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New Projects - Workshop Tomorrow - Another Streaming Platform - COVID Updates - Hollywood & Politics

By Sean Gregory, December 08, 2020

Eye818

I hope everything has been going swimmingly in these last few weeks of 2020; I've been taking some time to reflect on where 2020 has taken me and what final goals I'd like to achieve and to make the most of this crazy time before the year is out.

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Instagram Live with BAC Talent last week, it was so great being able to chat with Brandon and connect with everyone on a new platform! We will be hosting similar types of events with agents and casting directors in the new year. Make sure you are following UTD so you don’t miss any - @uptodatetheatricals. These events will be on Instagram only.

Reminder, we are hosting our next workshop with Ripley-Grier Studios tomorrow, December 9th at 2 PM EST to discuss some year-end wrap-up and 2021 preparation strategies to set you up for success in the new year! No registration required for this one, but space is limited, so be sure to sign on early 🖥

Lastly, if you are new to the Up-To-Date Actor or still unsure about all of the features the site offers, we will be hosting a zoom tutorial session next Wednesday, December 16th at 3 PM EST. Look for more info on this later in the week. This is a great opportunity for those in a trial to ask questions and learn how to maximize your experience and to get the most out of the Up-To-Date Actor. The event is open to anyone, no active account is necessary.

Another busy week of news here this past week, so let's get to it!

Updates at the Box Office

WarnerMedia made waves last week after announcing that all of its 2021 slate would debut on HBO Max alongside a theatrical release for the first month of distribution, before leaving the streamer and playing out the remainder of each film's box office tenure. The news broke to a mix of shock and awe, with many wondering if the move may portend a shift in the future of film releases. Warner claims that the decision is only to compensate for lost viewership in the age of COVID and that the company plans to return to the traditional release structure in 2022. Though with today's vast array of streamers consistently looking to get the upper hand in original content rights, it does set the stage for a potentially interesting landscape for other high-end streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and more to land theatrical rights in the new year. While I have grown pretty attached to my couch in the last nine months, there really is nothing that beats movie theatre popcorn. 🍿

It wasn't all DUNE and gloom (ayyy) for movie theatres this past week, as National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski reflected on the success of THE CROODS: A NEW AGE during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend span, noting that the sequel's performance surpassed that of Christopher Nolan's TENET with only 45% of the US's theaters currently open. “It’s a good indication of not if this industry’s going to recover but when,” Lesinski remarked. "Consumers are going to come back." The movie exec forecasted that the key to a successful rebound of movie theatres will be led by titles like the latest James Bond flick NO TIME TO DIE next spring, noting that the effects of recent arrangements between Universal, Cinemark and AMC still have yet to make themselves known. "This is all very, very new and there’s nothing in the market to suggest that anyone can forecast the impact," he said

Following Johnny Depp's departure from the FANTASTIC BEASTS series in the aftermath of his long-fought libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, Warner Bros announced that longtime cinematic villain expert Mads Mikkelsen would be stepping into Depp's role as the Wizarding World's infamous Gellert Grindelwald. "No, this is the tricky part. We’re still working it out. There has to be a bridge between what Johnny did and what I’m going to do," Mikkelsen told Entertainment Weekly. "And at the same time, I also have to make it my own. But also we have to find a few links [to the previous version of the character] and some bridges so it doesn’t completely detach from what he’s already masterfully achieved."

Acting royalty Dame Maggie Smith will team up with Christopher Hampton to adapt his one-woman show A GERMAN LIFE for the big screen, after a successful run at London's Bridge Theatre last year. The production, centered around Smith's portrayal of Brunhilde Pomsel, the infamous secretary of Nazi Joseph Goebbels, will be directed by Jonathan Kent.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Film

After announcing its five-year plan to make the Oscars a more diverse arena of contenders, the Academy has been paying special attention to films like MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM and ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI as it hopes to make good on its promises of inclusion at the 2021 awards show. Ironically, the Oscars need these movies just as much, if not even more than the titles need the Oscars, as the Academy has found that viewership over the last few years is directly related to the diversity of their fields of nominees. Actresses like Ariana DeBose, one of the few Latinx actresses that will be in the running this year for her role in Netflix' THE PROM, are hoping to inspire audience members that may have yet to see themselves on the big screen. "It’s my entire existence. My entire career has been people trying to put me in boxes," DeBose said in a recent Variety interview. "I believe I don’t have to justify our identity. We are who we are."

