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New Projects - SAG-AFTRA & AEA Reach Deal - COVID Updates - Tax Incentives & Relocations - Restructures & Lay-offs - Awards News

By Sean Gregory, November 24, 2020

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Happy Thanksgiving Week, UTD Family!

We hope that everyone is staying safe and sound wherever you're finding yourself in the world these days. With COVID cases spiking around the country, we've been keeping tabs on the industry and the status of many of the productions and ongoing stories that we've been following the last few months. This email is jammed packed with lots of juicy updates and the latest news around all things entertainment as things ebb and flow these days, so grab some coffee, throw on Playbill's official Thanksgiving playlist, and let's get to it! ☕️

What's Up With the Macy's Parade?

First things first, I've been wondering this for weeks, and it looks like we've finally received our answer. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will still fly its iconic balloons in NYC this Thursday, this time through an abbreviated runway through Herald Square near the company's flagship store. The towering balloons will be anchored to specialized vehicles to cut down on personnel, contributing to the 75% overall decrease in parade participants. All performances will be pre-recorded, coming from shows like HAMILTON, AIN'T TOO PROUD, and MEAN GIRLS. The show must go on! 🦃

Tara Rubin & Robi Reed to Receive Artios Top Honors

Longtime casting professionals Robi Reed and Tara Rubin are set to receive the Hoyt Bowers Award at the Casting Society of America's 36th annual Artios Awards, to be held virtually next April. The award, given for excellence in casting and as a testament to the recipients' storied bodies of work, will be presented in conjunction with the Rosalie Joseph Humanitarian Award to The Actors Fund, in recognition of their humanitarian and philanthropic efforts benefiting actors during the COVID pandemic. "For the first time in our history, a virtual awards show allows CSA the opportunity to celebrate our craft, along with our membership and their contributions across the globe, in one single event," CSA co-presidents Russell Boast and Rich Mento remarked.

COVID Updates

A host of entertainment-focused industries are once again pressuring Congress to make good on their previous endeavors to reshape the pandemic insurance industry in the continuing stalemate over COVID protections. In a letter signed by nearly a dozen entities from SAG-AFTRA to NASCAR to the NFL, lawmakers were once again encouraged to take heed of the more than 2.5 million jobs being affected by the shutdown in all 50 states ahead of a Thursday Committee on Financial Services hearing, seen by many as a first step to comprise after the immobilization of the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act (PRIA) by Congress in May.

Film & TV

Along with insurance woes, many productions are finding that shooting during COVID is just downright expensive. Between frequent testing, PPE for cast and crew, enhanced sanitation, and shuffling schedules, many shows that have returned to set are now feeling the effects of adhering to all union guidelines to keep all involved as safe as possible. Deadline recently reported that "implementing COVID safety protocols adds about $200,000-$300,000 an episode to the budget of a multi-camera comedy series, $300,000-$400,000 an episode for single-camera comedy and $400,000-$500,000 and beyond for a drama," resulting in a 10% overall budget increase to operate.

While the most recent spike in COVID cases has once again spelled the end for indoor moviegoing for the foreseeable future in the US, the drive-in industry is continuing to do its best to keep some projectors rolling. The Netflix-owned Egyptian Theatre in downtown Hollywood will play host to the Arena Cinelounge Drive-in Hollywood, set to begin viewings on December 1st of the Aaron Eckhart thriller WANDER, with plans to remain open seven days a week.

Theatre

COME FROM AWAY actor Chad Kimball recently came under fire for a tweet aimed at the ongoing restrictions inside houses of worship in New York, saying "Respectfully, I will never allow a Governor, or anyone, to stop me from SINGING let alone sing in worship to my God. Folks, absolute POWER corrupts ABSOLUTELY. This is not about safety. It's about POWER. I will respectfully disobey these unlawful orders." Many in the community saw this as a direct affront to the months of advocacy for wearing masks to combat the spread of COVID, especially from a member of one of the hardest hit industries in the country. Kimball, who contracted COVID in March, seems to be underscoring a growing discord in the US amongst those with COVID fatigue, spewing out dangerous anti-mask rhetoric that will undoubtedly add to the now-projected lapse in tourism in NYC until 2025. For me, it's pretty simple: Please, please, please just wear a mask. 😷

Premiere Stages at Kean University in Union, NJ, shared their journey to producing a small show during the pandemic, in an effort to illustrate just how difficult theatre companies are going to have it moving forward. Artistic Director John Wooten noted that the usually four-page proposal he sends for approval to Actors Equity quickly morphed into a nearly 30-page manifesto on safety guidelines and contingency plans, with Wooten confirming, "It was all a little surreal, from the moment I decided to do the play to the final Q&A question."

