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  • All Blogs/ Entertainment Industry Insights: Dec. 07 2021 | Up-To-Date Actor

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New Projects - Upcoming Workshops - Awards Season - International Production - COVID Updates

By Abigail Hardin, December 07, 2021

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Happy December, UTD!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving 🦃 and, for those who celebrate, a Happy Hanukkah! 🕎

We lost a giant with the passing of Stephen Sondheim last week. Read more below on how the industry has been celebrating his life in Memorium. Thank you Sondheim for the music and for changing Musical Theatre for the better!

The last push of the year is in full drive! As we wrap up 2021 and look to 2022 I am excited for what lies ahead. Personally, 2021 was a wonderful but very disruptive year. I look forward to what I hope and expect will be an expansive New Year. I plan on building upon the many lessons I've learned and am already setting big goals for 2022. Go big or go home! As always I would encourage you to use these last three weeks to set BOLD intentions for the New Year.

Due to popular demand, we have scheduled a second session of our upcoming workshop BOOKING FILM/TV WORK & PILOT SEASON PREP. The new session will be with our friends at Actors Connection on December 15th. Both events are free and require registration. We hope you can make it to one or both of them! They will be a great opportunity to define a 2022 plan with clarity and focus. You will also be able to ask any questions about Up-To-Date Actor features.

Looking forward to 2022, our annual Tax Time Workshop will be at Actors Connection this January. Learn how you can take more deductions off of your taxes and how you can easily populate reports with the Up-To-Date Actor. Taxes shouldn't be painful! We're here to help you understand the process and take advantage of the specific allowances for performing artists.

Have a great week!

Awards Season Preview

Heading into the cold winter months means longer nights, lots of candles and blankets, and of course, award season coming into full swing. We've rounded up some of the outstanding performances that are already receiving awards and buzz at the early season festivals, and are looking forward to continuing our full coverage of this year's must-watch shows and movies in the months ahead 🏆

The Casting Society of America has also announced the nominees for the 37th annual Artios Awards, which recognizes excellence in casting for film, TV, and theatre. Pro tip: Check out the full list of nominees and start watching which casting folks are up for awards this season, and start prepping messages to send out to congratulate the casting director on their work! Showing that you're on top of your industry game is just another way to stay on the radar of any casting offices you're hoping to meet with 🎬

Film/TV Festivals

Theatre Awards

Coming Up: SAG, Oscars

International Production

Women in media suffered a major blow in Afghanistan last week as the Taliban issued a new list of guidelines that continue to tighten restrictions on women in TV dramas, soap operas, and broadcasts in the country. The directive also limits the type of programming allowed in the country, a somber call-back to former days of Taliban control in Afghanistan that continue to hang heavy in the memory of civil rights groups fighting to keep the strides made for women in the country intact. "Art is a beautiful weapon to change without killing or hurting people, that we were using to change society and extremists’ minds," Afghan actress Leena Alam said.

More International News:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

SAG-AFTRA announced plans Sunday to establish a committee to prevent sexual harassment on projects nationwide. Union president Fran Drescher hailed the move as the latest in a series of steps that SAG-AFTRA has taken to address allegations of harassment in the workplace: "I want to ensure that we can do everything within our power to protect our members and ensure they feel safe in their workplace, both physically and mentally. This is the time and place for zero tolerance for any action that degrades or objectifies women and men of all ages who simply wish to do a good job for their employers in a safe and respectful environment."

The beleaguered Hollywood Foreign Press Association continues to perform its due diligence in responding to industry backlash over the last year, with new Chief Diversity Officer Neil Phillips leading the charge towards what many hope will be real change for the organization. "[This is an organization that got called out because of missteps, transgression, and deservedly so," Phillips said in a recent interview. "They should have been, and then they have responded."

New Organizations Launched, Aimed at Increasing Onscreen Diversity and Representation

Words Matter: The Importance of Utilizing Inclusive Language

More Articles:

Industry Intel

Investigators and the industry at large are still trying to piece together the details of the shooting on the RUST set that took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The film's star and producer Alec Baldwin sat down with ABC News in his first interview since the incident, remaining adamant that he did not pull the trigger on the prop gun and remains at a loss for how live rounds found their way onto set. Ammunition supplier Seth Kenney of PDQ Arm & Prop also spoke with ABC about the process used to vet dummy rounds before sending them to productions, saying that "It’s not a possibility that [the live rounds] came from PDQ or from [Kenney] personally."

Actors on Acting

Regional Theatre

Politics

COVID Updates

Many of the top theatre professionals from across the country have been singing the praises of New York Senator Chuck Schumer for his relentless pursuit of passing the Save Our Stages act last year, which freed up $15 million in funds that have since gone to keep live entertainment venues afloat during COVID. "Senator Schumer is a champion for the Arts who understands the profound impact of Broadway on the overall health of New York City and the world," Actors Fund CEO Joe Benincasa remarked. "What arts workers do on stage and behind the scenes matter to him."

More COVID News

In Memoriam: Stephen Sondheim

The entertainment community continues to honor the memory of Stephen Sondheim as thousands gathered in Times Square last week to bring his song "Sunday" to life, a star-studded, teary-eyed tribute to the man who helped shape musical theatre into what it is today. A dimming of the Broadway marques is set for tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM. Check out more of the industry reaction below:

What to Watch