Pre-Pandemic Production Levels - BIPOC Casting Fellowship - Vaccine Mandates - Cinema VS Streaming

By Abigail Hardin, August 17, 2021

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As has been the case for the past few weeks, most of this week's news is centered on COVID and vaccine mandates. As the industry continues to adapt to the restrictions and recommendations from local municipalities and the CDC, production is finding its footing and figuring out how to keep everyone safe while moving full force ahead. Last week there was an article about Los Angeles' production growth and look below for a similar article about production in NYC. Despite the bad news surrounding the Delta surge, production seems to finally be back to pre-pandemic levels. That is a huge sigh of relief for our industry!

Also exciting is how regional theatre auditions are back with a vengeance. Many audition notices we shared this past week mention they will be holding in-person callbacks. That is an incredibly positive sign! While certainly a controversial topic, vaccine mandates seem to be the main way that organizations feel at all comfortable allowing large groups of artists and people to come together again.

As most of you know, my husband and I welcomed our first child in May and we have been enjoying getting to know him and figuring out a good work/play schedule this Summer. I hope you too have been enjoying the Summer and have found a healthy balance between work and play. Look for more of the weekly email updates from me this Fall and new feature announcements as well.

Enjoy these last few weeks of Summer and get ready for a busy Fall!

Production Boom

New York City’s film and television industry generated $64 billion in direct economic output in 2019, $12.2 billion in wages and 100,000 jobs, and production – led by TV – is ramping back to pre-pandemic levels, according to film commissioner Anne del Castillo and an extensive new study commissioned by her office. Including its indirect impact, the industry generated $18 billion in wages and $81.6 billion in economic output, according to the 84-page study, the most extensive in some time, that tracks NYC film and television broadly over 15 years through 2019 — a high point with 80 television shows and 300 feature films. State tax credits introduced in 2010 and the rise of streaming have reshaped the business. "On average, we have the same number of shows pre-pandemic. It’s really busy. We have 34 or more projects filming in August in TV, and we are starting to see some feature films coming back," del Castillo said in an interview with Deadline. "My hope is that the report shows people what we had, and what we are working back towards. The industry has an impact that is beyond itself." She leads the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, or MOME.

Some cast and crew members on films and TV shows soon might be required to wear identification that "clearly and visibly" verifies their Covid vaccination status while working on set. "Various things have been discussed, from wristbands to credential badges," a union source told Deadline. Another union source noted that while this doesn’t appear to have gone into effect yet, it will be up to employers to on a production-by-production basis. Central Casting, the leading casing company for background actors, notes on its website that "in order for Producers to enforce rules on the production set that apply to fully vaccinated versus not fully vaccinated individuals, Producers may require workers to wear identification that displays fully vaccinated versus not fully vaccinated status while on the production set."

We've been highlighting the major production companies that have made public vaccine requirements (Amazon, Netflix, etc.) and you can now add Blumhouse to that ever-growing list.

Vaccine mandates are coming in direct response to the Delta variant surge across the world. High levels reported in Los Angeles County, including outbreaks on sets, studio lots, and facilities are leading to production shutdowns and delays. Last week, LA county’s Covid-19 reporting page indicated there had been an NBC Universal Productions outbreak at the address for Santa Clarita’s Firestone Ranch. The county site indicates seven associated infections. The hope is that more vaccine mandates will help slow the spread and keep production up and running.

Vaccine mandates are not unique to Film and TV. A majority of recent regional theatre audition posts indicate that the entire cast and crew will have to show proof of full vaccination. The Kennedy Center and the Ford theatre just joined a growing list of D.C. theatres that will require proof of vaccination for all audience members, artists, staff, ushers, and volunteers.

International Edition

Cinema VS Streaming

Streaming has upended movie business models, but it may simply be pulling demand forward in films' life cycles, while still allowing for fan passion and revenue generation to materialize. That was one major takeaway from a conversation featuring Jim Wuthrich, president of home entertainment and content licensing at WarnerMedia, and Michael Bonner, Universal’s home entertainment president. "There are definitely implications and impacts from model to model" related to streaming, Bonner said, "but the bottom line is, there’s more engagement and that is a net good thing for content. It’s working very, very well in the home right now across all of these models; not just one, but all of them."

