Production Taking-Off January - Disney+ Winning Streaming Wars - Need Funding? - Diversity in Casting

By Abigail Hardin, December 15, 2020

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Happy Mid-December UTD!

Are you feeling the holiday spirit? With how much we are all encouraged to stay home, I have been trying to make my home as cozy and festive as possible. If I have to be cooped up it might as well twinkle. I know we all can't wait for 2020 to be behind us. As blind-eyed-hopeful as it sounds, I really believe that 2021 will be a bold and powerful year.

I have faith that the vaccines will allow life to begin to return to something familiar. I hope that when we are through this, industries will be better for it - having had to shift and rethink their business model to a better structure. Even for mom and pop business, while I deeply mourn the loss of many restaurants and shops that have closed around me in NYC, I can only hope that this pandemic will drastically slash the insane rent prices and allow for a greater number of new mom-and-pop businesses to take root and thrive.

Annie and I had a blast meeting so many new faces and answering questions at our workshops last week with Ripley-Grier and Actors Connection's Free at Three. If you missed them, you can view our Ripley-Grier Masterclass on The Up-To-Date Actor. As always, we give you small specific tasks you can take to move your career forward and industry stats on what is currently casting and In production. Again, you can view this workshop and several others from the last six months by clicking the main navigation in the upper left corner when logged into your account.

As the industry begins to wind down for Christmas and New Years, take these next two weeks to:

Create your 2020 year-end review (see recent masterclass for help)
Make sure your materials are in the best shape and support your area of focus for 2021
Create your 2021 hit list of targeted companies, people, and projects
Define clear goals and set out a gameplan of how to achieve them

Lastly, the mind can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. Use the quiet of the upcoming weeks to center yourself and believe in your ability to create a great new year.

Sending you peace, light, and love! 🙏

Production Updates

Film & TV

I'm a broken record...the business never stopped and production IS up and running and only gaining speed in 2021. In NYC, Smaller film productions have been filming since October and large scale productions, such as THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL, are eyeing a January 2021 start.

2020 hasn't been all bad for everyone, Oklahoma has actually seen a rise in production over the previous year. Despite the ongoing pandemic, more pilots and movies have filmed in Oklahoma this year than in 2019, according to Tava Sofsky, director of the Oklahoma Film and Music Office. Among the productions that wrapped in Tulsa and Oklahoma City are the REAGAN biopic, starring Dennis Quaid, as well as "full-fledged features and a handful of pilots and independent films." The state was in fact one of the first — if not the first — locations in North America to resume production in May with the TV movie HARVEST OF THE HEART.

Read this first hand account from a FARGO camera operator on what life actually looks like on set amidst all of the many COVID-19 safety protocols.

And sometimes it doesn't go so well. A second outbreak of COVID-19 has occurred at the Lionsgate TV-produced MYTHIC QUEST: RAVEN'S BANQUET in less than two months. Sixteen cases of coronavirus were recorded at CBS Studio Center’s Bungalow 3 in the first week of December, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where the Lionsgate TV-produced series was set to wrap production this week. It is the largest outbreak of four such clusters in recent months at CBS' Radford lot, which is quickly becoming ground zero for coronavirus cases on productions in Los Angeles.

Theatre

Musicians, dancers, comedians, theatrical performers, and other artists will be able to perform outside around New York City starting this spring thanks to a new Open Culture program. The City Council passed legislation on Thursday that allows any DCLA and Borough Arts Council funded artist and cultural organizations, venues, or institutions to be able to utilize public outdoor spaces for ticketed events and performances. And any artist and venue can partner with an eligible organization for permits as well.

Streaming

Disney+

Disney held a massive virtual event last week. Their "2020 Investor Day" highlighted their remarkable numbers for the year-old streaming service, and announced a slew of new content in production. The event dominated the news cycle for a full day and a half, here are some notable takeaways:

Disney+ reached a new milestone, hitting 86.8 million paid subscribers worldwide as of Dec. 2 just over a year after its debut. That’s within shouting distance of the high end of the 90 million customers Disney originally expected to land — in year four of the streaming service’s life. But they still want more, As of March 26, 2021, Disney+ pricing in the U.S. will increase to $7.99 per month (up a dollar from $6.99 now) or $79.99 per year (vs. $69.99 now). The three-way bundle with Disney+, Hulu with ads, and ESPN+ is increasing to $13.99/month, also up a dollar.
Shares of Disney popped more than 13%, as investors cheered the Mouse House's monster-size content flex outlined at its 2020 investor day for stepped-up push to accelerate its global direct-to-consumer streaming offensive.
As a clear mark of how much it intends to plow into its series and films amid a direct-to-consumer push, the company declared plans to spend $8 billion to $9 billion on Disney+ content alone in fiscal 2024. It expects to have between $14 billion and $16 billion in global direct-to-consumer content expenses across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ that same fiscal year.
Patty Jenkins has been tapped to direct a new STAR WARS movie ROGUE SQUADRON for Disney and Lucasfilm. This will be the next STAR WARS film to be released and will focus on the fighter pilots made famous in the STAR WARS films. It will mark the first feature film in the franchise to be directed by a woman.

Netflix

Self-care is important more now than ever so Netflix has partnered with Headspace for three original series in 2021 starting with HEADSPACE GUIDE TO MEDITATION which will debut on January 1, 2021. The streamer will debut two additional series including HEADSPACE GUIDE TO SLEEP and another interactive experience later in the year. The new ventures of wellness were announced by Netflix VP Brandon Riegg and Headspace co-founder and former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe. The first of the three, HEADSPACE GUIDE TO MEDITATION, explores the foundation of meditation and how it can help us be more present and less distracted in our daily lives.

