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New Projects - SAG-AFTRA COVID Agreement - Zoom Tips - Outdoor Theatre in NYC - Healthcare

By Sean Gregory, September 29, 2020

Happy (almost) October, UTD!

I hope that you've all been enjoying the cooler weather that the fall has been offering us these last few weeks. Yesterday marked the 200th day of the Broadway shutdown, underscoring what has been undoubtedly some of the strangest and most difficult days for actors around the world. I'm holding onto hope that the signs of life we're seeing in various regional theaters and on film and TV sets are all pointing towards the continued march towards a new normal for our industry. Seeing the ways in which fellow artists are making the best use of this time continues to inspire me to pursue what brings me joy, which seems ever-changing these days. I hope that you find a little joy too, wherever life takes you this week.

Let's talk news!

COVID - Production Resuming

Film & TV

With Hollywood finally coming to an agreement on its return-to-work protocols last week, unions and studios are working to set up an effective training program for discussing how sets and productions will run in the COVID era. The agreement noted that health and safety training will be required from each Producer before work begins, spurring on the need for the program now being developed by Contract Services Administration Trust Fund and several other industry entities. All employees will be required to pass the training before taking part in the production.

The agreement between studios and unions came after months of back-and-forth that involved contract revisions and protocol rewrites intended to satisfy all parameters of shooting during COVID, while still preserving the foundational agreements from the unions. "It is really remarkable that, to my knowledge, for the first time ever, the unions and guilds negotiated something together, and I think the result speaks for itself. Our solidarity was our strength," ITASE Local 900 national executive director Rebecca Rhine said in her most recent video message to union members.

SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris echoed Rhine's sentiment in a webinar to discuss the new deal, calling the agreement "the single most important agreement we've signed in decades." SAG-AFTRA's COO and general counsel Duncan Crabtree-Ireland was also quick to remind folks that while the agreement is undoubtedly the industry's best bet at returning to work as quickly and safely as possible, it is not an airtight plan at eliminating the risk of transmitting COVID. "There is not, during this time of COVID, a situation where we can guarantee 100% safety, or that producers or anyone else can provide for 100% safety," Crabtree-Ireland said. "So in everything we're doing, it's about mitigating the risk and reducing the risk of COVID infection in connection with employment."

A new hotline has been established to report any COVID-related health and safety concerns on any non-scripted/non-fiction project in the industry. The service is being overseen by the non-fiction production trade association NPACT and is open to complaints from any production, regardless of whether or not it is associated with NPACT.

North Carolina has approved five new projects to begin production in the state, with the state's film office noting that "2019 was a banner year for film and television production in North Carolina and despite some setbacks related to COVID-19, it looks like 2020 will also be a great year for the state's industry." Among the projects are two made-for-TV Christmas movies and the second season of Starz series HIGHTOWN.

Theatre

With the news that restaurants in NYC will be permitted to continue with outdoor dining through the fall and winter, city council members are currently discussing three pieces of legislation that would enable arts organizations to utilize outdoor spaces for rehearsals and performances. One bill seeks to allow non-profit culture groups temporary access to parks, plazas, roadways and more for production usage, while a separate bill advocates for the creation of a mobile app that will streamline the ability to apply for permits and monitor what groups are using what spaces. "The city isn't doing enough to save our cultural organizations and institution—particularly small ones…when they are literally at the brink of dying as an organization," Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Gonzalo Casals said at a meeting last week.

Even with the potential for more spaces to put on theatre, many in the industry are still remaining cautious about how to safely proceed with productions in the COVID era. Several have pointed to the success of the outdoor, socially-distanced production of GODSPELL with Berkshire Theatre Group in Massachusetts: no kissing, no lifts, lots of hand sanitizer, and a very tuned-in Equity stage manager. Director Gerry McIntyre remained hopeful that the work from his cast and crew would show "what is possible with live theatre in this new era of performance."

China Censorship

A Senate inquiry has been launched after the production team for Disney's MULAN thanked several entities in China that were sanctioned by both houses of Congress earlier this year for alleged human rights violations. The movie's credits extend its gratitude to a handful of government bodies in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, where reports have abounded of millions of Uyghur Muslims being held in mass internment camps and being subject to sterilizations and abortions. The inquiry seeks to determine what Disney executives knew about the areas they were filming and when they knew it, and if they turned any sort of blind eye to these allegations.  Senators have also taken aim at Netflix's development of Liu Cixin's popular sci-fi trilogy THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM, after the author made disparaging comments in a 2019 New Yorker interview about the situation in Xinjiang and promoted what the senators called "dangerous CCP propaganda." Netflix has since responded to the letter, claiming that while they do not condone Mr. Liu's comments nor are they reflective of Netflix' beliefs, he is not the creator of the streaming series and that the views he expressed are "entirely unrelated to his book or this Netflix show."

Judd Apatow spoke out about China's understated power in how films in the US are pitched and written, noting that most studios are against allowing movies that call out situations like Xinjiang for fear that the tightly-controlled government will not allow the film into Chinese theaters, barring the studio from the revenues of the world's second-largest box office market after the US. "Instead of us doing business with China and China becoming more free, what has happened is a place like China has bought our silence with their money," Apatow said in a recent conversation on MSNBC.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Film & TV

As Hollywood continues to explore and restructure representation both on-screen and behind the scenes, industry execs of color remain excited and hopeful for the roles they're playing in enacting change. "Although the industry is changing in front of the camera, white men are still doing the overwhelming majority of making major decisions behind the scenes at the studios," wrote Ana-Christina Ramon, director of research and civic engagement for the UCLA college division of social sciences. "Everyone who is a gatekeeper, myself included, we all need to do more in our day-to-day jobs to break down those unconscious biases, as well as these antiquated barriers of entry," VP of creative development for Columbia Pictures Jiao Chen noted in a recent chat with Variety. Howard University is once again partnering with Amazon Studios for their second annual Howard Entertainment initiative, which seeks to give African-American students the opportunity to study and train with industry execs. The two-semester program features classes and fellowships that all fit into students' graduation requirements while providing them with hands-on learning to prepare them for life after school. "Considering the size and importance of the entertainment industry, I am excited to see our students become leaders in this space," said Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA. "Whether they pursue paths in front of the camera or behind the scenes, Howard Entertainment aims to broaden the range and inclusivity of Hollywood story-telling through the fresh new voices of talent from underrepresented communities."

Media advocacy group Define American released it's second annual "Change the Narrative, Change the World" report on immigrant portrayals in entertainment, in partnership with USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center. The report found that while there has been some improvement in how immigrant stories are being told in media, by-and-large their representations are still fraught with stereotypes and inaccurate portrayals. Of the projects surveyed, 22% of immigrant characters were still involved in crime, down slightly from 34% in 2018, and 63% were portrayed as undocumented or asylum-seekers, differing heavily from the reality of only 24% of immigrants being undocumented in the U.S.

The 2020 New York LGBTQ Film Festival is set to kick off in a hybrid/in-person format on October 16th, with more than 120 new films being offered to virtual ticket holders via festival organizer NewFest's on-demand platform. Highlights of the festival include the anticipated Kate Winslet-Saoirse Ronan AMMONITE as the opening night flick, to be shown at the Queens Drive-In in Flushing Meadows.

Theatre

A handful of Chicago-based Black theaters are set to hold auditions for their upcoming seasons this fall. The Black Theater Unified Audition, sponsored by the African American Arts Alliance, will take place over three days in October and feature both an audition portion as well as online classes and seminars designed to bring together Black artists and theatre-makers to share resources and stories. Advance registration for the event is open now!

Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre has released their inaugural Expand the Canon list, aimed at compiling a group of classical works from women in history that theaters can consider producing in an effort to diversify the voices in their seasons. Hedgepig kicked off their virtual reading series last week with BOLD STROKE FOR A HUSBAND by Hannah Cowley and continues through this Thursday with SPUNK by Zora Neale Hurston.

Awards

The BAFTA awards has announced a major restructuring initiative for its awards criteria, in an effort to overhaul an overwhelmingly white male award show in recent years. Among the slew of changes, the organization will now utilize a special jury to create a long list of potential directing nominees, equally split between male and female candidates. A nominating jury will then select the top six names for the nominee slots. Chair of BAFTA  Krishnendu Majumdar reflected on the difficult yet incredibly necessary seven-month internal review of the org's operations, noting that the "sessions with contributors were tough, chastening, captivating and very moving… This is a reappraisal of our values and the culture of BAFTA. We want long term and sustainable change throughout the industry." BAFTA came under fire earlier this year for its 2020 nominees that included all-male directors and zero non-white acting candidates.

