where did September and October go?! With less than a month and a half left before the Thanksgiving holiday, make the most of this busy Fall season.

These are three major steps you can take right now to move your career forward in the remaining weeks of the 2021 production season. We at the Up-To-Date Actor are busy working on new features to help you in this process and are constantly refining the many existing ones. Stay tuned for new feature updates in the coming weeks and follow us on social (IG: @uptodatetheatricals TW: @UTDTheatricals) for these notifications as well as breaking industry news.

Have a great week!

IATSE

Negotiators from the IATSE reached a deal on Saturday afternoon with the AMPTP for a new three-year contract. The union sent out a list of bullet points on the deal, including 10-hour "turnaround" times between shifts, 54-hour weekend turnarounds, and 3% wage increases for each of the next three years. The deal also includes increased meal penalties, improved wages and working conditions for streaming productions, and a "living wage" for the lowest-paid workers.

IATSE chief Loeb and the leaders of the union's 13 Hollywood production locals praised the members' solidarity for securing a fair contract. "Everything achieved was because you, the members, stood up and gave us the power to change the course of these negotiations," they said in a statement. "Our solidarity, at both the leadership and rank and file level, was the primary reason that no local was left behind and every priority was addressed. Because of you we realized:

  • Living wage achieved
  • Improved wages and working conditions for streaming
  • Retroactive scale wage Increases of 3% annually
  • Employer Funded Benefits for the term
  • Increased meal period penalties including prevailing rate
  • Daily Rest Periods of 10 hours without exclusions
  • Weekend Rest Periods of 54 and 32 hours
  • Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Holiday
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives
  • 13th and 14th checks for pre-August 2009 retirees
  • Additional MPI Hours for On-Call Employees
  • Expansion of Sick Leave Benefit to the entire country

"Your strike authorization vote, your preparation for a strike and your willingness to risk your livelihood to fight for yourselves and each other has profoundly changed our union, "IATSE leaders said. "We thank you for your unwavering support."

The 54-hour weekend is a significant win for the union, and is intended to eliminate "Fraturdays," in which productions would schedule late-Friday shifts that would go until early Saturday morning. The contract still allows productions to call six-day work weeks, in which case the "weekend" turnaround would be 32 hours.

This is a historic moment for production in the U.S., this new contract will serve as the basis for all production contracts moving forward, not just for IATSE members. The implications of these contracts will be felt by all aspects (I'm looking at you actors ). "Hands down this is the strongest contract we have achieved in our history," said Art Directors Guild president Nelson Coates and other top Local execs.

If you're still wondering what all of the fuss is about, here is a great article (albiet written before the agreement was reached) that details the history of the union and why this moment is instrumental in defining the future of film and television.

More Articles:

Indie Film, Streaming & Metrics

Joe Russo, best known for his collaborations with brother Anthony on Marvel blockbusters AVENGERS: INFINITY WARS and AVENGERS: ENDGAME, spoke last week about moving outside of the studio system with the formation of his indie company AGBO, and the future of the theatrical biz in the streaming era. Furthermore, Russo is not anticipating a comeback for indie movies at the cinema, and instead, he expects the future of such content to be in the digital space. "I don’t see a resurgence of independent movies at theaters, I just don’t," the producer asserted. "You get more money to make them digitally. It’s the easiest thing for Netflix to greenlight and nobody really bothers you [creatively]. Movies are going to evolve, I’m not sure what theaters will look like but I know it’s going to be more premium."

After a few turbulent months where its methodology was questioned by a range of advertising stakeholders, Nielsen has unveiled a new brand identity. The new look is timed to the start of Advertising Week in New York, a hybrid event that will see a number of media and tech firms take part. In an announcement, the company said the revamped brand signals the "transformation of its culture and a redefined strategy focused solely on the global future of media. Nielsen’s new look and feel represents a commitment to innovation and the company’s role and purpose of powering a better media future for all people." Last March, Nielsen closed the sale of its Global Connect business, saying it would focus on delivering media solutions in three areas: measurement, audience outcomes, and content services. The company is combining and enhancing its measurement solutions into a single cross-media measurement solution, Nielsen One, which is expected to roll out by the end of 2022.