Oscar-nominated JUNO and X-MEN star Elliot Page recently took to social media to share his journey as a non-binary, trans queer person, opening up about his joy at being able to share this news with the world and hoping to continue to serve as an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. "I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self," Page wrote on an Instagram post last week. Representatives of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) were quick to offer words of encouragement to Page: "When someone like Elliot Page tells the world that he is in fact transgender, an actor that people have respected and admired and loved for years, it allows them to feel as if they now know a trans person. It’s really important." Netflix has already updated Page's credits on all of its related titles, announcing Tuesday that the actor will continue to portray the role of Vanya Hargreeves in the streamer's rising hit THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY.

BBC Studios announced a new inclusion initiative aimed at increasing representation on all of its new productions. Any project seeking approval must now include at least "20% on-screen talent and production teams who come from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, have a lived experience of a disability, or come from a low-income background." BBC Studios also included a further commitment to having at least one senior member on scripted and unscripted teams from one of the aforementioned backgrounds. The British production house will also be heading a year-long Trainee Assistant Producer Program, with the goal of mentoring under-represented talent at the assistant producer or script editor level or above. These new strides in inclusion come as the studio announced that it has reduced its pay gap for gender and minorities to below 10% in the last year, firming up its commitment to leading real change in the industry.

The New York Times featured a fantastic article of August Wilson's last legacy on the Black American experience last week, and the renewed role that Wilson's storytelling is playing with the upcoming release of MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM.

TV

Following her debut in THE MANDALORIAN in late November, which just became the first offering from Disney+ to break Nielsen's top 10 streaming shows, Rosario Dawson once again responded to allegations of her family's transphobic assault in 2019, having drawn widespread condemnation from the entertainment community last year. 18 of the 20 lawsuits against the actress and her family have since been dismissed, muddying the truth of the story and leaving many to question the actual facts of the case. "The truth is coming out," Dawson said in a recent Vanity Fair interview. "The fact that this is coming from someone I’ve known since I was a teenager, the better part of my life, and who my family was trying to help as we have many times in the past, it really just makes me sad. But I still have a great empathy for him."

MTV Entertainment Group has pledged $250 million to create women and BIPOC led content over the next three years, promising them infrastructure resources and staff alongside the funding. "As a former showrunner, this endeavor is something very close to my heart," MTV Entertainment president of content and chief creative officer Nina Diaz said in a statement. "Having come up on the production side where this kind of pipeline didn’t exist, it is a great privilege to help launch a new generation of creative powerhouses into production ownership."

Theatre

A new coalition of theatre-makers aimed at increasing representation on Broadway is set to host a panel discussion with top industry professionals next week. Broadway & Beyond's first event is aimed at inspiring and supporting up-and-coming stage managers of color, and will feature reps from companies like Disney Theatricals, RCI Theatricals, St Louis' Muny, Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, and more. "We want to give BIPOC stage managers direct access to the people who are responsible for filling stage management positions, to eliminate the phrase 'I don’t know where to find them' from the hiring process and create necessary opportunity pathways for a group of folks who are woefully underrepresented on production teams around the country," organization founders Lisa Dawn Cave, Beverly Jenkins, and Jimmie Lee Smith wrote in a statement.

Playwright Jeremy O. Harris is making good on his promise to use his recently-signed deal with HBO Max to support new theatrical works with the creation of the Golden & Ruth Harris Commission, which will award $50,000 to two Black womxn this year, "one of whom is an artist who has yet to have an Off-Broadway New York production as a generative artist, and one of whom is an artist who made a significant impact early in their artistic lives but has not had adequate support of late." Harris, who rose to fame for his exceptional work on Broadway's SLAVE PLAY, hopes to provide folks with the chance to develop their work that they may not otherwise be given, sharing that it was because of his grandparents - Golden & Ruth - that he was able to write his own first plays.

COVID Updates
Film

A new agreement between producers and unions will require all productions to disclose positive test results to union representatives, in order to keep cast and crew members informed of any potential changes on set. With many projects starting and then eventually being put on pause due to positive COVID tests, those involved with the various unions see this as a no-brainer to keep people safe. "The good news is that production has been ramping back up since that time, and early signs indicate that the protocols are achieving their objective of reducing risk and catching infected individuals early in the disease, in most cases before they are contagious," the DGA wrote in a statement. "But there are steeper challenges up ahead as the prevalence of COVID-19 in our communities is surging – which, if not taken seriously and not addressed properly, may have devastating consequences for our industry."

