Industry News

The New York Times covers the blockbuster merger between Netflix and Warner Bros with a litany of legitimate concerns and fears surrounding this deal from film industry insiders:

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Cinema United, a trade organization that represents 30,000 movie screens in the United States, called the Netflix acquisition “an unprecedented threat” and vowed to fight it. “Theaters will close, communities will suffer, jobs will be lost,” Mr. O’Leary said, noting Netflix’s policy of giving movies only “token” releases in theaters.

For many crew, we have a love of movie theaters and the idea of The Big Screen. Does an industry without them expand or contract? Does it still occupy the same place in the cultural zeitgeist?

Entertainment workers in Los Angeles — camera operators, producers, hairstylists, writers, actors, set designers, editors — have already been struggling with a contracting job market. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, two union strikes, an exodus of production to cheaper locales and the rise of artificial intelligence tools, tens of thousands of workers have been laid off by Hollywood companies since 2020.

So on Friday, there was a keen understanding that “consolidation” was just another word for “job loss.”

It’s been a rough year – or five – for many of us working below-the-line in the industry.

Netflix has a lot of jobs here, said a high-level aide to one City Council member, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he did not have the authority to comment publicly on the merger. But, he said, the Federal Communications Commission would have to approve the deal, and the worry would become what Netflix needs to do to appease President Trump.

With what Trump and his administration have already done to the media arts landscape writ large (60 Minutes / CBS, Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, the Kennedy Center takeover) this is a real wildcard.

There is no angle in which I see this merger as “good” news except two perspectives:

1. Netflix is the lesser of two evils. Warner Bros selling to Paramount to create a mega-studio would’ve been much worse from a monopolistic perspective.
2. You’re a Netflix stockholder.

The consolidation of the legacy studios into even larger, monolithic media mega-corporations does not bode well for an industry already hurting.

Finally, I can’t help but recall what Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said his goal was way back in 2012: “to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.”

As first reported by The Sun, Tom Cruise went on a tear against two members of the Mission Impossible 7 crew who failed to social distance. We don’t know the entire context of what happened – merely that these two people were standing within a meter of each other around a computer screen – but it’s not hard to imagine that Cruise, also a producer on the film, had seen too much of this or had seen these particular crew violate other policies previously. Plus, this comes after the movie already had to suspend filming due to an outbreak of COVID-19.

Based on my experience, it’s entirely plausible that people were flouting COVID safety left and right thinking that the mask shields them from other important measures like staying socially distant. In any case, Cruise’s rant, while aggressive is fair given the circumstances of the pandemic:

I don’t ever want to see it again, ever! And if you don’t do it you’re fired, if I see you do it again you’re f***ing gone. And if anyone in this crew does it – that’s it, and you too and you too. And you, don’t you ever f***ing do it again.

That’s it! No apologies. You can tell it to the people that are losing their fing homes because our industry is shut down. It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education.

[…]

I trust you guys to be here. That’s it. That’s it guys. Have a little think about it. . .[inaudible].

That’s what I think of Universal and Paramount. Warner Brothers. Movies are going because of us. If we shut down it’s going to cost people f***ing jobs, their home, their family. That’s what’s happening. 

All the way down the line. And I care about you guys, but if you’re not going to help me you’re gone. OK? Do you see that stick? How many metres is that?

A few thoughts: one, I like that he doesn’t want an apology, he wants them to follow the rules; two, I wish more producers would back up their safety measures like this. It sure would make me feel better about signing those garbage coronavirus liability waivers.

Adam B. Vary writing for Variety:

The shutdown had just started to soften this month, as a handful of U.S. productions — ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” CBS’s “The Bold and the Beautiful”— began slowly getting back to work, with others quietly preparing to start up again in the coming months. Those plans were predicated, however, on the assumption that COVID-19 cases were either leveling off or dropping nationwide, providing a safer environment for productions to move forward.

Instead, cases have exploded. On Monday and Tuesday, California hit record numbers of daily confirmed cases, led by Los Angeles county, which has hit over 103,000 total cases of the over 230,000 total cases statewide. Cases are similarly skyrocketing in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, while the popular production hubs of Louisiana, Georgia and New Mexico are seeing a precipitous rise as well.

The facts on the ground are swiftly placing the industry into an excruciating double-bind between literal and figurative life and death.

Film production in the United States is currently at a crawl. There is some work to be had (I’ll be sharing my few COVID work experiences soon), but it’s nowhere close to pre-pandemic levels. Most of our peers in the major production cities or working on big shows are sitting at home waiting for things to settle – except the opposite is happening.

With dwindling options in the U.S., some productions are beginning to entertain moving to Europe, where COVID-19 spread is far more under control.

It’s shameful that an uncoordinated, inconsistent, and scattershot approach to COVID-19 from the leadership of the United States has resulted in our industry and below-the-line crew (among many others) losing out on valuable work. It’s maddening that the simplest, most affordable, and most effective weapon we have against coronavirus – mask wearing – has been politicized into another line in the sand in which sides are taken. It’s frustrating that we endured lockdowns, unemployment, and numerous stressors only to end up backtracking.

