Projects Casting - New GA soundstage - Cali Tax Incentives - Black Theatre United
By Sean Gregory, August 31, 2021
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And just like that, August has come to a close. This summer has felt like it's lasted a lifetime but also wasn't Memorial Day just last week... Pretty weird if you ask me. I celebrated a birthday over the weekend and was incredibly thankful to usher in another year with some friends in the city, and am feeling so very hopeful for the year ahead. With more and more jobs returning each month and production getting back to pre-pandemic levels, I've honestly never felt more excited to be an actor. I spent some time yesterday updating my vision board to reflect my goals for the fall and my next year of life, and I'm ready to start manifesting a whole new world for myself in the months ahead 🌄
The industry news cycle was a bit quieter this week, as is normally the case around the late August/Labor Day break, so we've got a quick sprint email for you today. Enjoy!
Peace & Love ✌
Career Consultations with Annie
Are you interested in working with our career guru Annie Chadwick on mapping out a plan of success for the upcoming busy fall season? Starting tomorrow, her updated consultation will be as follows:
NEW CLIENT
1-hour consultation $150
- includes a review of marketing materials submitted 24 hours prior to the session
- 5 business days of email follow-up questions on the work that we outlined in our consultation
RETURN CLIENT
1-hour consultation $100
- includes a review of marketing materials submitted 24 hours prior to the session 5 business days of email follow-up questions on the work that we outlined in our consultation
30 Minute Consultation $60
- Includes a review of marketing materials submitted 24 hours prior to the session
Please Note: After a 6-month period of not working together, you will be considered a new client.
All sessions with Annie include a review of your current marketing materials and five business days of email follow-up questions discussed during your consultation. If you are interested in working with her, please email anniechadwick@gmail.com to set up an appointment!
Production Updates
The sprawling Georgia Film & TV landscape will be welcoming a new two-acre soundstage to Savannah, set to break ground next month. The $40 million undertaking will join Savannah College of Art and Design's three sound stage, 22,000-square-foot production hub in the city, a popular destination for outdoor film shoots in projects like ANT MAN AND THE WASP, FORD V FERRARI, and FORREST GUMP. The new facility, KAT-5, will pull its name from its ability to withstand a category 5 hurricane, opening up the door to serve as a potential FEMA staging area in the event of a tropical storm in the area.
The bustling California tax credit scene revealed its latest round of recipients, which includes Eddie Murphy's BEVERLY HILLS COP 4, Salma Hayek's ESCAPE, and Jonah Hill's DIXON. The nearly two dozen projects in last month's incentive drop will receive $138.7 million from the state as they expect to create $678 million in "qualified spending" during the spans of their productions.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Black Theatre United has released the findings of a five-month comprehensive program with industry professionals - casting directors, producers, unions, and owners - that spells out where the collective would like to see Broadway turn its attention toward in the coming months and years. The New Deal for Broadway is broken up into two parts: Initiatives that can begin immediately (before the majority of Broadway reopens) and long-term goals for the industry over the next one to three years. "For far too long, Black artists, theatre makers and technicians in all areas of our industry have been subjected to systemic and interpersonal racism that has harmed their lives and careers and diminished us all," BTU's report shared, going on to outline training programs, revamping casting efforts and a call for producers to "never assemble an all-white creative team on a production again, regardless of the subject matter of the show."
A survey of UK TV viewership found that 62% of audiences believe that political correctness has gone too far, underscoring a larger discussion by comedians, journalists, and other British media personalities about their role in shifting public opinion on any number of hot button issues on screen. "[I]f we’re going to represent the masses, the public, we need a higher bar for what diversity really is," journalist and presenter Mobeen Azhar remarked. The disparity between opinions of the general public and TV professionals is clear: 63% of TV industry folks see the British Empire in a shameful light, compared to only 23% of the public. GB News journalist Inaya Iman spoke further on the role of media in changing and shaping opinions in the country: "The best thing to do is to present a range of views so someone can make their own judgment, to trust people to hear a range of perspective and come to the one that rings most true with their own experience."
Lin-Manuel Miranda shared his hopes for the future of authentic representation on screen at the Edinburgh TV Festival last week, discussing the importance of keeping the foot on the gas as the industry continues to reopen and move forward. "People actually want stories they haven’t heard before, and that only comes when we have a chorus of voices, a panoply of voices that we haven’t heard or seen before," he said while reinforcing the work that needs to be done to support early-career artists and open up access to those that may not be able to break into the film, TV or theatre industries as they currently stand. "[S]ome of it is really attacking that stuff systemically and supporting folks who are at the ground floor level of this industry and making sure a living wage exists so that [a person] can make a living doing the thing [they] love."
Industry Intel
Broadway & film star and all-around good guy Mandy Patinkin shared some personal details about his iconic performance as Indigo Montoya in THE PRINCESS BRIDE after a fan on TikTok discussed the role of Patinkin's father's passing in informing how he approached the character. "The minute I read the script, I knew," Patinkin said in a response video. 'I'm going to do this part because in my mind if I get the six-fingered guy, that means I killed the cancer that killed my dad, and I’ll get to visit my dad.'" He went on to send some encouraging words to the fan, who recently lost her father to cancer in March: "Your dad is taking care of you."
Big fan of THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT? I know I certainly was, and it sounds like Anya Taylor-Joy truly found her home in creating the character of Beth Harmon for the Emmy-nominated show. Check out her interview with Deadline about the importance of green-lighting female-led series in 2021, and how her personal approach to Beth made for one of the most rewarding experiences of her career ♟
Deadline also sat down with HAMILTON star Daveed Diggs to discuss the life-changing impact that the blockbuster musical had on his career. "The secret sauce with Hamilton was allowing everybody to be their full selves onstage," Diggs said of his time with the show. "The bonus that comes along with it is all of that person’s collaborators too... Were it not for this show, I’m not sure our lives would have collided like that to the point where we’d be collaborators." Read the full interview here!
Jeff Daniels sang the praises of his former GOD OF CARNAGE co-star James Gandolfini's iconic turn as Tony Soprano in a recent interview about Daniels' upcoming series AMERICAN RUST. "The Sopranos changed television, as did HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu. All of a sudden you have all these other places to go," the Emmy winner said, sharing his excitement for the advent of companies like Showtime and Starz that have packed writers rooms with talent that may not normally populate typical linear studio rooms. Whereas cable shows may cater to a more traditional show structure, streaming channels allow for "characters that have rich, deep, layered existences," and more accurately reflect the world we live in today. Keep the authentic content coming! 📺