The production team for the upcoming film SHE'S ALL THAT recently came under fire for temporarily closing one of LA's COVID testing centers to accommodate film's needs, displacing over 500 LA residents looking to receive a test that day. LA mayor Eric Garcetti has since reversed the decision, saying that anyone who was originally scheduled to get tested at the site would still be able to do so.

TV

The latest report from Nielsen found that streaming shows are leading the charge in diversity over cable offerings, highlighting the discrepancies in shows being greenlit for cable networks and the increasing attractiveness of the inclusivity of the streaming landscape. Diving into the details revealed much more is still to be done with regard to representation, however, as 92% of shows across all platforms did feature cast diversity, but did not provide an adequate representation of the general population in 2019. "Presence is not the same as representation," the report concluded, reminding execs that while strides have been made to diversify programming in recent years, "viewing audiences are increasingly seeking content that tells their stories."

The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) has reached an agreement with DGA, IATSE and the Teamsters on COVID protocols, keeping in line with negotiations made earlier in the fall to firm up safety on film & TV sets. The plan will designate new testing guidelines and a system of "zones" for cast and crew on commercial shoots, as well as establish sick leave protocols and allow for the hiring of COVID compliance managers to ensure all guidelines are adhered to during production. The move comes nearly five months after dozens of IATSE members petitioned their union reps for more stringent safety protocols on commercial sets, leading to the current arrangement that is set to run through April 30th, 2021, with the potential to extend "if warranted by the circumstances."

Popular TV production hub British Columbia is experiencing a boom in new project opportunities, as the region enjoys remarkably low COVID infection rates and may soon be receiving an economic boost from the largest Canadian economic relief package since WWII. BC saw a rise in total numbers of productions from this time last year, noting that over 70 projects were shooting in mid-October, up from 53 the year before. "What I’ve seen on the film list is more shows now than there have ever been before in Vancouver," says Brightlight Pictures chairman Shawn Williamson. While officials have been happy to see so many productions returning to the area, COVID guidelines on sets have been an increasingly mixed bag of requirements, with almost every production requiring some combination of temperature tests, mask mandates, sanitization, and social distancing efforts. "The protocols are extreme," says Williamson, "but we’ve been so far operating for about four months or so with some level of success." This comes as news of HBO's SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE had to pause production last week after confirming two positive COVID tests among the crew, a sobering reminder of the unpredictability of shooting in the age of COVID.

ABC News was the latest entity to fall victim to restructuring and layoffs this year, as parent company Walt Disney cut ties with a reportedly "low single digit" percentage of its 1,440 person workforce.

Theatre

The live entertainment industry continues to hold out for COVID relief from Congress, remaining hopeful that a bipartisan relief bill introduced last week may be a sign of better things ahead. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have both expressed interest in formulating a bill consisting of the several different proposals currently circulating through Congress, most of which do provide various forms of relief for live events. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) remarked on CNN last week, "We have got stages, we have got basically entertainment, that are not going to make it. We can’t wait until February, until Joe Biden comes in, to try to save us. We can’t wait that long. They won’t make it."

Dr. Anthony Fauci remains cautiously optimistic about the efficacy of vaccines to create a space suitable enough for theatre to return, stating last week that he believed it would take around a year from a vaccine's general availability to allow for "a degree of immunity in a general community that [he thinks] you could walk into a theatre without a mask and feel like it’s comfortable—that you’re not going to be at risk." Dr. Fauci reiterated that the next few months will be crucial in maintaining a positive course of action for 2021 and that with the vaccine's hopeful distribution to the public at large, we may begin the approach back to a new normal next fall. News of the Pfizer/BioTech vaccine's emergency authorization in the UK sent ripples across the globe last week to world leaders hoping to inoculate their highest-priority residents as soon as possible, with the first doses expected to be shipped and administered starting this week.

Actors' Equity has been working overtime to ensure that all theaters interested in staging productions during COVID have implemented the necessary procedures to carry them out safely for both actors and crew members, and the list of eligible theaters and their productions is slowly starting to grow. Check out the December Equity-approved theater and production list here!

SAG-AFTRA Healthcare Struggles Resurface

The much-maligned SAG-AFTRA Health Plan has received a class-action lawsuit alleging age discrimination from its newest restructuring slated to take place in the coming year that will increase premiums and leaving thousands without coverage. The lawsuit, led by Audrey Loggia, wife of late actor Robert Loggia, claims that the new plan cut off her coverage after promising it to continue in the aftermath of Robert's death, underscoring a larger issue of age discrimination by the union's planned updates.