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Last week was Transgender Awareness Week, an annual event aimed at celebrating the trans community and ultimately culminating in the Transgender Day of Rememberance on November 20th, which seeks to honor the victims of transphobic violence. Indiewire has compiled a list of nine new trans-centric movies and TV shows to check out, showcasing some of the industry's best up-and-coming trans talent!

Film & TV

Variety sat down with trans actress Josie Totah to discuss her role in the upcoming reboot of the 90's classic SAVED BY THE BELL, set to premiere tomorrow on NBC streamer Peacock. Totah also serves as a producer on the show, sharing that "I think so often on a show when you’re working with people who are younger or maybe less experienced, they feel like they can’t speak up or use their voice on something. So it was really important to me to be a voice for the [other young actors] on our show." Totah further discussed her excitement at playing "It" girl Lexi.

Designer Akin Adebowale and director Ousman Sahko have teamed up to launch Blacktag, an online interactive platform aimed at connecting Black artists with brands and audiences around the world. The trailblazing new platform will create a platform for Black creators to showcase their originally produced content to mainstream audiences, as well as pursue brand deals with companies looking to develop partnerships and new advertising campaigns.

Comedian, writer, and actor Ramy Youseff continues to push for authentic representation for disabled characters in Hollywood, using his platform at the Media Access Awards last week to bring awareness to the current treatment of disabled actors on Hollywood sets. Youseff received the WGA West's Evan Summers Memorial award for his work on Hulu's RAMY for fostering a more inclusive environment for disabled professionals in the industry. The writer/actor called out Hollywood for their double standard in how they perceive disabled actors' needs on set, remarking, "A lot of A-list stars only have four takes in them, and productions figure out how to really work around their demands and their needs," while someone like co-star Steve Way "doesn’t even have that many demands or needs in order to be put into a position to succeed."

Theatre

Actors' Equity released the findings from their second annual diversity & inclusion report, aimed at identifying the top areas of improvement for stage productions across the country. While the study found that there had been some gradual improvement in hiring practices and representation in key areas since its inception in 2017, the general consensus of the report was that very little has been done to enact long-term change in the industry. Chief among the findings was that the frequency of contracts going to people of color rose slightly, but a sizeable wage gap still remains between basically any non-white, non-male, and/or non-cisgendered actors and their white cis male counterparts.

Columbia Law School and Broadway Advocacy Coalition are teaming up for a semester-long course on police and criminal justice reform next spring. "The Theater for Change: Reimagining Justice Through Abolition" seeks to bring together artists across disciplines and law students at Columbia to create pieces that explore the current broken system, pathways to abolition and reform, and strengthen communities most affected by this current structure. All artists chosen will receive compensation for their work in the program; applications are currently being accepted through December 6th.

Here are some other interesting articles of note:

Oscar Buzz & International Awards

In the words of Moira Rose, our favorite season is almost upon us: Awards! 🌟 With movie theatres shuttering once more around the country, studios and production companies are doing their best to market their 2020 material to audiences ahead of Oscar voting season. Previous Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin is once again garnering buzz for his Netflix drama THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, while also navigating talks for the film to receive a musical treatment.

With so much fluctuation in the placement of new content this year, film groups around the country are doing their due diligence to ensure that new works are receiving their best shot at consideration for the Oscars, Golden Globes, SAG awards and other major entities. Many productions are still shooting for the traditional holiday release dates in December and January, making sure to stay well ahead of the Oscar submission cut off on February 28th.

Some companies are running into an ironically different problem all-together: Netflix is continuing to fill up its 2021 awards slate with another potential addition in the Zendaya/John David Washington-led MALCOM & MARIE, tentatively positioning Zendaya as the studio's fifth Best Actress contender in Oscars next April. And this is just the names from one company! Industry heavyweights like Francis McDormand, Rachel Brosnahan, Emily Blunt, and more all have posted highly-touted performances in their respective projects this year, making for one of the more exciting Oscar races in recent memory. More knockout performances for us, I suppose. 🍿

The 2020 AUDELCO "VIV" Awards were announced last week, honoring excellence in Black theatre in New York City. Established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson, the Audience Development Committee's (AUDELCO) VIV Awards spotlight the fabulous work by actors, writers, tech folks, and more within the Black community in NYC, standing as the only established black theatre-centric award ceremony. This year's virtual event will take place next Monday, November 30th - check out the full list of nominees here!

