Film project management

With negotiations for a new set of SAG-AFTRA film and TV contracts set to begin May 5 , the plight of the unions’ lowest-paid members is coming to light. Data obtained by Deadline shows that earnings for SAG’s film and TV extras have been in a steep decline during the past 10 years, leaving fewer and fewer of them eligible for SAG’s basic health plan. Data collected by the SAG Pension and Health Plans shows that during the past decade, the number of SAG members who have qualified for SAG health benefits based on their earnings from extra work alone has plummeted by more than 67%, down from 2,782 in 2003 to only 905 in 2011, the most recent year for which those numbers have been made available (see chart 1). Related: SAG-AFTRA Working On Wide-Ranging Casting Diversity Report The numbers began their precipitous plunge in 2004, when the SAG Pension and Health Plans raised the earnings needed to qualify for basic health coverage from $7,500 a year to $11,000, an … [Read more...] about SAG-AFTRA Extras Squeezed Out Of Health & Pension Plans As Their Annual Earnings Continue To Plunge

Chlöe Bailey, Tosin Cole , Olivia Colman and Woody Harrelson are set to star in Girl From the North Country , adapted from the Tony Award-winning Broadway show of the same name inspired by the songs of Bob Dylan. The movie adaptation is written and directed by Conor McPherson, the playwright behind the original Broadway musical. Graham Broadbent and Pete Czerninare produce under the banner of their award-winning Blueprint Pictures ( The Banshees of Inisherin , Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). CAA Media Finance will represent the film’s domestic sales with Rocket Science launching international sales at the upcoming European Film Market during the Berlin Film Festival. The original Broadway show reimagines 20 legendary Bob Dylan songs including “Forever Young,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” “Make You Feel My Love” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” Set in 1934 against the backdrop of … [Read more...] about Chlöe Bailey, Tosin Cole, Olivia Colman & Woody Harrelson To Star In Bob Dylan-Inspired ‘Girl From The North Country’

EXCLUSIVE: Australian filmmaker Luke Sparke is set to direct the epic adventure Shadow Chasers for Steve Lee Jones’ Bee Holder Productions and Matthew Shreder’s Concourse Media. A fall shoot in Australia is planned as casting gets underway. Shadow Chasers is a modern and fresh take on Charles Dickens ’ most famous works, including notable characters like Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley. The story is an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride when these characters team up with Oliver Twist and a young Dickens himself to save Old London from imminent destruction. The script is written by George Mahaffey, who is the scribe behind recently completed Bee Holder spy thriller Chief of Station starring Aaron Eckhart. Bee Holder and Concourse are producing in association with Sparke Films and the Australian producers Carmel Imrie and Carly Sparke. Concourse will be co-financing and representing worldwide rights. “Luke breathes incredible VFX magic into fantastical looking … [Read more...] about ‘Shadow Chasers’: Luke Sparke Directing Modern Take On Charles Dickens For Bee Holder & Concourse

Jim Mahoney was one of Hollywood’s go-to guys. He spent 60+ years in public relations, guiding the public images of Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Christie Brinkley, Peggy Lee, and hundreds more. He was on the front lines when Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped, and was at the party at Peter Lawford’s house the night Marilyn Monroe died. He was also there with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas. Now age 95, Mahoney has captured all of that in a memoir, Get Mahoney!: A Hollywood Insider’s Memoir. “Get Mahoney!” was the phrase often used when stars and their handlers knew trouble was brewing and needed to keep their names out of the press. Mahoney was good at his job, and frequently referred to himself as a better “suppress” agent than press agent. “It was about ‘taming the lion’ – both the press and the clients themselves,” Mahoney said. That sometimes involved making arrangements with the authorities and media to keep … [Read more...] about Jim Mahoney, PR To Sinatra, McQueen, Gable, Explores 60 Years Of Hollywood In Memoir: “It Was About Taming The Lion”

The next generation of creative voices from underrepresented communities has been named to join Nickelodeon ’s annual Writing and Artist Programs. This year’s programs are back in person at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank for the first time since 2020. Group members will develop their skills with hands-on work as the Writing Program enters its 23rd year, with 2023 marking the 12 th year for the Artist Program. Both are overseen by the Paramount Office of Global Inclusion and aligned with the company’s “Content for Change” initiative. “We are thrilled to welcome the new participants and future storytellers to the Nickelodeon Writing and Artist Programs,” said Marva Smalls, Paramount’s EVP, Global Head of Inclusion. “For over 20 years, this program has been a catalyst for many people in the creative community to learn and develop the tools needed to launch their careers. Programs like these continue our commitment to an inclusive talent pipeline and diverse … [Read more...] about Nickelodeon’s Annual Writing and Artist Programs Announce 12 New Participants