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New Projects - Pilot Season Updates - Casting Awards - Production Updates - Political Turmoil

By Sean Gregory, January 12, 2021

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season and that the new year has been good to you so far. I didn't have any particular expectations for 2021 starting out much different than how 2020 ended, but it's safe to say it really just kept its foot on the gas during these first 12 days... woof!

Like Abi mentioned in last week's email, I'm going to be taking the driver's seat of our Tuesday emails here moving forward, so you're stuck with me now 🤪 I'm really excited about the new direction our weekly industry updates and social media approach is headed in the new year, and I hope it continues to serve everyone and help us meet our career goals as we continue to navigate this crazy time together.

That being said, we're always itching for feedback about the site, our emails, and our posts, so please please please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions on how to make our little engine run even better (and thank you to those who have already done so over the past few months!) We really appreciate hearing from you and can't wait to keep improving our services to make this the best year yet.

Entertainment news was a bit lighter last week, but we still had some pretty interesting stories hit the stand, so let's get to it!

Upcoming Workshops

Thank you to everyone who came out for our Pilot Season Workshop with our friends at Actors Connection yesterday! We had a great time discussing this year's adjusted format and how to make the most of the unconventional and unique challenges that 2021 is already throwing at us. Deadline rounded up reports from each of the major networks and what their shows' statuses are heading into 2021, many of which are still recovering from the botched 2020 pilot season doubled down on efforts to get as many projects off the ground in the next few months. For anyone who missed out on our workshop, check out today's Instagram post for a quick recap 👀

We still have two more workshops happening this month to help position you for success this year! As always, a discount code will be provided for attendees who are new to the Up-To-Date Actor and have not created an account with us before. Hope to see you at an event this month!

• January 20th, 2021 @ 3:00 PM EST — TAX TIME SEMINAR with Actors Connection
• January 23rd, 2021 @ 4:00 PM EST — PRODUCTION UPDATE & HOW TO CREATIVELY STAY IN THE GAME with Acting & Voice Studios

Casting Society of America's ARTIOS Awards Nominees

The Casting Society of America (CSA) unveiled the television and theatre nominees for its 36th annual ARTIOS Awards last week, once again tipping its hat to many of the industry's major streamers as the virtual platforms continue to outpace cable offerings.

Netflix led the pack with 12 nominations for titles like THE POLITICIAN, OZARK, and DEAD TO ME, and Hulu snagged eight noms for shows like THE GREAT, HANDMAID'S TALE, and LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE. Noms also went out to a handful of cabler offerings like POSE (FX), RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE (VH1), and DRUNK HISTORY (COMEDY CENTRAL). Even projects from dear old Quibi - whose entire library of 75+ projects was recently acquired by Roku - pulled out a handful of nominations!

Alongside the nominations, the CSA will also be recognizing long-time casting directors Tara Rubin and Robi Reed with the inaugural Hoyt Bowers Award, along with the Actors Fund with the Rosalie Joseph Humanitarian Award. Nominations for casting in feature films opened last Thursday, with nomination announcements to follow in March. The 36th annual ARTIOS Awards will stream virtually on April 15th.

**Advice Alert** Are any of the nominees on your targeted hit list of casting directors?? Or is your dream TV series nominated?? This is a perfect time to drop the casting director a line and congratulate them on their nomination! Speak to the show that they were nominated for. Be specific on how their work helped shape the show and how you fit into the fabric of the world of the series. As always make sure you list any recent news, include links to your Actors Access profile, website, etc.

Movie Theatres Dealt Massive Blow in 2020

It's no surprise that movie theatres took a huge hit to revenues in 2020, and will, unfortunately, be forced to continue weathering the storm here in the next few months before life is able to return to some semblance of normalcy. A report from Gower Street Analytics confirmed that the 2020 box office numbers were down 71% from 2019 for global grosses, managing just $12.4B, while the international box office came in at 67% below 2019 with $10.2B. While the data may seem bleak, researchers are pointing to the encouraging signs from outside the US that show audience's willingness to return to cinemas once the offerings return and viewers feel safe in doing so. While these findings may portend a rise in theater viewings later in 2021, industry guides remain wary that a backlog of projects may lead to an unwanted jockeying for position among production studios hopeful to catch the eyes of returning viewers.