International Awards News
Let's All Go To The Lobby 🍿

I don't know about y'all, but I miss being packed into a crowded movie theatre for a new release with some solid popcorn, soda, and candy that I definitely didn't smuggle in under my puffy coat. 🤫 Unfortunately, the road ahead for in-person movie viewing is long and winding, and studios are taking notice. Universal recently signed new deals with AMC and Cinemark that would place new movies on PVOD platforms three weeks after a theatricals release, or five weeks if the film opens to more than $50 million (currently only inked with Cinemark). Many are viewing this deal as a sign of things to come in a post-COVID world, allowing studios to get their content out to living rooms at a much faster rate than current models allow.

Some studios are doubling down on these agreements and testing the waters of both markets simultaneously, as news that WONDER WOMAN 1984 would hit both theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day. While the news comes as an exciting surprise for HBO Max customers, many exhibitors see it as a big setback in an already increasingly challenging release landscape. WONDER WOMEN is following in the footsteps of Disney's SOUL, which will also play a dual theater/streaming release on Christmas Day, signaling to many that this may be the way of the future for the industry, even if it locks out the millions who are not subscribed to premium streaming formats.

Ca-li-for-nia News, It's Unforgettable 🏖

California is slowly picking up more productions from other parts of the country thanks to some new tax incentives for filming in the state. Amazon Prime's HUNTERS and Disney+'s THE RIGHT STUFF are the 21st and 22nd shows to uproot and settle down in Cali, joining popular projects like THIS IS US, WESTWORLD, and STAR TREK PICARD.

LA North Studios Developing New Soundstage In Santa Clarita, CA For 2021

I'm a Union Man

Actors' Equity and SAG-AFTRA have finally come to terms on their outstanding disagreement over streaming shows recorded in theaters in the country, a growing genre of performance amidst the pandemic:

"Recognizing the challenges for theater during the pandemic and that the only way for live theater companies to reach audiences is by recording and/or streaming productions to a remote audience, SAG-AFTRA has agreed that AEA will cover this work during the pandemic period with a term concluding Dec. 31, 2021, subject to certain limitations including distribution on platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.," SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris and National Executive Director David White announced in a joint statement last week

More good news came this past week from SAG-AFTRA, as officials shared that the $4 billion Pension Plan is in good standing and projected to remain that way for the foreseeable future. The news comes as the fund saw a notable dip in employer contributions due to COVID closures this year, stoking confidence in the long-term viability for union beneficiaries. SAG-AFTRA national executive director David White said in a recent webinar, "That is testimony to our negotiations and to the contribution increases that we’ve had from all of the contracts that feed this plan. Good news story. Full stop. We’re very happy about that."

O Conan, Where Art Thou

Longtime talk show host Conan O'Brien is officially heading to the land of streaming services, announcing last week that he will host a "weekly variety show" on HBO Max next summer. With his current show coming to an end on TBS in June 2021, O'Brien's showrunner Jeff Ross postulated that the end of CONAN on TBS is a precursor to the final decline of the late-night talk show. Ross believes the open format shows are "kind of dinosaurs in the business," adding that traditional networks are "just like death" as a result of their continuously low ratings. The streaming safety net has not been historically welcoming to nightly talk shows, with the best of the genre coming instead in weekly segments like David Letterman's MY NEXT GUEST NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION.

Restructuring & Lay-Offs

The major networks and studios continued to undergo streamlining and reorganization maneuvers over the last few weeks, as companies attempt to future-proof their current structures to meet the demands of an ever-evolving digital landscape. WarnerMedia, long hailed as the most stable company in the game, has been an extreme case study in the volatility of the current media reshuffling, experiencing a mass departure of senior execs in the three months since former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar took over in the company's top position. This uncertainty has been mirrored at several other top performing conglomerates like ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal, and AMC Networks, contributing to a growing sense of uncertainty among employees across the industry that they, too, may find themselves on the chopping block in an already tumultuous economic climate.

What to Watch & Read
Classes & Submissions

Advice

Trailers & Film/TV Content

Industry News

Readings & Virtual Theatre

Whew... and that's that! Thanks so much for sticking around on this one with me y'all, lots of big news coming out of the industry this week, and definitely a lot to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead.

From all of us here at Up-To-Date, we'd like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and please know how thankful we are for each and every one of you, especially during these uncertain days.

Love and light to all of you this week 💛