That may be true for the life of a film, but tell that to movie theatre chains and owners who have been struggling since the pandemic began. And with new vaccine mandates from some of the largest U.S. cities, cinema needs every bit of help it can get. Disney has been at the forefront of this battle by continuing to commit to a split theatrical and streaming release strategy for its tentpole features. SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS was announced months ago as Disney’s first MCU title of the pandemic era to get a theatrical-only release. This past week, CEO Bob Chapek hinted that releasing SHANG-CHI only in theaters is not a move the studio would make now, citing the "unfortunate" COVID resurgence that the studio didn’t see coming. (Just a few hours before the call Sony Pictures announced plans to delay the release of their VENOM sequel by three weeks.)

SHANG-CHI star Simu Liu took to social media on Saturday to respond to Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s comment. "We are not an “interesting experiment." We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year. We are the surprise," Liu wrote on Instagram. "I'm fired the f**k up to make history on September 3rd; JOIN US."

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Union Agreements

Actors’ Equity and the Off-Broadway League have reached an agreement for a new three-year contract that includes significant pay raises; Covid protocols; new provisions that strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; and additional protections that address issues of harassment, bullying, and discrimination. The new pact also includes an option for producers to make their Off-Broadway productions available to a broader audience base through streaming platforms. The two sides said that the agreement’s Covid protocols and other safety requirements "reflect a shared understanding of the needs of actors, stage managers, and producers when it comes to keeping everyone safe from the virus. The safety protocol recognizes the disparate needs of the Off-Broadway Leagues’ members and provides for options that meet those needs."

Industry Intel

A new crew member is being added to some productions in the U.S. and U.K., therapists. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD and I MAY DESTROY YOU both employed therapists to help the cast, writers, and crew process difficult subject matters and emotionally taxing scenes. Therapist Kim Whyte was hired to be on set of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD said, "Some of the cast and crew were disturbed by the content — just the institution of slavery," she added. But just as often, they wanted to talk about issues they were dealing with at home, and how those were having an impact on their mood, like in any workplace. Look for this to become more and more commonplace as more importance is placed on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

A group of four major labor unions representing almost 4 million workers is urging the Federal Trade Commission to block Amazon’s proposed acquisition of MGM. In a 12-page letter sent Wednesday to the FTC, the unions’ Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) argued Amazon’s $8.45 billion takeover of MGM should be blocked to prevent Amazon from amassing more power in the entertainment industry and exploiting that through anti-competitive business practices. "Amazon’s proposed acquisition of MGM would further bolster Amazon’s ability to leverage power across multiple lines of business related to the SVOD market and create further harmful vertical integration in the film industry at large," SOC executive director Michael Zucker wrote in the letter.

The Television Academy is taking the Emmys outdoors. The organization announced Tuesday afternoon that the Emmy ceremonies, both Primetime and Creative Arts, will be held on the Event Deck at L.A. Live, next to the Microsoft Theater — marking the second year in a row that the Emmys were not actually held inside the Microsoft.

The New York Film Festival organizers have set the main slate for this fall’s largely in-person 59th edition, as well as enhanced pandemic measures including a Covid-19 vaccine requirement. Consistent with New York City’s vaccine mandate, which takes effect September 13, the festival said proof of vaccination will be required for all staff, audiences, and filmmakers at fest venues. The event will also adhere to health and safety policies in coordination with Lincoln Center and state and city medical experts.

Diversity & Inclusion

New York casting company The Telsey Office has partnered with Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Miranda Family to develop The Telsey Office Miranda Casting Fellowship, providing a two-year, salaried position with the casting office for a BIPOC artist interested in building a career in the casting industry. The fellow will work with casting directors, associates, and assistants learning the craft of casting across Telsey's projects, including musicals, plays, television, film, and commercials. "For so long systemic inequities and a lack of paid training opportunities have kept historically underrepresented communities, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, from entering the casting industry," said Lin-Manuel Miranda. "This fellowship in partnership with Telsey adds a new dimension to our fellows programs, now in its fifth year." Applications are open through September 7.

DreamWorks Theatricals and Music Theatre International are launching a new Writers Program, in partnership with NBCUniversal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team. The DreamWorks Theatricals/MTI Emerging Writers Program will look to identify diverse teams of book writers, composers, and lyricists with unique voices and perspectives to develop musical adaptations of popular DreamWorks Animation titles intended for the Music Theatre International catalog. The one-year, paid program will be open to individual writers, as well as writing teams. Selected applicants will be mentored throughout by DreamWorks Theatricals execs and other industry ambassadors. The program will also provide access to industry vets and agents via roundtable discussions, master classes, and individual meetings to advance career development.

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