Leading Ladies in Film & TV

If you haven't seen THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT yet, stop reading now and at least watch the first episode. Don't worry, I'll wait ♟

Amidst what seems like a never-ending train of new releases this past year, QUEEN'S GAMBIT joined a formidable group of shows that celebrate the viewpoint of women overcoming patriarchal structures and traditionally male-dominated environments. "Ultimately, she’s her own person and she’s got to find her own way," executive producer William Herberg said of GAMBIT protagonist Beth Harmon. It's a sentiment mirrored in Netflix' UNORTHODOX by main character Esty, who escapes her Satmar community upbringing in favor of a new life in Berlin. "If you speak to most women who live in that community, they like it. I also think they wouldn’t describe it as patriarchal because the sexes live separately," UNORTHODOX exec Anna Winger explained, sharing that she wanted to preserve the conflict between where Esty was running from and running to. "Women live in a part that’s really run by women. If anything, they would say they’re oppressed by the older women telling them what to do."

Series star Anya Taylor-Joy found unexpected camaraderie and collaboration with series co-star Marielle Heller, who holds previous directorial credits for A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD and CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? The process helped inform and create some of the scenes that we've come to love between the two actresses, leading to what Taylor-Joy describes as "an electric process when we’re all working together."

EUPHORIA star Zendaya shared her own thoughts about making her own space in the still male-dominated entertainment world, sharing with GQ that she has started rejecting scripts whose female characters only exist to serve that of their male counterparts. "They don’t really have an arc of their own. And they usually feel very one-dimensional in the sense that there’s not a lot of layers to them, meaning they all seem very kind of like the same person over and over and over again. It would have been great and it would have been fine, but I wouldn’t have grown at all." The actress added that her interest in the upcoming flick MALCOLM & MARIE, for which she has already earned high praise and a sizable amount of Oscar buzz, excited her because "it offered something more than the passive girlfriend or an accessory in someone else’s narrative."

COVID Updates

While Broadway continues to remain shuttered for the foreseeable future, many actors have found a new temporary home in the world of LAW & ORDER. SVU showrunner Warren Leight has made it his mission to hire as many Broadway actors as possible for the show's 22nd season. The Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright tweeted last week, "We are trying to hire every Broadway actor we can while we and they wait for the curtains to rise again," adding in a second tweet, "And yes, by Broadway, we of course also mean off, and off-off, and off-off-off."

A National Endowment for the Arts survey recently found that while national unemployment sits at about 8.5%, the figure could be as high as 52% for actors in the country, underscoring the importance of SVU's commitment to hiring New York talent during such a difficult time. "We know how hard the community has been hit here," Leight commented. "The goal is to get as many jobs to as many theater actors as we possibly can." This week's episode will feature HADESTOWN's Eva Noblezada and BEETLEJUICE's Alex Brightman, so be sure to tune in this Thursday to watch!

While the second stimulus package brings with it the hope that both actors and venues will be able to weather the ever-fomenting COVID storm in the months ahead, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman called for a "Detroit-style" bailout of Broadway in an interview last week with NY1, referencing the widespread government rescue of the auto industry in 2009. "The government investment would be tied to making Broadway shows more accessible and equitable for working-class New Yorkers... The United Kingdom has extended $2 billion to its small theatres across that country. We should do the same here in the state of New York."

Here's a look at all the Equity-approved theaters and productions happening in January!

Political Turmoil Permeates Entertainment Landscape

As we all know, politics took a turn for the unbelievable last week. I truly could not grasp the scenes I was watching play out on TV throughout Wednesday, especially after the nail-biting coverage of the Georgia runoff races the night before. I have to believe that our country is better than this, but the disgusting actions of those individuals have given me plenty of reason to reflect on the changes that this country sorely needs.

Actors Equity released a statement condemning the violent insurrection attempt and calling for justice: "There must be consequences and there must be accountability, not just for those who recklessly stormed the Capitol and disrupted the transition, but for the politicians who have shamefully incited this behavior with a steady stream of disinformation and hate."

While the nation readies itself for the incoming Biden administration, members of the entertainment community have banded together to advocate for a cabinet position dedicated to overseeing the arts industry in the US. Currently, the responsibilities are shared between the Department of State, Department of Defense and even Transportation and Agriculture, while NPR arts contributor and Ovation TV head Charles Segars says that vesting all the power into one position would centralize the government's leverage to help the industry in the long run.

Georgia voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams has been no stranger to the spotlight over the last few years and for good reason. The one-time gubernatorial candidate of the Peach State has since dedicated thousands of hours to organizing voter registration drives, predominantly in underrepresented and disenfranchised areas of the state, which many believe to have been the tipping point for Georgia's blue shift in the 2020 election. American Theatre Mag writer Patrick Myers discussed how this shift in politics has come at a time when most industries are re-examining their own part in the history of suppressing minority voices, including those in the arts industry. Stacey Abrams' unwillingness to back down from dissent and scrutiny can and should drive theatremakers to reorganize and invest in long-overdue, necessary changes in their own companies.