Until productions can be done safely, which is perilous in areas of abundant community spread, a lot of crew will be left out of work as unions, above-the-liners, studios, and crew themselves prefer to mitigate their risk of COVID-19 infection.

So: please, wear the mask!

Todd A writes a damning account of his time working at RED, the digital cinema camera company:

I have a post drafted in my blog titled “My birthday gift to myself this year: Retirement.” It’s dated February 26, 2012. At that time, I’d been working in the online marketing (web) department at RED Digital Cinema for about 5 months. I was sick of complaining about it to my friends and family. I didn’t want to be that guy who is always bitching about his job but never doing anything about it. Yet, I remained at RED for two more years. How is that possible?

Ouch – he already wanted to leave after only 5 months.

It’s surprising to hear such incendiary remarks considering the passion and devotion that usually surrounds RED’s users and fans. However, within the context of founder Jim Jannard’s forum posts and his recent exit into the shadows, it’s unsurprising to hear Todd speak out against, “the president making announcements on the community forum before the employees knew” and writing:

After the stressful product launches in December 2013, things quieted down enormously. Almost too enormously. It was quiet like “this is bad for business” quiet. But I knew NAB — the major broadcasting convention — loomed in April and I knew RED was bound to surprise all its employees with its plans for the show. “Keep the crises rolling” and all that.

Todd goes on to describe broken promises for bonuses and equity, long hours, and an unhealthy lack of organization. And in the comments, someone else named “Brian” added:

I was at RED from the start for 4 years . It is a good characterization of the place. Easy to understand why none of the first employees are no longer there anymore.

As RED matures from the disruptive force it was several years ago into a major player on the digital cinematography field, it’s going to have to address the problems and negative experiences of employees like Todd and Brian – even if they are in the minority.

(Todd wrote another post, too, about how companies can avoid the mistakes he encountered at RED.)

Midnight Rider, the production that camera assistant Sarah Jones was working on when she was killed, has been trying recently to resume production by moving the shoot across the country from Atlanta to Los Angeles. But today, the subject of the biopic, Gregg Allman, asked the film’s director to abandon the production via personal letter:

“When the idea of you producing the film first came about, I was genuinely excited about the possibility of sharing my story with fans around the world. Unfortunately, all of that changed for me on February 20 of this year,” he wrote. “While there may have been a possibility that the production might have resumed shortly after that, the reality of Sarah Jones’ tragic death, the loss suffered by the Jones family and injuries to the others involved has led me to realize that for you to continue production would be wrong.”

This is huge. And it comes after actor William Hurt withdrew from the film. Hurt was set to play Mr. Allman and was on set when the train that killed Sarah Jones and injured several others came barreling down the tracks. Additionally, many crew have proactively stated they won’t work on this shoot.

So to summarize where Midnight Rider stands: the main star dropped out, the subject of the movie wants to pull the plug, and crew across the country have started boycotting their involvement.

What’s the point of moving forward? How do the director and producers exhibit such blindness to the tragedy and lack of guilt for what happened to Sarah? Even if it does move forward, how will they get a crew? It’s common knowledge within industry circles that doing so would amount to career suicide.

Cheers to Gregg Allman for understanding the situation and treating it with reason and sensitivity. Let’s hope that same sensitivity results in the production shutting down and that same reason prevails in a thorough investigation of the incident.

The Anonymous Production Assistant is Kickstarting a podcast in which each episode is an interview with a different below-the-line crew member (an idea that’s long overdue):

I’ll interview the unheralded crew members that toil below-the-line (which is Hollywood speak for anybody who’s not a writer, director, producer, or actor). Not just the department heads (although they’re obviously very important); I’ll talk to everyone from assistant editors to art directors to rigging grips.

Do you know what a gaffer gaffs? What a best boy is best at? What a production accountant counts? Listen to Crew Call and find out!

For those of you new to the business, it’ll be a great way to learn what everybody does. For more experienced listeners, it’ll still be a great way to learn what everybody does. ‘Cause let’s face it, you have no idea, do you?

I’ve pledged my share to get a sweet T-shirt, but I also have a vested interest in the project getting funded because I’ve already been interviewed for the first season along with these crew:

• Michael Taylor, electrician, who writes Confessions of a Hollywood Juicer
• Nathan Gendizer, location manager, who writes Polybloggimus
• Darryl Humber, dolly grip, who writes Dollygrippery

I am a huge fan of Hollywood Juicer and Dollygrippery, so it’s truly an honor to be in the company of Mike and Darryl as the initial group of crew lending our perspective about life below-the-line and experience within our respective departments. I’m genuinely excited to hear their take on the industry.

The podcast will be fully funded with a modest $1,845 and it’s almost there, so please head on over to the Kickstarter page and donate what you can! Also, be sure to check out The Anonymous PA’s blog.