"The trustees blame the Covid-19 pandemic for the suddenly urgent need to impose the benefit cuts and drop thousands of participants from SAG-AFTRA health coverage," the lawsuit says. "This blame ignores the facts and readily available measures that could have addressed such a one-time event without dramatically ending SAG-AFTRA health coverage for primarily older participants, including many performers who surrendered their right to pre-1960 film residuals to start the SAG pension and health plans for all members."

The decision drew the ire of many of Hollywood's most recognizable stars in a recent video, including Morgan Freeman, Mark Hamill, and Whoopi Goldberg. "Even after I stopped working they promised to be there for me," longtime voice actor Clancy Brown shared in the video. "I agreed to that covenant, I paid into that plan my entire career."

The Old (Purple) Hills of Home

With the news that Joe Biden had become the first Democratic presidential candidate to turn Georgia blue since 1992, stakeholders in the state's robust film and TV market have been theorizing the importance of the booming entertainment landscape on the changing political tide. "I do not think it’s possible for the state to have flipped in the last cycle if you don’t highlight the importance of the entertainment industry in the city," says Ryan Wilson, CEO of the Gathering Spot, an Atlanta-based group focused on progressive politics. Wilson also spoke to the importance of the hip-hop community's influence on Atlanta's rapidly-changing landscape, noting that artists like Killer Mike, Janelle Monáe, and Tyler Perry represent truly "authentic" ties to the city and state.

"A state becomes bluer in a lot of different ways; we don’t know exactly what the tipping point was," noted Audrey Haynes, associate professor of political science at the University of Georgia. "But we are purpling because of a variety of things. Part of that is the fact that you have these new businesses [that] are coming in and it’s keeping younger people in the state. And the movie industry is something that keeps younger people here too."

Georgia continues to bathe in the political spotlight as we head into 2021, hosting two run-off elections in early January for both of the state's Senate seats. If the Democrats were to take both elections, the Senate would come to a 50-50 split, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as a tiebreaker on any decision as needed. The high stakes nature of the run-offs has drawn the attention of many folks on both sides of the aisle, and Lin Manuel-Miranda is taking action to ensure the state's march toward blue continues. Miranda and other cast members from HAMILTON will host a virtual conversation with rock band Pearl Jam next Wednesday evening at 8:30 PM EST to discuss their artistry, with ticket sales benefitting the Latino Victory Project, the Latino Community Fund of Georgia, and the Hispanic Federation.

Streaming Wars Welcome Newcomer Discovery Plus

Discovery is making its way in the ever-expanding streaming field with the announcement of Discovery Plus, a "real-life" centered platform that plans to make space for itself as a frontrunner in unscripted, quotidian programming. "We are seizing the global opportunity to be the world’s definitive product for unscripted storytelling, providing households and mobile consumers a distinct, clear, and differentiated offering across valuable and enduring lifestyle, and real-life verticals," Discovery chairman and CEO David Zaslav said. "We believe Discovery Plus is the perfect complement to every streaming portfolio." The platform will be available for $4.99/month with ads and $6.99/month without, as well as being offered to certain Verizon cable customers.

I'm just putting this out there now: Are these channels that are launching their own streaming services going to someday be bundled into packages a la Sling TV for one flat rate, leading us back to not-cable cable-type packaging? Time is a circle, folks....

...maybe I'm reading too many astrophysics books in quarantine 🌌

There's More of Gravy Than of Grave About You!

As COVID numbers continue to soar across the US, many theatres are getting creative with their plans to present some of their most anticipated annual work: A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Milwaukee Repertory Theatre's long-standing 46-year tradition of presenting some form of the Dickensian classic is no exception, with theater officials opting to produce a virtual arrangement of Tom Mula's one-man adaptation of JACOB MARLEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL, told from the perspective of Marley and his efforts to redeem his former business partner. The company will stream the production starting this Thursday through Christmas Eve at $20 per household, keeping what artistic director Mark Clements calls a "very very important" tradition alive in Milwaukee.

Quick story: My local theatre once staged a production of CHRISTMAS CAROL where they sought out a young member of the audience to join them onstage as Tiny Tim each night, and the night we went, a few company members asked my parents during intermission if I would like to be a part of our evening's show. I screamed and cried and hid between my parents because I thought they were going to put me in a coffin. So, while I may not have made my stage debut that night, my parents knew then and there that I was easily dramatic enough to pursue a life in the theatre. God bless us, everyone 🎄

Advice & Submission Opportunities
What to Watch & Read

That's all we got, folks! Thanks for reading along. Don't forget to join us for our workshop with Ripley-Grier tomorrow at 2 PM EST, we can't wait to see you!

Wishing you love and light this week,