The 2020 Imagen Awards presented its top prizes at a virtual event last week, honoring actors from Hollywood's Latino community in film and television from the past year. DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD took home three prizes through the evening, with Diego Luna and Jennifer Lopez also landing awards for their roles in NARCOS: MEXICO and HUSTLERS. Check out the full list of winners here!

WGA Strike

As the majority of Hollywood's top agencies have finally buttoned up their agreements with the Writer's Guild of America (WGA), major hold-outs Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and William Morris Entertaiment (WME) have yet to reach a completed agreement with the union. "The last major hurdle to cutting a deal and scrapping the dueling lawsuits involves each agency's respective ownership interests in production entities. CAA has a stake in Wiip, while WME parent Endeavor wholly owns the sizable Endeavor Content operation. [...] From the WGA's perspective, there's no need to rush to help former adversaries who have cost the guild millions of dollars in legal fees to battle federal and state lawsuits filed last year in connection with the WGA's effort to reform the union's rules for talent agents who rep scribes."

Healthcare

Actors' Equity has thrown its support behind a new Senate bill that would provide 100% COBRA health insurance subsidies to anyone who has lost coverage during the pandemic. The act covers the monthly premiums from employer-based health plans, a welcomed relief for many actors and industry members who continue to lose coverage as the lockdown continues. COBRA subsidies were originally included in the House-approved HEROES act in the spring, but with the bill stalling behind continued inaction by Mitch McConnell in the Senate, labor unions hope that this new bill will deliver the access to healthcare that so many Americans are currently without.

Industry Intel

Variety released its 2020 TV Producers Impact Report, which takes a look at how producers in scripted TV have shaken up the industry over the past 12 months. This year's honorees were lauded for their ability to pull together new projects amidst the trying days of COVID, their focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, how they've steered their projects to be as forward-thinking as possible. Notable among the recipients were J.J. Abrams, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Kenya Barris, and Karin Gist.

Paramount Network is undergoing yet another rebranding campaign, updating its moniker to Paramount Movie Network after its long-running stint as SpikeTV. The change has led many to wonder whether TV favorites like the fiery BAR RESCUE and Kevin Costner-led YELLOWSTONE will be phased out, but network execs have assured the industry that both are safe. YELLOWSTONE will be worked into the new programming strategy, which could include a two-episode, limited-commercial slot for airing the fourth season, and reality shows like BAR RESCUE will find their homes among the other ViacomCBS channels.

Zoom Tips

Our friends at Actors Connection wrote a timely piece about how the industry's pivot to substantially more online formats has affected how actors are interacting with agents, casting directors, and other professionals. Now more than ever, actors are going to benefit from quality, specificity, and generosity in these Zoom rooms, highlighting the importance of being organized, clean, and clear about both your acting choices on screen, as well as professional choices behind the scenes. Take a few minutes to read our lovely friend Colleen's thoughts on where we've been and where we're headed!

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer...

...is by watching Christmas movies in October? In an effort to keep people indoors throughout the fall and winter, Lifetime has announced that they will start their holiday slate on October 23rd, with plans to premiere 30 original TV movies between then and mid-December. Among the lineup will be the company's first-ever LGBTQ-led film THE CHRISTMAS SETUP and Asian-American family-centered A SUGAR & SPICE HOLIDAY. I'm having a hard time conceding the end of my beloved spooky season to Christmas movies, but maybe it's an even better excuse to watch Nightmare Before Christmas more than once this year. 🎃

What to Watch & Read

• Hollywood Reporter's latest Close-Up installment: Drama Showrunners Roundtable with Damon Lindelof (WATCHMEN), Liz Tigelaar (LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE) & More
• Acting Master Classes with Broadway performers! Subscription service Broadway Access Pro provides classes and training programs with stars and industry professionals like Taye Diggs, Christian Borle, Tara Rubin, George Salazar, and many more!
• The New York Times wrote a fantastic piece on the continued shutdown of our industry, which included a bunch of quotes and perspectives from dozens of NYC artists and execs. Take a few minutes to read through and listen to how folks all over the city have been handling the last six months, and share their hope for the future
• American Theatre Magazine sat down with a group of TGNC performers in the Chicago community to talk about the changing landscape of trans representation in the theatre, and the important path forward in giving the TGNC community a voice in the coming years.
• A star-studded cast will present a virtual reading of ANGELS IN AMERICA to benefit amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. The live broadcast will go up next Thursday, October 8th and feature performances from Glenn Close, Jeremy O. Harris, Patti LuPone, and more!

That's all for now, folks! Let's make this week great!