Production Breaking Ground

One thing became clear during the pandemic, the arts industry is critical to New York City's economy. As of August, "all available borough full-service soundstages are mostly filled" and production is back to pre-pandemic levels. These solid occupancy rates have attracted major capital investment and enticed investors into former industrial zones to build out soundstages, support facilities, and other infrastructure. New soundstages and upgrades are planned for Brooklyn's Steiner Studios and Astoria's Kauffman Studios; Lionsgate is building a 5-studio complex in Yonkers, due to open in November; and 11 new soundstages have been proposed as Wildflower Studios, on 19th Avenue in Astoria Queens. Thanks to Tax credits and a resurgence in production, confidence is high in the future of "Made in NYC" film & TV.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Film & TV

WarnerMedia has logged single-digit growth in representation of women and people of color on both sides of the camera and in its workforce over the past year, according to the studio’s newly released Equity and Inclusion report for 2020-21. WarnerMedia issued a detailed, 105-page report complete with glossy features on its work on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the wake of the tumultuous incidents that returned the Black Lives Matter movement to prominence and spurred other activism on social justice issues. The report emphasized the company’s response to the jolts of last year, with a number of new talent development programs and its heightened search for BIPOC creators and stories to tell, such as HBO’s distinctive limited series I MAY DESTROY YOU, from multi-hyphenate British auteur Michaela Coel.

Netflix has reinstated three employees, including a trans senior software engineer who criticized the streamer’s new Dave Chappelle comedy special, after suspending and investigating the group for crashing a meeting of its top executives. Terra Field, one of the suspended employees, shared her reinstatement by the company on her Twitter. Field also included a screenshot of her correspondence with Netflix officials, in which Field was informed that an investigation found that she did not join the meeting with any ill intent, nor did she think there was anything wrong with seeking access to the meeting.

Today, the Sundance Institute launched the inaugural Trans Possibilities Intensive, a three-day virtual program focused on advancing transgender storytellers of color and their projects. Six artists have been selected for the intensive, where participants will work on their projects, sharpen their craft, develop community, and challenge the obstacles that often exclude transgender artists of color. During the Intensive, fellows will participate in a robust schedule including group exercises and workshops, as well as collaborations with creative artist advisors.

The BBC has overhauled its guidelines for dealing with bullying and sexual harassment on set in light of "recent revelations" in the TV and film industries. According to an email sent by BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore to dozens of UK indies, Moore tasked producers on all new shows to confirm they have a suitable "respect at work policy", to name at least one safeguarding contact, and to require all cast and crew to complete anti-bullying and harassment training before the cameras roll. The blanket policy will cover all genres and is an update on the previous policy. Read more on the policy.

Theatre

SLAVE PLAY will arrive in Los Angeles after all. Playwright Jeremy O. Harris announced last week that his Tony-nominated comedy-drama will remain on the line-up at Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum in light of commitments made by the venue to expand opportunities there for women, trans and non-binary artists. "So after 1 1/2 weeks of Zooms and phone calls w artistic staff at @CTGLA as well as my team on SLAVE PLAY, LA community members, multiple female mentors I’m excited to say that  @SlavePlayBway will stay on the season for 2022," Harris tweeted. The development, he said, came after "multiple commitments" were made by CTG.

Suni Reid, a non-binary performer who appeared in the Broadway, Chicago, and Los Angeles productions of HAMILTON in both ensemble and principal roles, has filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint alleging that their contract was not renewed in retaliation over a request for a gender-neutral dressing room during the L.A. production – a charge HAMILTON producers are denying. "Publicly, HAMILTON is a beacon of diversity and appears committed to causes seeking social justice and harmony," said Reid's attorneys Lawrence M. Pearson and Lindsay M. Goldbrum of Wigdor LLP in a statement. "Behind the curtain, however, the Company’s management will force out a Black, transgender cast member simply because they stood up for themselves and advocated for a more equitable workplace, and therefore called that public image into question. We look forward to upholding Mx. Reid's rights and hope this is a wake-up call for the theater industry about the systemic inequities that persist even at its greatest heights."

What to Read & Watch