Writer & director extraordinaire Jordan Peele recently chatted about his time shooting GET OUT in Alabama early in 2016 at the "Get Out the Vote" event in Georgia last week, and how the film crew's diverse political opinions shaped the production for Peele: "We shot [the film] with people who were of different political persuasions and it was cool. I liked them. I liked the people down there," Peele said. "There was this feeling of America that was still happening where we have different beliefs, and I may even kinda think you’re racist but we’re stuck here and we’re going to be cordial to one another and, hey, maybe we might even connect."

Remote workers could be facing a change in taxation if the Supreme Court decides to take up a case regarding ending taxation on workers who are no longer commuting to out-of-state metropolitan areas due to COVID. New Hampshire has filed a petition to end Massachusetts' ability to tax NH residents who are no longer commuting to the areas like Boston, which may pose significant budgetary challenges for similar cities like New York. The Supreme Court has yet to decide if it will hear the case in 2021.

With the end of a three-year blockade between Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries like Qatar and the UAE, the Middle Eastern entertainment community will start to enjoy lifted sanctions on much of its programming. FIFA president Gianni Infantino called the move "a very positive step for the region on the path to reconciliation."

"What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon, and the day after that, and the next thirty years?"

Public Domain Day 2021 yielded a substantial crop of newcomers to the transcendental copyright-free ether, much to the annual enjoyment of those looking to dive into new takes on work from artists of days gone by. Chiefly among this year's class was Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY, joined by titles like Hemingway's IN OUR TIME, Virginia Woolf's MRS. DALLOWAY and compositions from musicians like Gertrude "Ma" Rainey and Fats Waller. I'll admit it: GATSBY is my favorite book, and I'm equal parts excited and nervous to see what may come of its home in the public domain. Then again, maybe it's exactly what we need to take on the rest of our newfound Roaring 20's 🍸 Until then, I'll take a page out of Nick's book - "I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."

Quick Bits

College students rejoice! Hulu has announced that they will be lowering the cost of its ad-supported subscription to $2/month

Speaking of Hulu: Anna Konkle, star and co-creator of popular series PEN15 has settled a deal with Random House for her memoir THE SANE ONE, chronicling her upbringing living with separated parents under the same roof that she has previous tackled in her Hulu series.

BRIDGERTON fans: TVLine sat down with series regular Nicola Coughlan to discuss her hopes for Penelope and what may be in store for season 2 (read at your own risk - major spoilers ahead!)

The new THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE musical will officially land in virtual form at the end of January via pay-per-view for audiences to enjoy. Originally scheduled to run this month at London's Southwark Playhouse, the production was forced to shift online due to the UK's continued lockdown restrictions.

MASTER CLASS: Broadway legend Betty Buckley will be offering a new round of her Song/Monologue Master Class this winter. The Tony Winner and Theatre Hall of Famer has partnered with T. Schreiber Studios to connect with actors around the world for these five-week courses!

The Fellow-script of the Ring

Ending on a bit of a lighter note: One of my favorite film franchises of all time, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, is set to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of its first movie - THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING - in 2021, and has already gifted viewers with an updated 4K remaster of the trilogy, alongside its release on HBO Max (though only the theatrical releases are available to stream; real ones know that the extended editions are the only way to watch in all their glory... better start saving up for that box set). Empire has also re-released its interview series with the franchise's cast, which offers tons of fun little tidbits about the filmmaking process, including Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood discussing the barrage of script changes during the process.

"It was tiresome, wasn't it?" McKellen said. "Particularly for this theatre actor who has spent a career honoring a text, honed and settled before production starts. Still, it kept us on our toes and I always had the paperback ‘Lord of the Rings’ hidden in my robe, to refer to."

Am I going to rewatch the series now to see if I can spot the script in his robe? Absolutely. Am I listening to the LOTR soundtrack while writing this? Follow me on Spotify and find out 😎

That's all we got this week, folks! Thank you for dealing with all my geeking out near the end here - honestly, GATSBY and LOTR are two of my favorite things in the world, and I have exactly zero shame in throwing my nerd love at them.

No telling what this week will hold (isn't that forever the case these days?) but please find some time to center yourself, meditate a bit, and leave yourself open to some wonderful possibilities from the Universe.

To quote Samwise Gamgee:

"It’s like in the great stories. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something. That there’s some good in this world. And it’s worth fighting for."