Newcomers & Rebrands

New ad-supported streaming service VUit has named former CW and CBS executive Chris Brooks Executive VP of programming and development. Vuit (pronounced "view it") launched in September billing itself as the "Netflix of Live, Local and Free." Brooks’ appointment comes as the service said it’s gaining momentum with unique daily viewers and hours streamed up 50% from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30. Brooks is charged with ensuring the platform’s content stands out among hyperlocal offerings within the current streaming landscape, focusing on expanding VUit’s library, building out the platform’s local, affiliate-driven content, and developing originals.

UMC (Urban Movie Channel), the AMC Networks-owned streaming service focused exclusively on Black television and film that was created by BET founder Robert L. Johnson, will be rebranded Allblk in January 2021 with a new look and feel. Johnson’s RLJ Entertainment launched UMC in November 2014. The service became part of AMC Networks two years ago with the cable programmer’s acquisition of RLJ Entertainment. Heading into 2021, Allblk is ramping up production on a slate of original series

Cinema & Awards

The 2020 award season is dominated by streamers and smaller indies hoping to gain purchase in the delayed Oscar race. The eager awards teams at Apple (CHERRY; BOYS STATE; ON THE ROCKS), Amazon (SOUND OF METAL; ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI), and Netflix (MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM; THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7) are generating the most noise (and spending the most money) via FYC virtual screenings and Zoom interviews. So where are the usual suspects? Don’t be fooled. While many major films pushed back, a few remain, including Paul Greengrass’s Tom Hanks vehicle NEWS OF THE WORLD (Universal, December 25), Lee Daniels’ THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY (Paramount, 2021) starring Andra Day, and Warners’ day-and-date release of JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (2021), starring Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya. Read more on how this awards season will be different and is providing opportunities for those often overlooked.

Love indie film? Check out this list of upcoming Oscar hopefuls, many of them can be streamed in the coming weeks

Denis Villeneuve has published an essay on Variety’s website in which he criticizes Warner Bros. for shifting the release of DUNE to a hybrid model in which it will open in theaters on the same day it becomes available to stream on HBO Max for 31 days. "There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here," Villeneuve writes about the HBO Max decision. "It is all about the survival of a telecom mammoth, one that is currently bearing an astronomical debt of more than $150 billion. Therefore, even though DUNE is about cinema and audiences, AT&T is about its own survival on Wall Street. With HBO Max’s launch a failure thus far, AT&T decided to sacrifice Warner Bros.' entire 2021 slate in a desperate attempt to grab the audience’s attention."

Looking for Funding?

Are you working on a project that could use a jolt from funding? Check out Creative Capital. The Creative Capital Award supports artists with up to $50,000 in project funding, supplemented by additional advisory services, career advancement resources, and national networking opportunities. The next application for the Creative Capital Awards opens to artists in all disciplines in February, 2021. Read more and prepare your application!

Politics

As President-Elect Joe Biden continues to make preparations for the start of his administration, members of the arts community have banded together to pen an open letter calling for cabinet-level arts & culture agency in the wake of the growing health crisis. The document has already been signed by hundreds of artists, including Broadway veterans like Rachel Chavkin, Phillipa Soo, Steven Pasqual, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Celia Keenen-Bolger, Adam Chanler-Berat, Greg Hildreth, Leah Silverman, Shaina Taub, Taylor Tresch, and many more. Read the full letter in the article.

This past weekend Broadway for Biden partnered with Women for Biden hosted two days of phone bank marathons in support of the Senate runoff campaigns of Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock in Georgia. Additional events will be announced soon. If you are interested in future events sign up via the link in the article.

August Wilson Lives On

Tony Award-and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson will be honored with a Forever stamp from the United States Postal Service, the 44th entry in their Black Heritage series. Theatre fans will be able to get the Wilson stamps from their local post office beginning January 28, 2021, or online.

The news comes as Netflix prepares to release several Wilson-related projects, including GIVING VOICE, a documentary showcasing the August Wilson Monologue Competition; and MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, a new film adaptation of Wilson's 1984 play starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts.

Diversity / Inclusion

Casting

The Casting Society of America (CSA) has announced its inaugural top 20 list of actors from historically underrepresented communities for 2020. "After a stellar series of open calls and informative Town Halls — the culmination of years of work to connect casting directors with actors from underrepresented communities — we felt it was the perfect time to celebrate 20 standout performances," said CSA co-presidents Russell Boast and Rich Mento. "Casting Society of America will continue to amplify all actors and continue to push for accurate, inclusive, and diverse representation in 2021 and beyond."

AMERICAN THEATRE | What We Love and What We Need to Change"

Theatre

How do we stop casting malpractices, such as whitewashing, in professional theatre? One dramaturg believes the root of the problem begins at the educational level. "Acting at the collegiate level is largely viewed as a collection of learning experiences. It’s the time to explore beyond types and expand one’s range. There’s an understanding that the skills one is learning in school are a work in progress, and versatility is the goal. But pedagogy becomes suspect when students are publicly cast in roles they have no business embodying. When students are cast outside of a race-conscious framework, they may learn that whitewashing is acceptable and may go on to perpetuate it. If we agree this practice should not continue on professional stages, why are institutions and their educators enabling it as a part of actor training? "

Speaking of the power of education, SLAVE PLAY playwright Jeremy O. Harris will donate a collection of plays by Black playwrights to 53 libraries and community centers across the country. The collection, named the Golden Collection in honor of Harris’s late grandfather, comprises 15 plays, including SLAVE PLAY, as well as works by Katori Hall, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Adrienne Kennedy, and more. SLAVE PLAY, which is funding the project, is launching the collection in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign.