Produced By April | May 2021 by Moon Tide Media

PRODUCEDBY THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA // APRIL | MAY 2021

THE 30-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT

P. 36 HOW FREELANCE PRODUCERS SHAPE THEIR OWN DESTINY

P. 54 THE BILL NYE CASE: END OF THE NET PROFIT WATERFALL?

P. 26

JAMES

LOPEZ “Diversity of thought, diversity of content— it’s been proven over and over. It works. It’s a good investment.”

MAKING HISTORY & CE

ACADEMY AWAR 6 BEST PICTURE RYAN COOGLER , p.g.a. CHARLES D. KING , p.g.a. SHAKA KING , p.g.a.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR DANIEL KALUUYA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR LAKEITH STANFIELD

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY SCREENPLAY BY

WILL BERSON & SHAKA KING STORY BY

WILL BERSON & SHAKA KING AND KENNY LUCAS & KEITH LUCAS

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY SEAN BOBBITT, BSC

BEST ORIGINAL SONG “FIGHT FOR YOU” WRITTEN BY

H.E.R., DERNST EMILE II AND TIARA THOMAS PERFORMED BY

H.E.R.

LEBRATING A LEGACY

RD NOMINATIONS ®

“A GREAT AMERICAN EPIC. ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF RECENT YEARS.” JIM HEMPHILL,

“ELECTRIFYING. A BIG, SWEEPING MOVIE.” JUSTIN CHANG,

F O R

Y O U R

C O N S I D E R A T I O N

W W W. W B AWA R D S . C OM

What’s Remembered, Lives.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION NomadlandFYC.com

6 BEST PICTURE

ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINATIONS

BEST ACTOR RIZ AHMED

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR PAUL RACI

BES T ORIGINAL SCREENPL AY BEST FILM EDITING • BEST SOUND

“A TRIUMPH. RIZ AHMED IS ASTONISHING. It is one of the outstanding performances of this or any year. Paul Raci is a real revelation and the cast is just right”

WINNER

NY FILM CRITICS ONLINE

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW

SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSN

Riz Ahmed

WINNER

Best Actor

SEATTLE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

Best Actor

HOUSTON FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

COLUMBUS FILM CRITICS ASSN

LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOC

KANSAS CITY FILM CRITICS CIR

Riz Ahmed

WINNER

Best Actor

WINNER

Best Actor

WINNER

Best Actor

WINNER

Best Actor

OKLAHOMA FILM CRITICS CIR

Best Actor

NORTH DAKOTA FILM SOCIETY

UTAH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

ATLANTA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

SANTA BARBARA INTL FILM FEST

LONDON FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

Riz Ahmed

Best Actor

Virtuoso Award

British/Irish Actor of the Year

4 BEST ACTOR RIZ AHMED BAFTA AWARDS NOMINATIONS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR PAUL RACI

BEST EDITING • BEST SOUND

S A G A W A R D S® NOMINEE

BEST ACTOR RIZ AHMED “PAUL RACI IN ONE OF THE TRUEST, SHREWDEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES OF 2020” WINNER

WINNER

OKLAHOMA FILM CRITICS CIR

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW

SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS

NATL. SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS

Paul Raci

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSN

ATLANTA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

HOLLYWOOD CRITICS ASSN

COLUMBUS FILM CRITICS ASSN

SF BAY AREA FILM CRITICS CIR

BOSTON ONLINE FILM CRITICS CIR

Paul Raci

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS ASSN

FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

HAWAII FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSN.

Paul Raci

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER

IOWA FILM CRITICS ASSN

Best Supporting Actor

Paul Raci

JAMES LOPEZ PHOTOGRAPHED BY KREMER JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY

FEATURES 28 THE COVER: JAMES LOPEZ The producer tells how he parlayed music business roots into feature film success.

36 ALL THE RIGHT MOVES The Queen’s Gambit went from novel to streaming hit in 30 short years.

42 NAVIGATING COVID, POST-LOCKDOWN Six producers share their way through the protocols.

48 LET THE GAMES BEGIN…AGAIN Game shows are enjoying a prime-time resurgence.

54 THE FREELANCE NICHE Independent producers spill their secrets to staying busy.

PRODUCED BY

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ®

BEST PICTURE “LOVELY, MOVING AND DOWNRIGHT REVELATORY. MINARI OPERATES AT THE TRUE SCALE OF LIFE.”

AN ESSENTIAL PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY. ONLY A RARE AND SPECIAL KIND OF FILM HAS YOU FULLY INVESTED FROM THE FIRST MINUTE, AND

MINARI MAKES YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE YI FAMILY IMMEDIATELY.” “A HEARTFELT, HEART-FILLING CELEBRATION OF PUTTING DOWN ROOTS.

IT’S WONDERFUL.” PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA AWARD NOMINEE BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR

BOB’S GARAGE

apothecary

WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE IN?

DEPARTMENTS 14 FROM THE EDITOR

24 MENTORING MATTERS Basecamp lessons learned

20 Unforgettable Years

16 VOICES Angelica Robinson claims a seat at the table.

20 ODD NUMBERS Pandemic revelations

22 GOING GREEN Black Bear’s Green Seal

PRODUCED BY

62 MARKING TIME

26 HOT BUTTON

64 NEW MEMBERS

The impact of the Bill Nye case

65 MEMBER BENEFITS

60 PRODUCERS MARK FAQ

66 BEST ON-SET PHOTO OF ALL TIME

The p.g.a. mark now extends to TV and streaming movies.

Nothing holds her back.

ACADEMY AWARD N O M I N A T I O N S BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

AARON SORKIN

WINNER

2 CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS BEST ENSEMBLE, BEST EDITING

SACHA BARON COHEN

BEST PICTURE BEST EDITING ALAN BAUMGARTEN

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY PHEDON PAPAMICHAEL

“It’s going to take films like ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ to cleanse America.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG “HEAR MY VOICE”

WINNER

GOLDEN GLOBE® AWARD

BEST SCREENPLAY - AARON SORKIN

WE NEED A HEALING, WE NEED CHANGE AND WE HAVE TO ERASE THE IGNORANCE. All of us working together, we have to make it happen.”

TOGETHER WE

TRIUMPH

FILM.NETFLIXAWARDS.COM

You’re invited to tune in

CHICAGO 7 TOWN HALL: VOICES FOR CHANGE

Join Aaron Sorkin, Sacha Baron Cohen, Baratunde Thurston, Dolores Huerta, Jill Wine-Banks, Lee Weiner & Olivia Munn in a conversation moderated by Katty Kay, BBC World News. Watch the Town Hall at YouTube.com/Netflix

ANYTIME. ANYWHERE.

PRESIDENTS Gail Berman

Lucy Fisher

VICE PRESIDENTS, MOTION PICTURES Lauren Shuler Donner Jon Kilik

PRODU CEDBY Februa ry

Y PRODUCEDB

VICE PRESIDENTS, TELEVISION Mike Farah Gene Stein

Y | MARCH RICA // FEBRUAR S GUILD OF AME PRODUCER AGAZINE OF THE THE OFFICIAL M

TREASURER Megan Mascena Gaspar

| March 2020

SECRETARIES OF RECORD Mark Gordon Hawk Koch

THE MORNING A SHOW DELIVERS L WAKE-UP CAL

P OUR TIKTOK ADDICTION

P FUNNY OR DIE S LADIES LEAVE U LAUGHING

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ALL AIN

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PRODUC ERS MAR K NOW STR EAMIN ON A T V NEAR Y G OU

WOM EN PR BRINGING ODUCERS VOICES T POWERFUL O ANIM ATION

Ken Bur ns

POUNDIN G THE IN THE P PAVEMENT ANDEMIC ERA

NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Stephanie Allain Bray Paulette Lifton Michael Ambers Dan Lin James P. Axiotis James Lopez Nina Yang Bongiovi Ravi Nandan Yolanda T. Cochran Betsy Ockerlund Nolte Donald De Line Bruna Papandrea Gary Goetzman Charles Roven Charles P. Howard Peter Saraf Iris Ichishita Jillian Stein

Cristina Lee Storm Mimi Valdes Angela Victor Ian Wagner Lorin Williams Magdalena Wolf

VICE PRESIDENT, AP COUNCIL Melissa Friedman VICE PRESIDENT, NEW MEDIA COUNCIL Jenni Ogden VICE PRESIDENT, PGA EAST Donna Gigliotti

vol ume XVI num ber

KEN

BURNS

INCLUSIO INNOVAT N ION AND N OCCUPA EW TIONS IN THE A GE OF COVID

“I can co of one unt on the fingers hand the fil made) th ms race. It’ at don’t de (we’ve al thing s the most im with that we po deal wi rtant th.”

REPRESENTATIVES, PGA NORTHWEST Richard Quan John Walker REPRESENTATIVE, PGA CAPITAL Katy Jones Garrity PRESIDENTS EMERITI Gary Lucchesi Lori McCreary NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/COO Susan Sprung NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/COO Vance Van Petten

PRODUCED BY: DIGITAL @ PRODUCERSGUILD.ORG

BRAND PUBLISHER Hannah Lee EDITOR Vance Van Petten CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ajay Peckham

COPY EDITOR Bob Howells

PHOTOGRAPHER Kremer Johnson Photography

Let’s get social.

Advertising Info: Ken Rose ken@moontidemedia.com or 818-312-6880

ADVERTISING Ken Rose 818-312-6880 | ken@moontidemedia.com MANAGING PARTNERS Charles C. Koones Todd Klawin Vol. XVII No. 2 Produced By is published by the Producers Guild of America 11150 W. Olympic Blvd. Suite 980 Los Angeles, CA 90064 310-358-9020 Tel. 310-358-9520 Fax

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THE MOST HONORED DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR BEST DOCUMENTARY

2 IDA DOCUMENTARY

BEST DOCUMENTARY

WINNER 2 CINEMA EYE HONORS AWARDS

GOTHAM AWARDS

BEST DIRECTOR

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW

BEST EDITING

WINNER

A W A R D S

INCLUDING

GARRETT BRADLEY

WINNER

WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY

NY FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

ATLANTA FILM CRITICS CIR

BEST NON-FICTION FILM

WINNER

BEST DEBUT FEATURE FILM

D I R E C T I N G A W A R D: U.S. DOCUMENTARY

WINNER

DIRECTING AWARD GARRETT BRADLEY

WINNER

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2020

DOC NYC FILM FESTIVAL

BLACK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

BEST DOCUMENTARY

WINNER

BEST NON-FICTION FILM

BEST DOCUMENTARY/ NON-FICTION FILM

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS

LA FILM CRITICS ASSN

WINNER

PHILADELPHIA FILM CRITICS CIR

DALLAS-FT. WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSN

BEST DOCUMENTARY

FROM T H E EDITOR

20 UNFORGETTABLE YEARS This will be the last issue of Produced By that I edit for the Producers Guild. As I step down from my position as the Guild’s executive director after 20+ wonderful years, I have been given the presidents’ gracious permission to write this column for my final message to the membership. So I’m returning to a format that has served me well: the Top 10 list.

1. YES, PRODUCERS WILL COME TOGETHER. For 16 years before joining the Guild, I managed business and legal affairs for three different studios. All of my studio colleagues were shocked by my decision to accept the PGA job, insisting that producers were too independent-minded to commit to a guild. To test my decision, I thought of a challenge for my first general membership meeting in 2001. I was so nervous about my idea to test producers’ unity that I had arranged for Chris Green, the Guild’s writer, to be in the audience and signal me after gauging their involvement. Chris wasn’t “feeling the love” and was gesturing me to abort. But I was so caught up in my speech, I couldn’t find him in the audience. So I proceeded with my challenge, asking all attendees to prove my studio colleagues wrong by standing, holding hands with each other and raising them in unity. I was nearly brought to tears when I saw the front row stand and stretch their arms so as to join hands with all the officers on the dais. That was the moment when I fell in love with the Guild and its membership.

3. YARI VS. PGA/AMPAS. In 2002, the Guild secured AMPAS’s support of the Guild’s awards eligibility process, but it was a total surprise/shocker when the underdog Oscar winner Crash immediately put our process (and the forces arrayed against it) front and center. Financier Bob Yari funded the film and credited himself as one of its producers. But after the Guild determined he was ineligible for producing honors, Yari sued the Guild—and the Academy— not once but twice, followed by an appeal to a California appellate court. While defending Mr. Yari’s lawsuits severely stretched the Guild’s limited resources in the mid-2000s, it demonstrated early on that the Guild would “fight the good fight.”

4. REINVENTION OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS SHOW. Just after I had been recruited to the Guild in 2000, I attended its Golden Laurel Award Show with my wife, Stacy. The show was put on by volunteer members, and midway through, Stacy turned to me and asked whether I had already signed my contract. It was that bad. Kathleen Kennedy called for an emergency Board meeting and tasked its new executive director to ensure that the next year’s show properly honored and celebrated producers. My next step was to invite myself into Laura Ziskin’s office at the Sony lot, where I begged her to take the reins. The rest is history, starting with appropriately rebranding the event as the Producers Guild Awards.

2. THE PRODUCERS MARK. The Guild’s board was clear about its primary directive for me: Clarify and protect the producers’ credit. After years of fruitless efforts trying to recapture control of producing credits, the Board finally acceded to my idea of rebranding the credit by attaching a certification mark (p.g.a.) next to the producers’ names whom the Guild determined to be deserving. Despite successfully building a consensus among the leading motion picture producers to support our Producers Mark, Hawk Koch, Mark Gordon and I were still tasked with banging our heads against the studios’ walls. It was hard work, but as Mark Gordon observed, “I find that having absolutely no leverage can be truly liberating.” Every studio said NO ... until they finally said yes. I’ll always be grateful to the visionary executive Ron Meyer for opening that door.

5. UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS AT THE AWARDS. The event has since gained such success that it’s impossible to highlight all the great moments, but a few of my favorites include the pivotal moment in 2009 when The Hurt Locker beat the odds, upsetting the presumed favorite, Avatar. Everyone was stunned, and the decision wound up being the pivot point for the entire awards season. Since the show is not telecast, we’ve been able to enjoy “insider magic,” like Warren Beatty’s very, very frank reenactment of Dino DeLaurentis’ bold negotiating style; Rob Reiner waxing eloquent in tribute to Norman Lear’s balls; and Bob Evans holding forth at length about his vivid experiences in Hollywood.

6. A CONFERENCE FOR PRODUCERS, BY PRODUCERS AND OF PRODUCERS. In 2008, we launched the Produced By Conference, under the

PRODUCED BY

FROM T H E EDITOR

leadership of Gale Anne Hurd. While I have few fond memories of the hellish process of getting it off the ground, I will never lose the feeling of pride I experienced when standing in front of the Cary Grant Theater on the Sony Studios lot. We were waiting for James Cameron to speak about his upcoming release Avatar when I overheard a member say, “Gee, this kinda feels like Disneyland for Producers!” Right then, I knew that the PBC would succeed.

7. DEBRA HILL. During the few years Debra Hill served on our Board, I’d have called her the most essential PGA member, apart from Hawk Koch. After spending several months in the hospital and losing both her legs beneath the knee due to her cancer, Debra insisted on participating in the Guild’s board meeting. As she rolled into the meeting on her wheelchair, she had a huge smile as she lifted her legs and exclaimed, “Look at my luck, I can now wear any pretty shoe I want, and not worry about the size!” Her passing in 2005 was a devastating blow. Genuinely beloved by her peers and the staff, Debra was one of the best examples of what a devoted PGA member could be.

8. THE POST-WEINSTEIN MOMENT. I admit, the Weinstein revelations surprised me; I had no idea that his abuse of the producer’s credit would so horrifically extend to abuse of women. The seriousness and urgency with which Lori McCreary, Gary Lucchesi and the board approached this crisis was inspiring. Usually our strategy was to follow the lead of the Academy or other guilds, but there was an understanding that Harvey was our problem— he was our member and had been given our Milestone Award. The Guild stepped up to fill what felt like a leadership void in the industry.

wonderful members, Pixie Wespiser and Erin O’Malley, and we hatched the idea for PGA Job Forums. It was a simple idea—organizing “speed dating” among a hundred PGA members and a dozen production company execs who were looking to hire members of the producing team. After 19 years, there is little I enjoy more than rotating from table to table (now Zoom room to Zoom room) and helping producing team members find good jobs.

10. THE PRESIDENT WASN’T REELECTED! OK, this isn’t about the Guild, but it sure is one of my Top 10 memories!

“I will never lose the feeling of pride I experienced when standing in front of the Cary Grant Theater on the Sony Studios lot ... I overheard a member say, ‘Gee, this kinda feels like Disneyland for Producers!’”

With fond admiration and gratitude for over 20 great years,

9. JOB FORUMS. Early in my tenure, I got together with two

Vance Van Petten

PRODUCED BY

VOI CES

JUST SAY MY NAME After taking control of her own narrative, Angelica Robinson inspires creatives of color to do the same. Written by Jacob Kamhis and Chris Pack

ngelica Robinson— producer, CEO, actor—sits on the couch during the Zoom video. She wears a burgundy sweatshirt with the words “Black Entrepreneurs Matter.” Her long black hair is loc’d with streaks of red, and to her side is Lady, a German shepherd/collie mix that senses her every move. In 2014 Robinson formed Tell Me A Story Productions to put together all of her training in the new world of entertainment she wanted to create. A few years later, her producing niche would solidify—mightily. On July 6, 2016, Robinson was working for a major studio conducting marketing campaigns for major releases. That day, along with millions of others, she watched Philando Castile, a 32-yearold African American man who was pulled over for a traffic incident, get shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer on Facebook Live. “This moment shook me to my core,” Robinson recalls. “Alton Sterling was killed less than 24 hours ago, and another person who looks

PRODUCED BY

Angelica Robinson strikes a Warrior II yoga posture at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania during the making of a 3D documentary film.

like my brother, uncle, father, or cousin, murdered!” She and her Black colleagues were yet again confronted with the realities of existing while Black. Robinson and fellow board members from the Black Employees Business Resource Group requested studio management to speak up, but management remained silent. Many Black employees at work felt undervalued and unheard, she says. “Given the silence, I couldn’t in good conscience stay in a corporate structure dedicated to maintaining a system of complicity and neutrality in the face of injustice. I decided to create a safe space for Black voices,” she explains. She left the studio and focused on further developing her niche: multicultural edutainment. Robinson is Black, female and queer, and her career in the entertainment industry began earlier than most. Robinson started dancing at age 2. She began writing and performing voice-over for McDonald’s commercials a year later. By 7, she started a “Paris fund” for an artistic

T H E M O S T N O M I N AT E D M OT I O N P I C T U R E O F T H E Y E A R I S

“DAVID FINCHER’S MASTERWORK.”

THE TELEGRAPH

AC ADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST PICTURE

“David Fincher’s opus is A LOVE LETTER TO CINEMA”.

“AN EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT.” NEW YORK POST

ROLLING STONE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

BEST ACTOR “A CAREER HIGH for Gary Oldman.”

“Amanda Seyfried is MARVELOUS.”

THE TIMES

TIME

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“A WONDROUS SCORE

HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS FILM LOOKS.”

“It’s possible to go into a kind of trance at just

from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.” THE TELEGRAPH

THE GUARDIAN

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

“SUPERB PRODUCTION DESIGN from Donald Graham Burt.”

“LUSCIOUS COSTUMES by Trish Summerville.” DEADLINE

EMPIRE

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

BEST SOUND “UTTERLY IMPECCABLE sound design.”

“A feast of SUMPTUOUS BEAUTY.”

MIRROR

AWARDS DAILY

DIREC TORS GUILD AWARD NOMINEE

BEST DIREC TOR DAVID FINCHE R

“A TRUE WORK OF ART FROM ALL ANGLES. GLAMOROUS, GLORIOUS, & PURE MOVIE MAGIC.” AFI

FILM.NETFLIXAWARDS.COM

VOI CES

Black creatives do not need a seat at established tables. We need financial resources and our own seats at our own tables, in our own buildings.”

trip to France. She has yet to make it to France, but did summit Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro in her world travels. Robinson attended Amazing Grace Conservatory in LA during her teen years, mentored by founders Wendy Raquel Robinson and the late Tracy Lamar Coley. All the while she continued studying ballet, contemporary dance and tap dance. The conservatory offers theatrical training for inner-city youth. Robinson later attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., double majoring in theatre arts and film production. She was mentored by some of the best, including the late Al Freeman Jr., an actor-director and the first African American to win a Daytime Emmy. She went on to earn a fellowship and an MFA in Film and TV Producing from Chapman University in California.

PRODUCED BY

“I am a producer and an artist. I have to control the narrative,” she realized. “In college, I wasn’t vocal about who I was. People will say what they’ll say about you, but nobody can tell your story like you can.” While keeping 50% of her production team female and 75% of department heads people of color, Tell Me A Story Productions has produced Mother’s Milk (creator Larry Powell); BlaXellence: A #SAVAGE Holiday Spectacular (on Black excellence) and season 2 of daily talk show The #SAVAGE Chat Series, created and hosted by The Blairisms on Instagram. Partnerships with dynamic writers Charmain Johnson and Tae Daaz are in development. With Robinson at the helm during the pandemic, she and Larry Powell led 45 creatives and artists to produce The Gaze, a 12-episode new-media series, which was recently adapted into Powell’s A #Digiplay

Experience and is streaming at Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles. “Just like the sky is blue and the grass is green, racism and sexism exist,” notes Robinson, explaining that despite the inevitable prejudices, she compartmentalizes to focus on the big picture. “We need to open the gates,” Robinson says. “Black creatives do not need a seat at established tables. We need financial resources and our own seats at our own tables, in our own buildings. If you want to utilize Black art and Black artists to increase ROI, offer us partnerships and sponsorships, while we maintain content ownership. “When we say someone’s name, we acknowledge their presence. When we listen to their stories, we acknowledge their existence. Now is the time to continue amplifying BIPOC voices—it’s just good business.”

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ®

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR INCLUDING

BEST DIRECTOR • BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY EMERALD FENNELL

6 BEST PICTURE BAFTA AWARDS NOMINATIONS INCLUDING

OF THE YEAR

W I N N E R

C R I T I C S C H O I C E A W A R D S BEST ACTRESS CAREY MULLIGAN BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY EMERALD FENNELL

W I N N E R

W R I T E R S G U I L D A W A R D S BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY EMERALD FENNELL

HER STORY MAT TERS. ARE YOU LISTENING?

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY EMERALD FENNELL Sign up at FocusInsider.com for exclusive access to early screenings, film premieres and more. For more on this film, go to FocusFeaturesGuilds2020.com.

SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE ON CAPITOL RECORDS

O D D NUMBERS

WE’RE ALL CODEPENDENT What we have learned from this pandemic

apothecary

is that we are ever more dependent on television and movies to keep us entertained and engaged.

WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE IN? Bridgerton WandaVision Schitt’s Creek Emily in Paris

WHAT STREAMING SERVICE HAVE YOU USED THE MOST THIS PAST YEAR?

13% 16% 34% 37%

Amazon Prime Hulu Disney+ HBO Max Netflix

WHAT TV SHOW OR MOVIE CHARACTER FROM THE PAST YEAR WOULD YOU WANT REPRESENTING YOU IF YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN COURT?

Michael Desiato (Your Honor)

Wm. Kunstler (Trial of the Chicago Seven)

21%

Saul Goodman (Better Call Saul)

36%

Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton)

38%

Jingle Jangle WHAT TV SHOW OR MOVIE HAS THE The Prom BEST SOUNDTRACK? Mulan Soul Hamilton

2% 7% 13% 14% 64%

4% 4% 7% 32% 53%

SURVEY RESULTS ARE A COMPLETELY UNSCIENTIFIC SAMPLING OF RESPONSES FROM PGA MEMBERS, THEIR FRIENDS AND SOCIAL MEDIA.

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ILLUSTRATED BY AJAY PECKHAM

BOB’S GARAGE

5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90038

323.956.8811 TheStudiosAtParamount.com PRODUCED BY

GOING GREEN

COURTESY TANDEM PICTURES

Star and producer Aubrey Plaza

HOW TO MAKE A BLACK BEAR GREEN From location scouting to reusable flatware, sustainable practices add up to a green production—and save money in the process. Written by Stephanie Dawson and Katie Carpenter

“I

see a net-zero emissions production coming,” declares Jonathan Blitstein of Tandem Pictures. “It’s not tomorrow, but soon. It’s about aligning your values with your practices now, so that you’re ready when that future comes.” Among independent producers who are pioneering new approaches to carbon reductions, Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein of Tandem Pictures are leading the way. They recently applied their ethos on their latest film, Black Bear. “Every detail of our work has some impact on the environment,” said producer Julie Christeas at the outset of production. Her awareness of that fact supercharged their green practices. Black Bear stars Aubrey Plaza as a filmmaker who plays the house guest of a troubled couple, played by Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon. The film was written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine and premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

PRODUCED BY

It was distributed theatrically and on streaming platforms last year by Momentum Pictures. Before production began, the producers set a goal of receiving the Environmental Media Association’s (EMA) Green Seal. To qualify, productions must commit to a number of sustainable practices across nearly every department. They downloaded the Production Environmental Actions Checklist (PEACH) from the Green Production Guide’s website, reviewed the hundreds of guidelines, and developed an approach that aligned with the creative demands of the story. Then they engaged the director, the line producer, and each department head for a bold conversation about how to turn the creative story into a film in the most sustainable way. Choice of location was significant. The heaviest carbon load for most productions comes from travel—flights, especially charter flights, and other fuel-burning activities. The Black Bear script called

GOING GREEN

Jennifer Kim as Nora

tices with those of the AMPAS Academy Aperture 2025 standards and found that Tandem Pictures already exceeded those requirements in many ways. Julie adds, “If we have this mission to crew and cast in a way that is conscious of our global community, then we need to be conscious of the globe.” Used dishes and flatware were purchased from a local thrift store instead of disposable plateware and utensils. The chef prepared robust vegetarian and vegan meals, making meat optional, instead of the reverse. Following each meal, the cast and crew scraped their for three separate living structures set on a lake deep in the woods. The team used hybrid vehicles to scour New York State until they decided on a house on Long Lake in the central Adirondacks. The house already ran on a three-step system of solar panels, diesel fuel and batteries. A low-carbon location with multiple diverse setups and minimal travel—the sustainable producer’s dream. Trailers are heavy users of energy on productions. They went without. The team used the rustic location to their advantage. Production designer Tracy Dishman acquired local used furnishings for the set. Costume designer Allison Pearce drew the wardrobe from thrift shop items and the performers’ own clothing. Fortunately, the script and director’s vision supported the more sustainable choices. Aubrey Plaza, who also was a producer on the film, quickly became an advocate for green practices. “Aubrey recognized the approach and immediately adopted it herself,” says Blitstein. “On a set where she’s the biggest star, everyone is looking to her. She used her refillable water bottle and emptied food scraps into the compost container so the dishes could be washed for reuse, and the other cast members followed suit.” Julie Christeas founded Tandem Pictures in 2010 after years of producing short-form content for major brands and serving as the EVP across production and development at Renart Films. She dedicated years of her career toward building a female-forward, diverse crew base for her company, and she sees a direct connection between independent filmmaking, social justice and environmental justice. “The stories we want to tell touch at the heart of what we all face as a society,” says Christeas. “Many of our filmmakers are from underrepresented communities. In the midst of the climate crisis, the community that is being impacted first and worst by every type of injustice are our collaborators. Social justice and climate justice are intertwined, and if we are going to stand for one, we really need to stand for both.” Tandem Pictures co-owner Blitstein came to his present role after years as a filmmaker and producing branded content. After consulting on the Strawless Oceans campaign with the Lonely Whale Foundation (Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumner’s eco group), he witnessed the ability of one action to reverberate into change across many industries. Christeas and Blitstein compared their crewing and casting prac-

unfinished food into a compost collection container. Debbie Levin, CEO of the Environmental Media Association, was also a great resource, assisting them with their sustainability efforts. It wasn’t all smooth sailing. The overnight shooting schedule meant the three-stage power system would cut the electricity twice a night, every night. Cinematographer Rob Leitzell, along with the rest of the camera, grip and electric teams, soon implemented a schedule that worked around the outages. The greening of the production ended up saving money as well. “The stigma and fear around spending more money to be green is unfounded,” Blitstein says. “Worst case, you break even. In our case, we definitely saved money.” The location scout amounted to nearly 600 miles of driving, which saved on both gas emissions and money (hybrids emit on average 46% less greenhouse gas than regular vehicles). The offgrid housing system also saved on emissions and fees. Each line item where there is a savings means more money to invest in the movie—a boon for investors and filmmakers alike. “We want to produce movies in a sustainable way, but also elevate these practices within the industry,” says Blitstein. “We are working now with the Environmental Media Association and a festival to put together the first-ever producer’s green award,” says Christeas. “Whoever receives this award will get a large prize that we hope will incentivize people to implement green practices. We hope that will really inspire people.” Not only did they receive EMA accolades, they were also awarded the Gold Seal, indicating they used the highest degree of sustainable practices on their production. “If you can acknowledge that every person counts, your actions will have a ripple effect. Choose a practice that doesn’t hurt your fellow human beings or the planet, and that will become your behavior,” says Christeas. The team at Tandem Pictures plans to continue implementing sustainable practices on all their films, as well as their work with brands. They recently joined the Board of the EMA and want to continue spreading their message of intersectional environmentalism. “We have all the information that we need to make a different choice,” added Julie, “so let’s make that choice together.” For more information on how to green your production, visit greenproductionguide.com.

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M E N TOR I NG M AT T E R S

PATHWAY TO REINVENTION THE VALUE OF MENTORING EXTENDS BEYOND PRAGMATIC LESSONS. Written by JEFFREY GINZBERG

was delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in the latest PGA Film Basecamp coordinated by Joelle Luman. Most of my producing experience is in television and video, but I have always wanted to produce a feature film. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Basecamp, which covered just about every area of the business. My cohort was an enthusiastic mix of experienced producers with very diverse backgrounds and levels of experience. Some had already completed films, others had their first films in the works, and some, like myself, were just getting started on the film side. Not only did the guests teach, they also inspired. The wide array of speakers provided a corresponding array of advice and inspiration. Alicia Agramonte, vice president of development for Morgan Freeman’s Revelations Entertainment, suggested that if you’re new to film and not yet confident in your capabilities in that genre, when you’re meeting with key people, focus on what you do know and stay positive. Ram Bergman, producer of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, suggested that you should decide how you are going to develop your project. Are you trying to sell it to a big production company, or are you going to produce it yourself? This will drive your whole plan. Ted Melfi, producer of Hidden Figures, suggested that you should learn as many aspects of the business as you can: the camera, lenses, editing, writing and directing. And always remember that we’re making movies for the audience, not ourselves. If it would be more satisfying to have a scene in the rain, make it rain. Matt Rhodes, producer of Nightcrawler and Whiplash, said, “No mountain a producer can’t climb.” He also said we have nothing to lose by going after “ungettable” actors. And Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas reminded us of something more universal—that we can all reinvent ourselves. We’re not static. This Basecamp can be part of your next personal reinvention. I think of it every day as I develop my first film— and my next me.

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“We can all reinvent ourselves. We’re not static. Basecamp can be part of your reinvention.”

“This technology is definitely a tipping point.” General Motors will offer 30 new EVs by 2025.

Simulated battery shown. Do not attempt. Follow all battery label warnings.

General Motors has been part of Hollywood’s stories since its earliest moments. In front of and behind the camera, we have the cars, trucks and SUVs to make any production a success. We invite you to consider our vehicles as characters in your upcoming projects. To get things rolling, please email us at entertainment@gm.com

Proud sponsor of the Producers Guild of America since 2011.

H O T B U T TO N

n February, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cowan ruled in the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” case that Disney could apply the 20% royalty basis of accounting contractually provided for home video gross receipts to subscription video-ondemand (SVOD). This meant that the likes of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon SVOD receipts would be stripped down to reporting only 20% of such receipts in profit participations. As many of you already know, there is already a high bar of gross receipts necessary to overcome all of the contractual studio deductions in order to achieve net profits. The past four decades have been a nonstop erosion of the profit participation model, with the implementation of the 20% home video royalty, the further application of the 20%

WILL THE NET PROFIT WATERFALL DRY UP? Exploring the impact of the Bill Nye case

Written by Sabrina K. Robinson

Before Ruling

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less 80% SVOD

after ruling

(19,200,000)

160,000,000 4,800,000 35,000,000

theatrical pay tv free tv home entertainment other

160,000,000 24,000,000 35,000,000

total gross receipts

230,000,000

distribution fees distribution expenses

76,650,000 56,000,000

investment costs

80,000,000

(1,500,000)

81,500,000

17,350,000

(20,700,000)

(3,350,000)

net profits

royalty to new video-on-demand and electronic sell-through (EST) markets, the underreporting of fair values from affiliate licenses, and the inclusion of any and all studio costs and expense allocations against net profits. Many of you have seen first-hand the impact of these erosions on your net profits, with year-onyear decreases—in some cases resulting in only a small dribble of annual profits coming your way compared to earlier years. This new ruling appears to be a coup d’état to the profit waterfall altogether. I have provided a pro forma before-and-after view below of a classic net profit waterfall to illustrate the financial impact from this ruling: As you can see, the reduction of 80% of SVOD receipts alone sends

8,000,000 3,000,000

8,000,000 3,000,000 (19,200,000)

210,800,000 76,650,000 56,000,000

H O T B U T TO N

the net profit waterfall into a deficit. And to compound the issue, once a waterfall turns into a deficit, the studio is generally entitled to begin accruing and deducting recoupment interest. While the above pro forma is based on a theatrical release, the impact to a television series waterfall can be even more significant, as SVOD receipts are generally even more significant in TV series distribution. We strongly believe that the court’s ruling was in error for several reasons. First and foremost, as we all know, the SVOD market generally replaced existing pay and free television markets worldwide, and not the home video/DVD markets. The VHS/DVD home entertainment markets were replaced by the EST market, in which the consumer outright owns a copy of the title for viewing. As such, the existing profit-participation provisions concerning pay and free television markets should be applied to SVOD. Secondly, the manner of distribution in SVOD bears no equivalency to home entertainment, which is based on the manufacturing of hard-copy units necessitating manufacturing, packaging and shipping costs. There is minimal expense preparing a title for SVOD distribution, which requires no thirdparty retailers and accompanying inventory sales systems, and certainly no per-unit manufacturing costs.

Sabrina K. Robinson, CPA, is a founding partner of Robinson Granatt LLP; RobinsonGranatt.com

So where do we go from here? It’s important to note that the Bill Nye ruling was a bench ruling in an ongoing case. It technically does not become case law unless the case were to be upheld on appeal. But clearly, the writing is on the wall, and all studios are sure to follow Disney’s lead if it were to become case law. We believe talent, across all guilds, will need to take a firm stand against this practice to defeat this approaching train. Ensure that your talent representatives take a hard stand in all future agreements to safeguard against this issue, and ensure that your auditors take issue with this type of accounting if it is found within your own profit participation reports.

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James

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Lopez A

common theme in this magazine over the years is that a great producer can come from anywhere. The cover of Produced By has been graced by producers who found their way to that role after beginning as directors, writers, studio or network execs, UPMs, performers, tech innovators, talent or literary reps ... the list goes on. Now, in

this issue, we’ve added a new origin story to the gallery. In 2007, James Lopez was at the top of his game. As head of marketing for Atlantic Records, he worked alongside A-list talent and helped launch the careers of some of the most exciting artists on the charts. But after 15 years in the music business, he needed a new challenge, a change of scene. After getting his feet wet in music video production, Lopez felt the pull of motion pictures and visual storytelling. “I fell in love with the process,” he says. Over the next three years, he engineered a transition to Hollywood, departing Atlantic on good terms to take a production executive role on the Sony lot at Screen Gems. There he oversaw the output of one of Screen Gems’ most prolific creative collaborators, Will Packer. Following Lopez’s arrival, he and Packer started a working partnership and collaborated on hits like Think Like a Man, About Last Night and The Wedding Ringer. That relationship only deepened when Packer moved to Universal, taking on Lopez as his president of motion picture production. Since then, releases such as Night School, What Men Want, The Photograph and the surprise blockbuster Girls Trip have cemented Lopez’s reputation as a savvy judge of material and generous creative partner. Sorry, music industry. We’re not giving him back. Interview by chris green || photography by kremer johnson

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THE COVER: JAMES LOPEZ

SO WHERE DO YOU COME FROM? HOW DID YOU GET HERE? It was not a straight line for me at all. Definitely a zigzag. I spent 18 years in the music business. I started out back in 1992 as an assistant at a small record label. My last job in music was at Atlantic Records, as head of marketing. I spent a decade at Atlantic Records and worked with a lot of great artists. But the entire time I was there I felt like there was something more I could do in entertainment besides just music. I always thought very visually. I was always heavily involved in the production of our music videos—conceptually, working with directors, pushing the artists to be as creative as possible. I didn’t recognize it at the time, but that was a version of producing. One day I was challenged by one of my artists, T.I., who obviously ended up becoming an actor as well. But we were in a ... spirited debate [laughs]—I guess some people might have called it an argument—about a concept for a video. I wanted him to stretch the boundaries and do something different than what was prevalent at the time. He came back with, “Hey, you give these directors all this heartburn, why don’t you write it?” So I wrote up a rough treatment. Then he pushed me a step further and challenged me to direct it. I told him, “I don’t have the right experience.” So we got a codirector; I can’t take credit for directing all of it. And it got nominated for a VMA Award! It’s just like—what? I went on to direct three more videos, all smaller, low-budget shoots. I quickly realized it was not my calling. I don’t like it. It’s too much pressure. But I fell in love with the process, working with the filmmaker, managing the budget and physical production. It got my wheels spinning. I was living in New York at the time but I had a lot of friends in LA who were in the business. I just started asking for scripts to read. I started reading the trades, learning the names and the studios, and what was being made. And I decided, this is what I want to do next.

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SO HOW DO YOU TURN A MARKETING EXEC AND OCCASIONAL MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR INTO A FEATURE FILM PRODUCER?

I’m always doing research. I Google, go on Studio System, IMDB, and if I can’t find any films in a successful genre for our audience, I’ll push it. If it’s good, they will come out for it.”

I was fortunate really early on to be befriended by a woman named Jody Gerson, who at the time was the President of EMI Publishing. She was on the music side, but she was also producing this film with Overbrook— James Lassiter and Will Smith’s company. So I asked her a lot of questions. She explained that the concept of the film came from two of the music writers that she published, Dallas Austin and Tionne Watkins—T-Boz, from TLC. Jody went out and helped set it up and develop it and helped shepherd the process. And that’s producing, basically. Every time I’d come back to LA she would sit down with me and be generous with her time. In 2007, my contract was up at Atlantic. They wanted to renew, and I wanted to be there as well. But I kind of utilized that moment as leverage. I said, “OK, I’ll re-up for another three years, but I want to work out of the West Coast office.” They said yes. So I started working out of Burbank. I gave myself three years to find that first film gig. Now mind you, I’m in my late 30s at the time. I’ve got a wife, two kids. My wife thinks I’m losing my mind because she’s walking into my home office and I’ve got stacks and stacks of scripts. “Why are you reading all this stuff?” she asked me. I told her, “I’m training myself. I’m preparing for the day that I get the opportunity.” I just didn’t know where it was going to come from. I started to get some studio meetings, but they were meetings about marketing jobs. It wasn’t where I wanted to be, but I figured because of my skill set, that’s maybe where I could get my foot in the door. Everyone at the studios said the same thing. They knew my desire was to be on the production side, and they told me, If you get a job in marketing, you’re going to be stuck in marketing. Then in 2009, T.I. is doing his second film, Takers, at Screen Gems. Clint

THE COVER: JAMES LOPEZ

Clockwise from left: James Lopez on the set of The Photograph; with director Adam Shankman on the set of What Men Want; with director Tina Gordon on the set of Little

Culpepper was the president of Screen Gems and my current producing partner, Will Packer, was producing that movie. T.I. invited me down to spend some time on set, and I really hit it off with Will and Clint. We were having discussions about the lack of diversity in the executive suites at the studios, and we talked about urban content and the synergy between music and film. The more I spoke to Clint, the better I understood his desire to have his finger on the pulse of what was happening in urban culture. So I utilized the access that I had. I’m in the music business. I’m always going to concerts. I’m always backstage. I can introduce the president of Screen Gems to all these artists. Janelle Monáe was just starting to break at that time, and we were working with her at Atlantic. So for one of her first shows in LA I took Clint to The Viper Room to see her perform. She opened for Bruno Mars that night.

REALLY? A hundred people in the room, nobody has heard these artists before. I introduced him to them. Then maybe six months later, I take Clint to the Greek Theatre where they were both performing, but now this time they’re performing in front of 6,000 people. So I utilized the access that I had. The better we got to know each other, the more he started to rely on me in terms of my knowledge of the culture and which artists Screen Gems should have in its movies and music. And he respected my ability to evaluate scripts. We went to dinner one night and had a serious conversation about the lack of diversity in the film business. Clint said, “Look, I’m trying to hire diverse people, but they’re not in the pipeline.” And I challenged him. I said, “You’re looking in the wrong industry. There are qualified executives working in music. There are qualified executives in sports, and in all these other industries that aren’t on your radar.” So the top of 2010 rolls around and he says, “Let’s cut to the chase. Do you want to come work for me?” I told him, “Absolutely.” Six months later, I officially joined the company. Clint took that risk, bringing in an executive from an entirely different industry. But my years of experience on the record side, dealing with executives,

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THE COVER: JAMES LOPEZ

“IT’S LIKE THE SKY IS THE LIMIT. IF YOU CAN DREAM IT AND IF IT MAKES SENSE AS AN INVESTMENT OF RESOURCES, YOU FIGURE IT OUT.” dealing with artists and the volatility of the business, creating budgets and overseeing projects—a lot of my skill sets I found translated perfectly to being an executive at Screen Gems.

MAN, YOU EXACTLY ANTICIPATED MY NEXT QUESTION THERE. It translated.

OK THEN, I’M CURIOUS: WHAT STUFF DOESN’T TRANSLATE? WHERE DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS? The timing. On the record side, things happen lightning fast. On the film side, you’ve got to be patient. You could work on a project for years and still not get it made. On the record side, you could be in a studio with an artist in January, hear a single, that single flies out the door, the world hears it, it explodes. That following year you could be sitting next to that person who’s up for New Artist of the Year at the Grammys. Films don’t happen that fast. When I first got here, I imagined that just because something I read was great, that was enough to make it happen. It turns out, no, there’s a greenlight process and financial models that have to be run. And this is very cast-dependent, and only two people can really play that role. There are so many different factors.

NOW, AT SCREEN GEMS, AS AT ATLANTIC, YOU WERE AN EXECUTIVE. HOW DID YOU

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TRANSITION INTO FULL-TIME PRODUCING?

WHAT A GREAT POSITION TO BE IN.

Screen Gems was an amazing learning experience. I didn’t operate like a traditional studio executive. I honestly operated more like a producer when I was there, because I was allowed to. I was allowed to be on set, or go on location for months. I was allowed to be in the cutting room with the director and the editor.

Yeah. It’s like the sky is the limit. If you can dream it and if it makes sense as an investment of resources, you figure it out.

REALLY? I had earned the trust of the directors. I was in the trenches with them during production. So being an executive at Screen Gems helped me learn how to be a producer at an accelerated pace. I was the executive overseeing all of Will Packer’s projects at the studio, so he and I spent a lot of time together on set and in the cutting room, and on the road to promote the films. And a bond and a friendship was born there. So when he moved his deal from Sony to Universal about a year after that, he gave me a call and asked, “Hey, why don’t you come over and run the company?” So I discovered that I had a third life, and that was as a producer. That’s when the floodgates opened in terms of creativity and entrepreneurship. I love the fact that I can read an article or a book or just even have an idea and if it’s good enough, hey, let’s develop it. Let’s go. There are no layers or hierarchy; it’s just whether Will and I see eye to eye on something. If we do, we go for it.

SO ONCE YOU STARTED PRODUCING, WHAT NEW SKILLS DID YOU HAVE TO BUILD? Every film is a different learning experience. We’re prepping a film right now that is very heavy on visual effects. This is the first time in my career that I’ve dealt with a project that has this much visual effects in it. And I’m deep in it.

WHAT’S YOUR IMPRESSION SO FAR? It’s very complicated, obviously—very complicated, very time-consuming, very expensive.

THREE THINGS PRODUCERS LOVE, YES? [laughs] Yeah. Some days I have to fight the urge to check out when I’m on those calls, on those Zooms. They really get into the minutiae. But I know this won’t be the last film I do that has heavy visual effects, so I’ll bring that knowledge and experience to the next one. I recently wrapped a film that included four minors under the age of 12. First time I’ve ever dealt with children on set. It’s a different experience. We had a situation where we had a young actress who was not comfortable in a particular scene. It scared her. The director was trying his

James Lopez on the set of Little, with director Tina Gordon and Justin Hartley

best to explain, “This is not real,” but it wasn’t getting through. I asked our young actress, “What’s your favorite movie?” And she told me what it was. “I know the lead of that movie. Would you like to talk to her?” So I called my actress friend and I said, “Hey, I’ve got a kid here who’s kind of spooked. I just want to make her feel as comfortable and happy as possible. Do you mind giving her a call and talking to her?” And in a moment, they were FaceTiming. Our young actress was over the moon. It made her night and she knocked the scene out.

WHAT A GREAT INTUITION, TO THINK TO MAKE THAT CALL. I never expected that I would have to talk a kid down off the ledge just to get a performance. But something new pops up on every film.

I WANT TO JUMP BACK TO DEVELOPMENT FOR A MOMENT. YOU CLEARLY RELISH THE FREEDOM YOU HAVE TO TELL THE STORIES YOU WANT. HOW DOES THAT PROCESS WORK FOR YOU IN TERMS OF FINDING MATERIAL? Right now we’re taking a project out around town: the Doug Williams biopic. Doug was quarterback of—well, formerly the Washington Redskins, now the Washington Football Team, as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was really the first Black quarterback to succeed at the highest level of the game. Will grew up a Tampa Bay fan, still is a Tampa Bay fan. He was a young boy during the time Doug was in Tampa. Will told me, “I know Doug. I know his team. I want to go get the rights.” But I gave him a caveat. I don’t have the desire to do a by-the-numbers

biopic. It can’t be the movie version of Doug’s Wikipedia page. So we talked about it, and looked at telling Doug’s story through a parallel storyline with a young boy who kind of represents all of us, the composite of all of us Black kids growing up during that era, with everything that Doug meant to us. So it’s a unique way in. We went and got Anthony Hemingway to direct, and Anthony brought two writers with him that really nailed the take. So we’re out to the studios with that now. That’s one example that just came out of a conversation. An example on the other end is a project we have called Warrior Queen. That came out of an experience from when I first joined the company. We had just released our first limited series, which was the remake of Roots. Will was going around the country promoting it with the cast and he kept hearing over

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THE COVER: JAMES LOPEZ

and over, “You guys have done a great job. But can’t we ever see ourselves as kings and queens? Why do we always have to see ourselves as slaves or as downtrodden, or as the subject of torture porn?” Will really took that to heart, and said, “We need to make a swords-andsandals type of project, based in Africa, where we were conquerors and kings and queens and inventors.” I agreed, “That’s great ... but we can’t fictionalize it. We can’t just make up a character.” I said, give me a few weeks and I’ll find someone we could base this idea around. And I came back with a queen named Amanirenas. She was the only ruler in Africa that ever defeated the Roman Empire. She ruled over the kingdom of Kush, which at the time was in Nubia, south of Egypt, along the Nile valley. The Romans, as they were conquering North Africa and going further south, were beat back by Queen Amanirenas and her army. She forced them to sue for peace, and allowed them to drag their tails back up to Europe. It’s an incredible story. I pulled up all this research. We went and found a writer. We were talking to Lupita Nyong’o about playing the lead; she’s going to produce it with us. We want to do more work on it and then we’re going to find a filmmaker. That’s a project that’s been in development for four years now. Doug Williams has been in development for less than a year. The other thing we’ve done well is figuring out the underserved markets and then filling them. For example, Girls Trip. It’s not a unique concept. It’s a road trip, four friends behaving badly. Now, we saw that movie. It was called The Hangover. But white guys get to behave badly all the time. When you look at the landscape and the history of film, you never saw Black women doing that. So that was a hole in the market, and we decided we’re going to fill that. So I’m always doing research. I Google, go on Studio System, IMDB, and if I can’t find any films in a successful genre for our audience, I’ll push it. If it’s good, they will come out for it.

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Lopez with Issa Rae on the set of Little

“IF YOU SEE THE OUTLIERS ARE WORKING, DON’T YOU WANT TO CREATE MORE OUTLIERS, SO IT’S NO LONGER AN OUTLIER, BUT A NORM? THAT MEANS MORE MONEY FOR EVERYONE.” SO JUST CIRCLING BACK TO THE START OF YOUR STORY, THAT DINNER WITH CLINT WHERE HE SAID THERE WAS “NOBODY IN THE PIPELINE.” TODAY, THERE IS A PIPELINE, OR AT LEAST THE BEGINNINGS OF ONE. WHAT HAS IT TAKEN TO GET TO THIS POINT, AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO BUILD ON THAT? Well, what it’s taken is people finally waking up and realizing that it’s good

for business. You never want to be in a room where everyone looks the same. That’s not going to be a well-rounded brain trust.

YOU’RE GOING TO MISS SOMETHING. You’re going to miss something. I have people on my staff from all age ranges. If I don’t have a lot of young folks around me, a lot of people from different backgrounds, we’re not going to have

THE COVER: JAMES LOPEZ

Lopez with Kevin Hart on the set of Night School, and with director Malcolm Lee during the filming of Girls Trip

a well-rounded discussion about ideas. For too long, this town has been too insular in terms of the types of people that are making decisions about content.

If you don’t have diversity of thought, you’re going to miss out on cutting-edge content being created by people who have been shut out. It’s smart business

to have different points of view because that’s where the next Girls Trip will come from, and the next Crazy Rich Asians. The list goes on and on in terms of what this town has called “outliers.” Well, if you see the outliers are working, don’t you want to create more outliers, so it’s no longer an outlier, but a norm? That means more money for everyone. I think the town is waking up to that. I also think that the social justice issues that we’ve confronted the last few years have created an awakening. People are looking inward and having conversations about equity. I’ve had a bunch of them with a lot of people who could easily choose not to do anything about it, and they would be fine. But they’ve opened their hearts and they know it’s the right thing to do. Diversity of thought, diversity of content—it’s been proven over and over. It works; it’s a good investment. Look at Ryan Coogler. Look at Jordan Peele. When you hit and you hit it right, the sky is the limit.

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ALL THE RIGHT

atching the biggest runaway Netflix hit of all time, The Queen’s Gambit, about a female child chess prodigy who’s wrestling with her genius and her demons simultaneously, is in itself like watching a perfectly played chess match. All the pieces of a masterful production have fallen into place, from the writing and directing to the casting and costuming … from the set and sound design to the editing and musical composition. But did anyone behind the creation of this masterpiece predict the success it would have? No, they did not. In fact, much of the production was created on instinct, the way Beth Harmon plays her best chess. Executive Producer William Horberg, who, along with co-creator Allan Scott, expertly assembled the pieces on this well-played

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MOVES

William Horberg and Allan Scott win it all making The Queen’s Gambit written by By Katie Grant

The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor with director Scott Frank (left) and executive producer William Horberg

limited-series board that was 30 years in the making, says, “Well, I think anybody who had anything to do with this is stunned and tickled pink because it really was a 30-plus-year journey. The book was published in the ’80s. And, as it happened, in 1992, Allan Scott wrote a script for Sydney Pollack and me at Mirage. Meanwhile, he was adapting the Walter Tevis novel The Queen’s Gambit at the same time. “Then Allan and QG director Scott Frank actually both wrote episodes of a show called Fallen Angels for me, but they didn’t know each other at the time. So it’s funny, all of these relationships really go way back, but I didn’t know anything about The Queen’s

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ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

Gambit, and I didn’t know that Allan had the rights. “It wasn’t until I made The Talented Mr. Ripley with Anthony Minghella that I met writer Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient). Michael is a huge fan of the novel The Queen’s Gambit. He said, ‘I read it every couple of years to remind me how to write.’ I thought, ‘This guy’s no slouch; if this is like his writing bible, I’ve got to read it.’ So I ran out and read it and I loved it, and I thought, ‘Why hasn’t anybody made this? This is really compelling.’” After researching who had the rights, Horberg was surprised to find they belonged to his old friend Allan Scott. Allan had adapted it and written a screenplay for a feature film, and that format seemed to be the sticking point to getting it made. Horberg goes on: “There were always directors and actors interested. Like when the late Heath Ledger was set to direct; he was once a child chess master himself in Australia. But the marketplace was not interested. It was too expensive for how commercial people perceived the story. It didn’t add up.”

ECONOMIC CHOICES What did add up was the formula of players Horberg tapped to make the expanded version of this story into a seven-part limited series—an idea that came to director Scott Frank when he made Godless for Netflix. Then Horberg and Frank realized they were both fans of Babylon Berlin, so they connected first with their production designer, Uli Hanisch, and his crew. They didn’t think they could make the whole series, which spans the globe, in just one location, but Hanisch proved them wrong. He found or built sets for everything from Beth’s Kentucky home to Las Vegas, Paris, Moscow and even Mexico City right there in Berlin. Having a story of mainly interiors made it a bit easier. This location choice was the first of many “economic” moves made for this production about a game that similarly demands an extreme economy of movement. Not having to move countries saved the team time as well as money. And the economy of moves is most noticeable in the

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acting prowess of star Anya Taylor-Joy. Every reserved choice of what to show and not show on her mini movie screen of a face—or how she deftly picks up a chess piece or decides to finally speak—sets the stage with restraint and draws us in. Connecting with Scott Frank and finding Hanisch was another smart move that helped Horberg produce with such finesse. “We were terrified of how much chess there was in the book. As much as we love it, it’s also like, ‘Man, how are people who know nothing about chess and couldn’t care less about it going to get this?’ We understood that this had to

“We didn’t have every location picked yet, but we knew that there had to be a progression from local Kentucky matches to Moscow, the Cadillac tournament of chess. And we had to learn a lot about the tournament levels. We talked about every board, what color it is, what kind of pieces there were, what the clocks were going to look like. So again, if you look carefully, it’s always changing. The pieces are changing; the clocks are changing. The whole thing of having a radio guy in Mexico City was a genius move because suddenly you could marry the drama of the chess game through the voice of an expert.”

“ECONOMY APPLIES TO EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. IT APPLIES TO WRITING, ECONOMY APPLIES TO EDITING, AND TO THE STAGING OF THINGS.” work for an audience beyond chess. So we said, ‘Well, we can’t put all these matches in. We have to pick the ones that are significant to Beth’s journey, and we have to have variety.’” They accomplished that variety at their own private chess summit held in Berlin. First, Scott Frank pored through the script, finding just the right way to share each match. “Very early in preproduction, we brought some of the team on, and we even flew the editor to Berlin. We planned a three-day production meeting all exclusively around the chess matches. We talked through every tournament. Uli and his art department prepped for this, so they had a layout board of rough ideas.

LESS IS MÁS This kind of preproduction planning is old hat to Horberg. “I’m a big believer that the more prep time you can have, the better. Even before prep—we call it ‘long, thin prep,’ just core people who can help to previsualize and problem-solve.” Another brilliant move for a production with many moving parts. Allan Scott, a prolific and award-winning writer and producer in his own right, stresses how important narration— something he sees missing from many scripts—was to this story. Using narration with economy, that is. He explains: “Economy applies to everything you do. It applies to writing, to editing and to the

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

staging of things. Yes, it does, but it’s how you use the economy. I keep getting sent things that have nothing to do with The Queen’s Gambit—scripts or treatments to make comments on—to see if I can help. The thing that startles me is how little narrative they have. The Queen’s Gambit is full of narrative.” Horberg adds, “You learn in a series like The Queen’s Gambit to come up with a punchline for every episode. Something that leaves the audience saying, ‘Oh, I want to be there for the next one.’ I have to say this was entirely Scott’s idea. He came up with my favorite one. It’s at the end of episode 4 when Beth looks blankly at the pharmacist in Mexico and just says, ‘Más.’ Talk about economy. She doesn’t say, ‘Well, I really need a hit. Can you get me something that really works?’ She just says, ‘Más.’” More is exactly what we want as we devour each episode of The Queen’s Gambit. When asked why he thinks the show is such a hit, Horberg replies, “I think it’s a story of survival. It’s a story of regaining human connection. I think in a world that was knocked on its ass by this pandemic where everybody was so isolated and atomized and relationships got reduced to screen relationships—all that was a big contributing factor. “And then I think that Beth Harmon is such a unique character and, as portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy, so incredibly fascinating and contradictory. She’s a killer, but she’s kind of a sweetheart. She’s a chess nerd, but she’s a sexy fashion plate too. She’s brilliant in some areas of her life and she’s totally naive and unprepared for other areas of life. That’s the trick of the novel. From the first page, you’re glued to this person and thinking, ‘Who is this girl?’ “This was a word-of-mouth, sleeper hit. There was no algorithm that was going to tell anybody that they should make it. Netflix made it because they were in business with Scott Frank and they were super happy with Godless and they wanted to extend that relationship, and this was what he wanted to do next.” Allan Scott adds that the appeal of QG is its theme about the cost of genius and

The Queen’s Gambit line producer Marcus Loges (left) with writer Allan Scott

how people are fascinated with that. “I think genius is the ability to shut out all other distractions and focus on something to a depth.”

LIFE BEFORE FILM Both Bill Horberg and Allan Scott come from nonfilm backgrounds that have oddly contributed to their talents as movie men. For Horberg, it was music. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and plays the flute and piano. He says, “With music, I like to think about story in compositional terms and about resolution. Resolution is a very musical concept. I look for the core of the story and the reverberations that you carry with you from it. I always love filmmakers who have strong musical concepts. I love composers and just being around the scoring of a film is really fun for me. I mean, Carlos Rafael Rivera just knocked it out of the park on this one. He’s a real artist.” Horberg actually got to apply his musical talents on the screen for QG as the piano player in a restaurant and as a songwriter. He collaborated with singer/ songwriter Anna Hauss—actress Marielle Heller’s hand double for piano playing—to write an original song that Hauss sang

in an episode. He credits Scott Frank, saying, “He was open-minded enough to say, ‘Go do something and I’ll listen to it. And if I like it, we’ll do it.’” They did do it and the results are a poignant moment in the story that speaks volumes for Beth’s emotions in the scene. As for Allan Scott, he studied English in university but then went on to be a player in the Scotch whisky industry as the chairman of the distillery The Macallan before becoming a writer for film and TV. I asked him about any connections he saw between making whiskey and making movies and he had this to say: “The elements that running a company like the whiskey company and making a movie share are that it’s just as much about the market. It’s actually more about marketing it for me than it is about making whiskey. “You know how the whiskey is made and you make sure that those standards are kept up. It’s about man-management, by which I mean labor management. It’s about time management, it’s about managing advertising agencies, public relations companies. It’s not sitting next to the pot and checking that the fire is hot. Filmmaking and producing have

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similarities in that you need to organize, hold things together, but most of all, you need to persuade and collaborate. “But I think the same is true as a producer. That’s your function. Your function is to raise the money, to make sure that everything works well, and in this case, Bill will tell you this too: We never had a better crew as producers in our lives as we had in Berlin.” Bill adds that their line producer, Marcus Loges, is “probably the best I’ve ever worked with. He was a great partner to Scott and me.”

LESSONS LEARNED Being able to summon such a good crew and becoming a good producer comes from knowing yourself, says Horberg. “I think that you have to have a very thick skin. You have to try to find the sweet spot of the things that you love and are passionate about in the marketplace and what is getting made. You don’t have to love everything; you have to know yourself and be an audience for the

Between takes on The Queen’s Gambit set in Berlin

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things that you’re trying to achieve and create so that your gut instinct of what’s working, where to point your compass, has a true north to it. “And then, I think now more than ever—and I didn’t do this—you need to get as many different skill sets as you can. Learn how to use Final Cut or how to write. Learn sound, learn the set, learn the budgets, because it’s just a radically different world. There’s more stuff being made than ever, but it’s harder than ever to have a career and to have any kind of security. So I just think that if you’ve got these different skills, then you’re always going to be able to work, even as you’re trying to tell your own stories and make your own things happen.” Allan Scott has this to offer up-andcoming producers: “You know, it’s kind of boring advice, but it works. I’ve run classes and taught courses, and I’ve written and talked a lot: If you want to be a producer or a director, read the 12 best screenplays that are around. Just read them. And read them

again. You can learn from that. “Before I wrote my first screenplay, I think I read five screenplays. One was Lawrence of Arabia. One was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. William Goldman is wonderfully easy to read because he writes like a novelist. Sit there and read and honestly, you will learn more things than you knew possible to learn.” Applying lessons learned to The Queen’s Gambit, Allan Scott adds, “All good moviemaking, all screenplays, should have at least five moments where the heartstrings are tugged one way or the other. Whether it reduces you to tears, whether it makes you apprehensive or fearful, that’s what drama is about. It’s pulling at those strings. That is, I hope, part of the success of The Queen’s Gambit. It tackles all those elements.” One might think that finally bringing The Queen’s Gambit to life would feel like he made his ultimate opus, but Allan says no. He says it’s like whenever he’s asked what is the favorite thing he’s ever written or produced: “The truth is, it has to

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

be the next project. Because if it isn’t the next project, you can’t do it. You have to believe in it that strongly.” Horberg believes strongly that TV and film are now becoming the same thing when it comes to creating content. “It’s all one thing now, in my mind. It’s just content that is getting onto platforms, and whether it’s a screen or a flat screen or a streaming screen or a broadcast screen or an iPad. But I grew up a film guy and I love film, and that was my idea of what I thought I wanted to do with my career—make movies. I’m still trying to make movies, which makes me almost a bit of a dinosaur. I loved this limited-series format, though. I really enjoyed the kind of novelist quality and being able to tell a story and a story that ended, too. I don’t know that I’m super attracted to the seven-year narrative arc, even though it’s kind of the financial holy grail. I haven’t found a story or characters yet that lend themselves to that. I don’t know that I could stay interested that long.”

Horberg is interested in humanistic stories and especially book-to-film adaptations like QG. “I’m attracted to literature, both fiction and nonfiction. I was lucky to work early on with director Mike Nichols, and he said a great thing that I carry with me. Somebody asked him, ‘What do you like?’ And he said, ‘Well, I like things that are ‘very.’ If it’s funny, it’s got to be very funny. If it’s scary, it’s got to be very scary. If it’s going to break your heart, it needs to be very heartbreaking.’ If it’s drama, I’m always pushing people to find the humor in it. If it’s a comedy, I’m always making sure that we care, and there’s a kind of emotional truth underneath the laughs.”

APPRECIATING PRODUCERS When it comes to producing in general, Horberg says, “I wish that as an industry we appreciated, honored, protected, and supported producers more. I think it’s one of the most important jobs in the film process, both from the financier being somebody they can trust as responsible

both creatively and financially. And from the filmmaker’s point of view, being somebody they can trust to have their back and the intentions of the storytelling in mind. Also someone who can manage a creative process within a box of limited time, money and resources. “We don’t have a union, we don’t get residuals, we don’t have health care that comes to us. I think a lot of my peers who have been in the game for a long time feel like we’re incredibly necessary, but not treated as essential talent. “It was kind of a joke,” Horberg continues, “but producing became a hobby for billionaires or an entree place for students. But to be a middle-class, year-in, year-out working producer, it’s a very frustrating model. Eighty percent of your time can be spent speculatively because it takes years to get projects developed and you don’t get paid until they get made. And then more than half the time—certainly for an independent producer— you’re being asked to defer your fees and you’re recouping your fees behind other people who are making money off of your Herculean labors. “So I’ve been very involved in the Producer’s Guild and we’ve done a lot to try to create a community around our common interests and needs and foster a lot of best practices in terms of sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and mentorship. But I feel like there are big winners in the game and they get big overall deals. They’ve reached a level of security, but I think the culture of producing still needs to be understood better.” What we can understand about Horberg and Scott’s producing The Queen’s Gambit is that hard work pays off in the long run. And that knowing that every move you make along the way—whether, like Horberg, it’s trading book interests with the writer down the hall at your first studio job who will become your director one day ... or, as Allan Scott did, being the first to option the rights to a book and renewing them over and over until you can buy them outright—could be the long shot that leads to success in producing.

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NAVIGATING COVID IN THE

POST-LOCKDOWN ERA “We’ll get through this together” is a common theme as six producers share how they’re handling COVID strictures after lockdown.

Produced By asked a worldwide group of PGA producers who had exited lockdown and returned to work to write short accounts of their observations, comments and tips. Here’s what they shared. Compiled and Edited by Jacob Kamhis Jacob Kamhis is a producer, screenwriter and writer/editor.

Shirley Williams Executive Producer, Director Willie B. Productions, LLC COVID-19 has brought a world of newness. In the beginning it felt a bit strange, but now I’m pretty used to it. I have been fortunate to direct and produce a number of remote shoots, with some in postproduction for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), First Response, Garden of Life, and Ritz. I am also in full development for the episodic series A Break In Belonging.

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Some people are afraid to work and some are hungry to work. I have been very fortunate to have successfully filmed various projects this year without any positive COVID tests. I’m seeing projects filming with smaller crews and people juggling a lot more. I don’t want this trend to continue once we’re out of this pandemic. We test 24 to 48 hours ahead and sometimes on the same day. We typically have a COVID compliance officer, maintain social distancing, wash our hands a lot, sanitize equipment throughout the day and do all postproduction remotely. To minimize the risk of potential spread, I haven’t sat in an edit bay in months. Instead I’ve developed new strategies to work “live” with my editors through Zoom and Google Meet. Shoot days are longer. There’s also a concern COVID isn’t that far away, so safety is top priority. Share resources and information with each other, especially techniques that work. Also, be understanding that people are working from home with their children and they are under stress. We’re dealing with the death of loved ones, loss of jobs, racial injustices, political hardships. Sympathy and flexibility go a long way today. These are a few items I implement: • Keep your footprint small on set with only essential crew members. • If you need to set up client viewing on set, there are technicians and software. If you’re strapped for cash, lean on Zoom and Google Meet. • Have a contingency plan in case a key crew member falls ill. • Take breaks. Working 10+ hours a day in a mask can be physically and mentally draining.

Michael Y. Chow

Cofounder / Chief Instigator XRM Media The year 2020 has been a major reset, but XRM Media has taken this window to revisit our core competencies and identify new capabilities in view of a very different world post-pandemic. Specifically, we did the following: • Immediately reduced overhead expenses, including staff, on noncore businesses. • Examined existing budgets and reallocated capital to preserve cash as much as possible and stretch our dollars. • Focused on short-term initiatives to generate revenue to sustain ongoing operations. • Doubled down on investments for strategic capabilities and new markets. These steps forced clarity on what was important and drove efficiency across our companies. By midyear, XRM Media started to see macro trends. Some were shorter-term and others longer, which we believed provided us a glimpse of the future—livestreaming, CGI, and synthetic media space. During the remainder of the year, we solidified our traditional media business, including feature films, documentaries and TV/digital. We devised a remote production plan to shoot our Emmy Award-winning interactive show Artificial on Twitch, for which we were nominated for another Emmy this year. Whenever we could not do physical production, we upgraded scripts and secured more IP for our development slate for 2021 and beyond. On the new media side, XRM Media invested in next-generation technologies and ventures to produce and distribute content in any environment, including another global pandemic. We expanded in Latin America, India, the Africa subcontinent, eastern Europe and southeast Asia, and created strong partnerships in strategic emerging regions and/or economies in order to self-distribute and access those marketplaces. Key intrinsic traits I look for in my partners and team members include agility, adaptability, resourcefulness, high-results orientation, tenacity, humbleness and curiosity to learn and figure things out in this fast-changing, chaotic environment. I feel XRM Media is well positioned and equipped as Hollywood enters a new era of media entertainment.

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NAVIGATING COVID IN THE POST-LOCKDOWN ERA

Shari HamrickGrewal Producer Organic Media Group I have been working as a producer on both film and television content with Organic Media Group based in Taiwan, where COVID-19 is under control, though U.S. visitors must quarantine upon arrival for 14 days. Prep is still easy to complete during the two weeks in a hotel. Masks are required in public but they were the norm before COVID in most of Asia. The pandemic has definitely affected our other productions in Russia, Europe, Australia, China and other locations. We’re looking forward to vaccines as the remedy on a large scale. A lot of coordination is needed when working in foreign locations. Luckily, most of this was in process before the virus became widespread, so we have been gearing back up carefully. Two main areas where we are focused are finding long-term insurance solutions against work stoppage, and searching for ways to ease the uncertainty for investors. Due to a lack of workable insurance coverage, the production company is currently responsible for costs if there is a shutdown. One solution is to partner with a coproduction company that

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has the financial ability to assist with completing the deliverable and taking it to distribution. Another solution we seek is how to screen our movies. We don’t feel small screens are best for prospective buyers. Important effects are lost. In addition, screening movies online requires a password, and there remain security concerns. I personally do not believe COVID is going away completely anytime soon. We have to work smarter, share our expertise and stay connected with peers. It feels incredibly necessary, not just for our work but for our mental health. Here are other thoughts: • Participate in PGA events and programs, which I feel are more important now than ever. • For a fresh perspective, plug in, stay connected, and take a class, even if you think you already know it all. • Take a virtual trip. Want to film in Italy, France or Taiwan? Yes, there is a group for that. • Pay it forward. Mentor a new writer or producer for an hour or a day. Virtually, of course.

Shari with daughter Kristen Klaczyk as they inspect a prop for a zombie movie shot in California and Hungary.

Quentin (far left) directing actors Wilson Cruz, Karin Anna Cheung and Archie Kao on the set of The People I’ve Slept With.

Quentin Lee Producer, Margin Films As a double immigrant—I first moved to Canada and then to the U.S. from Hong Kong, and a double minority (Asian and gay)—in addition to being a single parent, life during the COVID-19 period has not been easy. Especially at a time when racism against Asians has risen in both America and the world. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was inspired by my former professor, who sent me a Washington Post article. It showed how Newton did some of his best work during a pandemic (the Great Plague of London) after he was sent home from school. In March, I was working with Canadian comedian Ed Hill, and had just pitched our TV series to a network executive in Canada. The executive sadly said she liked the project but the pandemic was shutting down the industry. I told Ed not to slack off. We kept developing our series, writing scripts and attaching talent. In September, we went back to the TV executive, got the series greenlit, and we’ll begin shooting in May 2021. I even became trained and certified as a COVID compliance officer, which enabled me to finish shooting my three-year-old documentary Searching for Anna May Wong, now in release. During COVID, I also shot a science-fiction comedy feature titled Comisery and a Zoom “gaysian” comedy TV series titled Boy Luck Club, both in distribution. While staying healthy during the pandemic, somehow I have managed to make 2020 my most productive year, and won a Roddenberry Impact Award for a TV project. Here are my tips to consider: • Technology is your friend, so never be afraid of it. • Find opportunities in despair. Instead of dwelling in despair, I started the first edition of Yale in Hollywood Fest (yihfest. com), a global streaming film festival. • Capitalize on any situation. I feel that after the pandemic started, people have more time. I asked actors to read scripts and set up projects. • I never stop working because I love it!

NAVIGATING COVID IN THE POST-LOCKDOWN ERA

Above: Brian McLaughlin, health safety supervisor, giving the morning COVID safety briefing to the crew of a game show. Right: McLaughlin and Sumon Aung, RN, review the testing paperwork of audio mixer Kenneth Beane on the set of Snapchat series.

Brian McLaughlin Producer / COVID Manager Although development and pitching continued during the pandemic shutdown this year, my producer income was scarce. When a friend invited me to work in COVID compliance, it was a welcome financial opportunity and a chance to learn a crucial new aspect of my future producing life. My assignments have been on two TV gigs: a game show and reality series. As a COVID health safety supervisor and COVID manager, I was told repeatedly, “You should be the most-hated person on set!”

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NAVIGATING COVID IN THE POST-LOCKDOWN ERA

Brian McLaughlin Continued Yet I believe I provided an attitude of helpfulness, cooperation and openness while trying to be a valued member of the team. So I reply, “People have treated me like the most-appreciated person on set.” In post-pandemic production, strict adherence to established protocols is required, but we have to accept that rules keep changing. A new question arises almost every day. We figure out the best answer on the go. Sometimes it means being willing to say we don’t know, and requesting input from human resources, legal, or the company’s COVID committee. Cast, crew and staff have responded well to my encouragement to ask questions if a rule doesn’t make sense to them. I explain the reasoning behind a protocol and gladly consider any pushback. In several instances, we have adjusted guidelines based on practical feedback from crew—crediting the COVID committee and our prudent and responsible executive in charge. Most importantly, open communication has been crucial in getting us through scares. When one key person had a positive test result midshoot, some of the talent and crew were understandably concerned. That night we sent everyone a 500-word e-mail explaining the entire incident in detail. The situation calmed and crew enthusiasm strengthened. One crew leader said, “This letter that was sent this morning is great. This is how it should be done.” Additional key points in COVID compliance include: • Being respectful engenders respect. • Support from executives and leaders make the compliance job easier. • We’re all learning together and share the same goals—safety in the production and the production’s success.

Tanya Cabral Freelance Producer, Line Producer, Production Supervisor I was fortunate to work on two productions during the pandemic. The first was in the San Francisco Bay Area

for a major tech company. The second was on a Los Angeles stage-based baking show for a streaming company. When I received the call, I was excited and nervous and opted to drive rather than fly from LA to the Bay Area. I knew the production world would be very different. While working, I noticed how exhausted I was. A lot of us were. We went from zero to 100 miles per hour wearing a mask for 12+ hours a day. Another change was learning to talk quietly while maintaining six feet of distance. To top it off, it was the first time crew members spoke in person after three months of isolation. Emotions ran high. The worst part was I could not comfort people with a simple hug that we all craved and needed. I was mentally and physically exhausted, but thankful for the opportunity to learn a new way of production. COVID testing created issues when we needed to switch someone out last-

minute. We had to wait 24 to 48 hours for a PCR test result. And, from the day players, I was hearing they were getting tested four to five days a week. Vendor deliveries and equipment repair personnel posed another layer of planning. A technician on set first needed to be tested with results returned before broken equipment was fixed. I learned just how many more layers COVID added to production. We can try to reduce our stress with the following: • Go outside, away from people and breathe without a mask at least once per day. • Wash your hands often. • It’s OK to ask what safety protocols are in place before you accept the project. • Don’t be afraid to speak up. We’re all in this together, and everyone’s safety is important. • Hang in there. We’ll get through this.

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AS THE TV LANDSCAPE EVOLVES, TRADITIONAL GAME SHOWS PROVE TO BE COVID-PROOF AND MORE POPULAR THAN EVER.

t the tender age of 6, I was fortunate enough to attend my first taping of a game show at the New York theater now named after Ed Sullivan. The show was Password, and I distinctly recall telling my mom that day that I wanted to work in game shows when I grew up. The industry was still recovering from a devastating scandal that saw producers and sponsors controlling the outcome of some of the most popular prime-time quiz shows to achieve a predetermined result. Game shows were now largely relegated to less-visible time slots in daytime, and they were now regulated by federal laws that assured ironclad honest practices. Videotape and color broadcasting were still brand-new concepts. I didn’t care about any of that. I was too busy watching and studying every format I could. My love affair with game shows was just beginning, and it continues to this day. I began to pursue my passion in earnest, which allowed me to “Come on down!” to Hollywood to chase my grandprize dreams. Nobody could have predicted over a half century ago that the broadcast airwaves would again be dominated by the world of bells, buzzers, and that elusive

Chris Hardwick hosts The Wall, co-created by executive producer LeBron James.

jackpot of cash and prizes. But here we are, plodding our way through turbulent times, accompanied by the celebration of knowledge, talent, telegenic personalities, and most importantly, wish fulfillment, that game shows provide. In the last year, more than 40 original game show series, many of them revivals of classic shows, have appeared in prime time, daytime, syndication and cable, airing more than 1,200 fresh episodes during a period of time when new content has been sparse. ABC prime time has 13 traditional games. Celebrity versions of Family Feud and Wheel of Fortune lead the parade, along with revivals: The $100,000 Pyramid (1973 original debut), To Tell the Truth (1956), Press Your Luck (1983), Match

COURTESY JUSTIN LUBIN/NBC

WRITTEN BY BOB BODEN

Game (1962), Card Sharks (1978), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999 in the U.S.) and Supermarket Sweep (1965), as well as British import The Chase and new formats including Don’t and The Hustler. ABC’s latest announcement was for the updated classic Celebrity Dating Game. The chief architect of the primetime game show explosion is Rob Mills, Executive Vice President, Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, Walt Disney Television. Mills put Celebrity Family Feud in prime time six years ago and has built from there, including full nights of a “fun & games” lineup. He compares today’s game show marketplace with the one that started 22 years ago, triggered by Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which instantly became a monster hit: “Suddenly, game

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LET THE GAMES BEGIN…AGAIN

shows were everywhere, but it didn’t work, because everyone put on shows that were in the same vein as Millionaire. This time around everyone has been smart about putting on different types of games. Family Feud is different from Match Game, which is different from Pyramid, which is different from Press Your Luck.” Fox has run the classic-format Name That Tune, along with such new concepts as I Can See Your Voice, Cherries Wild (coproduced with sponsor Pepsi), and Game of Talents. Several others are in development, and full seasons of Beat Shazam and Mental Samurai are ready to go. NBC is airing the Weakest Link reboot, Ellen’s Game of Games, and The Wall, with plans for more new titles in 2021 including a revival of College Bowl and an American version of BBC’s The Wheel. CBS aired Game On! last year in prime time and is toying with many other ideas. Some of the most popular game shows on the schedule are long-standing hits, including The Price is Right—which premiered in 1956 and starts the 50th year of the current version this September), Let’s Make A Deal (1963), Jeopardy! (1964), Wheel of Fortune (1975) and Family Feud

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(1976). Price and Deal are on CBS as the last two surviving weekday daytime network game shows, and as occasional celebrity-infused prime-time specials. The others appear in daily syndication, along with relative newcomers 25 Words or Less and the comedic Funny You Should Ask. Adapting legacy daytime programs for prime time is a long-standing industry practice and especially valuable now, says Amy Reisenbach, Executive Vice President, Current Programs for CBS. “The daytime audience is really loyal and will jump over to prime time to see their favorite shows. The DNA for daytime and prime time are the same.” Not to be outdone, cable’s Game Show Network has a generous array of library titles and new episodes of six original daily half-hour series—America Says, Common Knowledge, Catch 21, Get a Clue, Master Minds and People Puzzler. Other cable networks including TruTV and TBS have also jumped in with their own offerings. Nickelodeon has laid claim to a crop of kids and family games, including pet comedy show Unleashed, cartoon quiz Tooned In, and the U.S. adaptation of the U.K.’s Crystal Maze, the first season of which

was shot on the original set in England, and was halted before its second cycle. The digital team at Nickelodeon created a game called Unfiltered utilizing video conferencing technology, celebrity guests and graphic overlays. Nickelodeon’s Executive Vice President, Unscripted Rob Bagshaw says, “Kids consume content on multiple devices and different types of screens, so we can shoot remotely and they will accept that style of production.” You would have to go back to the early ’50s (pre-scandal) to find this many game shows in prime time. As the blemished genre migrated to daytime, it reached a peak in 1975 with 19 daily game shows on the three networks, for a total of 47½ hours a week. Another trend that dates back to the earliest days of television is the use of A-list stars to front these shows. In the ’50s and ’60s, celebrities like Milton Berle, Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner and, infamously, Jackie Gleason (his short-lived You’re in the Picture was panned by critics), took on emcee roles. Today those spots are filled by prominent names including Jamie Foxx, Alec Baldwin, Elizabeth Banks, Steve Harvey, Drew Carey, Jane Lynch, Jason Biggs, Wayne Brady,

STAND UP FOR US ALL

Clinical trials bring us closer to the day when all cancer patients can become survivors. Clinical trials are an essential path to progress and the brightest torch researchers have to light their way to better treatments. That’s because clinical trials allow researchers to test cutting-edge and potentially life-saving treatments while giving participants access to the best options available. If you’re interested in exploring new treatment options that may also light the path to better treatments for other patients, a clinical trial may be the right option for you. Speak with your doctor and visit StandUpToCancer.org/ClinicalTrials to learn more.

Sonequa Martin-Green, SU2C Ambassador Photo Credit: Matt Sayles Stand Up To Cancer is a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN…AGAIN

Peyton Manning, Jane Krakowski, Zoey Deschanel and Michael Bolton. This fall brings a new syndicated iteration of You Bet Your Life, originally hosted by Groucho Marx, now fronted by Jay Leno. As the world’s challenges mount and the images on TV have become more depressing, game shows provide an exciting diversion. In tough times, who wouldn’t want to win a new car or a life-changing amount of money for solving a puzzle, guessing a survey response, figuring out a price, identifying a song, hitting the Daily Double or spinning the wheel? Isn’t that the American dream? And if you can’t be the recipient of wads of currency or cherished merchandise, it’s truly enjoyable to watch others get rewarded. Game shows have always been the purest form of interactive television, where viewers shout out answers, advise on strategies, or share the misery of a botched attempt to steal control of the game. Arguably, the best game shows are entertaining and experiential. So here’s the $64,000 question: Why now? What is it about today’s television landscape and our society that enables so much viewer interest in game shows? Fox’s President, Alternative Entertainment and Specials Rob Wade offers this explanation: “Game shows offer a very natural rhythm of reality. There are real people having to answer real questions or do real things, playing for real money, and that creates a certain element of jeopardy and authenticity which people can relate to.” Stephen Lambert, executive producer of ABC’s The Hustler, suggests that “we live in bleak times, and game shows are easy to watch. They take you away from some of the difficulties we’re having to face.” Jeff Apploff, executive producer of Fox’s Beat Shazam, Mental Samurai and Game of Talents, sums up the appeal of the genre: “When you can sit on your couch and without working too hard be able to jump in and know the answers, that’s what makes a great game show.” ITV America’s Chief Creative Officer David Eilenberg, who is an executive pro-

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A roundup of the recent game show boom: 25 Words or Less, Game of Talents and Unfiltered.

ducer of the ABC version of trivia game The Chase, adds, “Part of the rise of Q&A is because emotionally, people want to believe that facts exist, and game shows reassure us that facts do indeed exist.” Game Show Network Senior Vice President, Programming and Development Jay James believes that game shows also provide “a strong nostalgia element—they help people connect with their childhood,

which is very comforting.” Jayson Dinsmore, President Unscripted for Fremantle, the undisputed champion of game show suppliers, explains the success formula for reimagining shows that aired previously: “We keep the core of the game true, but we elevate the elements around it. In bringing Press Your Luck to prime time, which was historically only in daytime, we added a high-stakes endgame

LET THE GAMES BEGIN…AGAIN

and personalized prizes that amped up the pressure and tension, as well as an emotional attachment for the contestants to drive their story.” Byron Allen, CEO of Entertainment Studios and creator/executive producer of Funny You Should Ask, believes that people enjoy watching comedy and celebrities now more than ever. “People always need to laugh, and game shows provide an excellent way to deliver funny material.” In recent times, many productions have fallen victim to the pandemic, forcing massive shutdowns. But when the harshest restrictions were eased, one of the first genres to resurrect itself and thrive was game shows. How so, even during the darkest days of COVID? Stephen Brown, Executive Vice President, Programming and Development for Fox TV Stations, which produces 25 Words or Less, tells how that show had to pivot quickly to adapt it to a “pod” production process that put players in separate studios in L.A., with Meredith Vieira hosting from New York. “That way, we could control the audio, lighting, video and connectivity. It had a familiar look, but we elevated it from a Zoom call.” Jayson Dinsmore comments: “Assuring safe production during COVID was a massive undertaking. We formed a task committee which coordinated with state and local agencies, we incorporated each of their protocols, and then we added quite a few of our own. Other than being at home, being on set felt like the safest place to be if you were in public.”

It’s well known that game shows are cost-effective to produce. What advantages do they have over their scripted counterparts that allow them to launch efficiently and air quickly after production? According to Holly Jacobs, Executive Vice President, Alternative & Syndication Programming, Sony Pictures Entertainment, “For most of the successful game shows, including Wheel and Jeopardy!, we know what the format is, you can gang-shoot them, do several in a day, and your production costs are manageable. For the shorter orders, you can complete an entire season in two weeks. Though we love the energy of a studio audience, you don’t absolutely have to have one. It doesn’t take that many people to be loud and enthusiastic for a game show.” What does the future hold for game shows? Will they become even more ubiquitous on network schedules? Will the streamers carve out their own commitments to this genre, or perhaps reinvent it? Rob Mills opines, “As long as you believe in game shows, produce them with care, and don’t view them as junior varsity or second-class programming, the audience will watch them. My hunch is that traditional games will work in streaming

also. We’ve all loved game-playing since the beginning of time, and it’s never going to change, whether we’re in a pandemic or not.” Fox’s Rob Wade is also optimistic about the potential for game shows in broadcast: “I think what you’re going to see soon is a game-changing series in the same way that Millionaire and Deal or No Deal were—a big event that you’ll have to watch and talk about the next day.” Marc Berman, journalist and creator of The Programming Insider daily column, believes that “COVID isn’t going to last forever, but this trend of prime-time game shows is going to be a permanent fixture.” Unlike Jeopardy!, nobody has all the answers, but if you tune in to our next show, you can pick up some clues. As for me, a slightly grown-up version of the boy in the Password audience, I continue to live out my childhood obsession and head toward the bonus round of my career. I wholeheartedly agree that game shows are here to stay for generations to come. That’s my final answer. Thanks for playing! Bob Boden is a game show producer, executive and historian. For more information, visit tvbob.com.

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Evolving your niche as a

ILLUSTRATED BY AJAY PECKHAM

FREELANCE PRODUCER

PRODUCED BY

Don’t give up on your Emmy dreams!

Say NO more than you say yes (listen to that inner voice!)

We reached out to six successful PGA members who are or have been freelance producers to learn how they started and developed their business. They share ideas so others may also shape their destiny in an industry where the only constant is change.

Focus on those dearest to you during the inevitable downtimes

Treat everyone with kindness & respect

Compiled and Edited by Jacob Kamhis Jacob Kamhis is a producer, screenwriter and writer/editor.

Dig deep for diamond-in-therough material

Keep adding skills to your wheelhouse

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EVOLVING YOUR NICHE AS A FREELANCE PRODUCER

Sasheen Artis

Independent Producer

“Produce content that will expose you to new problems so you can develop new skills.”

I’m sitting on the edge of my bed, tears streaming down my face on a Saturday night in July. It’s five months into the citywide lockdown and I’m not having a breakdown. I’m watching the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards and I just won two awards. OMG!! No special dress. No champagne. Definitely no after-party. Just your peers saying you do great work and here’s the hardware to prove it. I’m sure all of us have daydreamed about winning that special award. We’ve chosen the outfit, written and rewritten our acceptance speech. We know exactly how that night is going to play out. Sometimes it doesn’t happen the way we imagine. For one of the best nights in my career, I was wearing sweats, drinking peppermint tea and watching the show unfold on my laptop during a pandemic. The win was just as sweet. For 25 years, I have been developing and producing documentaries, talk shows, scripted series and live events, including a Prince concert and two national book tours that garnered two New York Times Best Sellers. My first major production job was assistant to the showrunner on Lifetime’s first hit police drama, The Division. It was my first time on set as part of the crew—amazing! I learned the magic of moviemaking and how to make a raid on a San Francisco Chinatown sweatshop seem realistic while shooting in a freezing warehouse on the Vancouver waterfront in Canada. More importantly, I learned that a producer’s main responsibility is to make decisions that help the team reach its goal. A good producer knows how to communicate her vision and troubleshoot crises while keeping the entire project and her team in mind. A huge pitfall for freelance producers is getting pigeonholed into one type of project. Freelancing is a delicate balance between paying bills, maintaining independence and growing your network. When you do a great job, you may be asked to do the same thing next year. Don’t be afraid to say no. Yes, it’s a guaranteed paycheck and you’re comfortable with the team, but comfort can breed complacency. Diversify your resume. Move from documentary to competition or indie film to soap operas to podcasts. Produce content that will expose you to new problems so you can develop new skills. If you’re not learning, you’re not growing.

Stephanie Purcell Freelance Producer

“Natural transitions have been present throughout my career, with life often dictating work.” I thought I would work in news, but in my senior year of college I was selected for an internship on the Late Show with David Letterman. From there, I knew I wanted to work in entertainment TV and film. I had hoped for full-time studio work, but it was 2008 and jobs were scarce. I accepted gigs as I could get them and became a freelance producer. Now I love it and can’t imagine working as full-time staff. Being a freelance producer allows me to travel and work on a variety of projects, which I love. I have worked all over the world and have met many wonderful people. Because of my start in news, I have a strong foundation in research and interviewing. This initially led to producing documentaries, reality TV and international events. These types of natural transitions have been present throughout my career, with life often dictating work. While working with my husband on interior design for his real estate investment company I was able to become a producer for homerenovation shows. I also developed a TV scripted comedy with my producing partner that draws from our shared Midwest experiences. This has made our pitches more relatable and personal. But being a freelance producer is not always so cohesive. When I was starting out, I moved to Los Angeles while my husband worked in Nebraska. For five years, we lived in different states and traveled back and forth. We made it work and knew our marriage was strong, but it didn’t come without hardships. Freelance producing means shifting between demanding set hours and unemployment. When I work, my family knows they may not see me much. In between jobs, I spend as much quality time as I can with those dearest to me. It’s a balance, but worth it!

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EVOLVING YOUR NICHE AS A FREELANCE PRODUCER

Eugene Rhee Producer

BIGHEAD DREAMS

“It’s all about perseverance and thinking outside the box.”

Soon after graduating film school, I directed a short that premiered at Sundance, and I also sold a couple projects as a writer. I took this early success for granted and didn’t capitalize on that momentum because I naively thought more opportunities were just around the corner. Time passed. I got married and wound up needing steady income. I actually left the business for several years to work in corporate America. Despite the regular paycheck, I was unhappy, and my love for filmmaking lured me back. What’s funny is that when I initially tried to get back into the game, many people I knew in the industry had either left or acted like they never knew me. It was as if there was some unwritten law that once you leave the business, you’re either tainted or forgotten. I literally had to start from scratch. I made new contacts, developed new screenplays and basically left no stone unturned to find financing. Despite the rejections, I was ultimately able to set up projects because I had screenplays people wanted. Because if you have good material, people will want to work with you. My specialty is finding new writers with diamondin-the-rough screenplays. I started as a writer and wrote scripts that won or placed in major contests. This allowed me to get to know contest administrators. Through these relationships, I started getting early looks into their winning scripts. This is how I found the horror script (by Louis Ackerman) that I turned into the film Into the Dark: Flesh & Blood, which I produced for Blumhouse/ Hulu. I discovered and developed that screenplay and attached the director before we brought it to Blumhouse. It’s all about perseverance and thinking outside the box.

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Heidi Elizabeth PhilipsenMeissner Producer

PERSONAE ENTERTAINMENT PICTURES

“Say no more than you say yes, and only say yes when you fully mean it.” I was the neighborhood kid who gathered all the other kids, put on this performance or that—roller skating musical, circus—and sold tickets and popcorn. I was born a producer. My first real job was associate producer for DW-TV in Berlin, Germany. After going back to film school and making shorts, I landed a production coordinator gig on Fighting for Freedom with Bruce Dern and Kristanna Loken. I’m now producing my first international coproduction, the romantic comedy Love & Vodka set in the U.S. and Odessa, Ukraine. After living in the U.S. for 18 years, I returned to Berlin because my niche involves understanding the U.S. indie and German film worlds. I love stories about fish-out-of-water characters from one country to the next and the intercultural exchange. My plan is an international coproduction company with offices in Berlin and the U.S. to make films that walk the fine line between both worlds. Freelance producers must be self-motivated, and there is nothing like collaborating, negotiating and recalibrating strategy. What I enjoy most is putting together great teams and working to be the best leader I can. But this is a fast-paced industry and pitfalls exist. I no longer allow myself to be pressured into rush decisions. Also, we producers get so caught up in service—story, crew, financiers, cast and audience—that if we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of others. Trust your gut. Don’t let others get to you. Listen to your inner voice and be OK with stepping away. Say no more than you say yes, and only say yes when you fully mean it. The commitment is longer than you anticipate. I also would like to say that the Producers Guild’s International Committee, Women’s Impact Committee and Employment Committee have been exceptional for networking and support.

EVOLVING YOUR NICHE AS A FREELANCE PRODUCER

Amita Patel

Supervising Producer, Co-EP TV / DIGITAL / EVENTS / PODCASTS

“Treat everyone with kindness and respect, remember everyone’s name, and be open to learning from those around you.” I was lucky to learn the basics of producing in my high school TV production class, where we interviewed classmates and edited videos about having a bad hair day and other trivial topics. Our videos occasionally aired on a local cable access channel, which was exciting and piqued my interest in interviewing, storytelling and producing. As a PA at a small company in my first job out of college, I received a phone call from Bill Murray. He spoke to me for 10 minutes, kindly requesting to not participate in a project. I was so overwhelmed after hanging up, I teared up a little. While I was telling my EPs what he said, he called back! I think he knew I was nervous and probably heard my voice wavering. During our second call, he was so gracious and we ended up having a lovely conversation. It was a bizarre moment but it also taught me to be prepared for anything. When you hop from project to project and company to company, you begin to realize how small the production world is. I’ve learned that if you treat everyone with kindness and respect, remember everyone’s name, and be open to learning from those around you, it goes a long way. This business thrives on building your network, and I can proudly say that in 20 years of working in production, every project I’ve worked on came from a recommendation or connection. It’s the backbone of freelancing and something I always try to pay forward. And despite everything you have to do to find your next gig, don’t forget to schedule some downtime in between!

Angel Orlando

Lighting & VFX Producer INFINITY WARD (ACTIVISION)

“Don’t take anything personally and never stop learning.” Before I landed at Infinity Ward to work on new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare titles, I received an awesome opportunity to work on set as a VFX coordinator with James Cameron and his team. For the Avatar sequels, I signed on as a freelancer. The greatest benefit in such productions is the abundant collaboration that involves different teams specializing in various disciplines. And guess what? Everyone needs a producer to help facilitate and guide them. Probably my best background experience was being a tech guy, especially the technology related to entertainment. This knowledge helped me find that foothold to learn what I needed. When seeking work, don’t be afraid to take a step down in title to work on a project. I have never not learned something new, and became stronger at any studio where I later worked. Every new production requires things to be a little different. Cherry-pick the parts that worked the best and add them to your wheelhouse. At your next job, they’ll think you’re a magician. Don’t limit yourself to one discipline. Being well-rounded makes you a stronger producer—a more attractive candidate for freelance gigs. When you start a new one, it’s important to meet as many people as possible. Find out what they do. Constantly ask questions. This is essential in figuring out who to go to when you need something. Or, if your team is struggling with a certain issue, who might be able to help. Add to that wheelhouse of expertise and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find another cool thing you want to do. Freelance producing is not an easy road. What has best helped me is to always be friendly. Never panic. Don’t take anything personally and never stop learning. Whether you want to make it as a freelancer or permanent employee, your reputation, knowledge and persistence must be on point. I can’t tell you how many freelance gigs I got from word of mouth, colleagues, and friends I worked with in the past.

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P G A AT YO U R SERVICE

WE NEED YOU! You asked for the Producers Mark in Television and we got it! Now it’s up to YOU to get production companies, networks and distribution platforms to submit Televised and Streamed Motion Pictures to the PGA for certification! IS THE PRODUCERS MARK AVAILABLE FOR ALL TYPES OF MOVIES? No. Historically, only theatrical motion pictures, documentary motion pictures and animated motion pictures were eligible to be submitted for Producers Mark consideration. But we are happy to report that the Producers Guild recently expanded its determination process to include televised/streamed motion pictures.

WHEN I SEE “p.g.a.” AFTER A PRODUCER’S NAME IN A MOTION PICTURE’S CREDITS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Regardless of the distribution platform, it means that according to the rules of the Producers Guild’s certification process, that producer performed a major portion of the producing functions on that specific motion picture.

WHY DO SOME MOTION PICTURES CARRY THE PRODUCERS MARK, BUT NOT OTHERS? The Producers Mark is voluntary, and the PGA cannot force any copyright owner to submit for certification. All of the major studios—Universal, Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount and Fox—and nearly all theatrical distributors of independent motion pictures, welcome the PM process.

ARE ALL PRODUCERS ON A MOTION PICTURE ELIGIBLE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE PRODUCERS MARK? No. On theatrical motion pictures, docu-

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mentary motion pictures and animated motion pictures only those individuals receiving “Producer” or “Produced By” credit may be considered for use of the Producers Mark. On televised/streamed motion pictures, only those individuals receiving “Executive Producer,” “Producer” or “Produced By” credit, whichever is the primary producing credit as supported by the submitted credits, may be considered for use of the Producers Mark.

IF A PRODUCER DOESN’T RECEIVE THE p.g.a. MARK FROM THE PRODUCERS GUILD, WHAT HAPPENS TO THEIR PRODUCING CREDIT? Nothing. The Producers Mark doesn’t control or affect the “Executive Producer,” “Produced By” or “Producer” credit in any way, nor does it invalidate that credit by its absence.

WHAT IMPACT DOES THE PRODUCERS MARK HAVE ON AWARDS? Determinations for the Producers Mark and for producer award eligibility are determined at the same time and via the same process. In addition to AMPAS, HFPA and BAFTA, all rely on the PGA process to guide their decision making. However the final selection of nominees is always at the discretion of the organization giving the award. And, while the Producers Mark also is recognized by the WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA, the PGA has agreed not to license the Producers Mark for use with any combined credit (e.g., “Directed and Produced By …”).

SO WHAT’S THE PROCESS FOR LICENSING THE PRODUCERS MARK? 1. The process is initiated by the copyright owner of the motion picture. 2. After the post-production process has commenced, but four to six weeks before credits are locked, the owner submits a motion picture for consideration via ProducersGuildAwards.com. 3. Within two to three weeks, the PGA sends out eligibility forms to every producer credited as “Executive Producer,” “Produced By” or “Producer” on the motion picture, depending on the type of production and the submitted credits, and sends confidential verification forms to a wide variety of third parties associated with the production of the motion picture: the director(s), writer(s), department heads, company executives and key crew members. 4. Once forms have been returned, the PGA convenes a panel of arbiters, each of them active and experienced producers with numerous (and recent) credits, typically in the genre or category of the motion picture under consideration. (I.e., if the motion picture is a major studio tentpole, we try to utilize arbiters with considerable experience in making those big-budget studio pictures. If the motion picture

P G A AT YO U R SERVICE Because the Producers Mark is brand new for televised and streamed motion pictures, it is incumbent on you to request that the production companies, networks and distribution platforms submit the movies you produce for them to the Guild for processing the Producers Mark. If you are currently producing a televised or streamed movie and are contractually due the primary producing credit, please contact tvpm@producersguild.org for info and assistance on licensing the Producers Mark.

is a smaller indie movie, we rely on producers familiar with that type of production. If the motion picture is produced for distribution via television or streaming platform, we use arbiters with that particular type of production experience, etc.) An initial arbitration panel typically has three arbiters. The arbiters review all materials returned to the PGA by the producers and third parties, with all names of individuals credited on the motion picture redacted, so that arbiters can arrive at a judgment based on the testimony provided rather than the name recognition and perceived reputation of the producers. 5. Following the determination, the PGA staff informs the producers of the decision. Producers who object to the decision have five days to notify the Guild of an intent to appeal. After giving producers the opportunity to add to or clarify their testimony, the PGA will convene a new panel of arbiters. All appellate panels consist of three producers. If the initial decision was unanimous, the appellate panel will consist of one producer from the original panel and two new producers; if the initial decision was not unanimous, the appellate panel will consist of three new producers. The decision of the appellate panel is final.

SO WHEN ARBITERS ARE LOOKING AT THESE FORMS, WHAT ARE THEY SEEING? The eligibility form filled out by producers asks them to indicate their level of responsibility for a variety of producing functions spanning development, pre-production, physical production and post-production. The form also includes a free-response section for the producer

to elaborate more fully on the specifics of the production and their role on the motion picture. The verification forms filled out by third parties typically ask the respondent questions related to the nature of their collaboration with the credited producers. For instance, the verification form for editors asks the editor to designate which producer(s) consulted with the editor regarding dailies, gave notes on cuts or participated in screenings.

ABOUT THE PROCESS?

WHO SELECTS WHICH ARBITERS VET THE CREDITS OF WHICH MOTION PICTURES? That determination is made by the PGA’s Corporate Counsel in consultation with the National Executive Director/COO.

ONCE A PRODUCER’S CREDIT IS CERTIFIED WITH THE PRODUCERS MARK, IS THAT CERTIFICATION APPLIED PERMANENTLY TO ALL OF THE PRODUCER’S MOTION PICTURES?

WHAT IF THE PGA SELECTS AN ARBITER WHO (UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM) IS BIASED AGAINST A GIVEN PRODUCER OR MOTION PICTURE?

No. A Producer’s Mark appended to a producing credit applies to that motion picture only. It represents the nature of the work performed on that motion picture alone and does not carry over to future productions.

The Guild takes proactive measures to prevent that from happening. Prior to convening the panel, the PGA provides all producers with a list of potential arbiters. Producers are free to strike any arbiter for any reason. Such arbiters will not be empaneled for that particular motion picture. Furthermore, all arbiters are asked to affirmatively state that they have no interests in the motion pictures to be arbitrated that might result in a biased judgment. Even if all of those hurdles are cleared, an arbiter will be removed from the process if they or the PGA administrator (PGA’s Corporate Counsel or the National Executive Director/COO) feels that bias is affecting their judgment.

WHY CAN’T THE PGA BE MORE TRANSPARENT

We maintain the strictest confidentiality around the identities of the producers, third parties and arbiters involved because such confidence is the only way we can hope to get accurate and truthful information. Many producers are powerful figures in this industry and this might put pressure on third parties and arbiters to achieve a desired decision. Keeping those identities confidential is the only way to maintain the integrity of the process.

DOES THE “p.g.a.” AFTER THE PRODUCER’S NAME MEAN THAT THE PRODUCER IS A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD? No. A producer does not need to be a member of the PGA to receive the “p.g.a.” designation after their name. In many cases, the sets of initials you see in motion picture credits (such as A.S.C. and A.C.E.) indicate membership in an organization. The Producers Mark is different. It’s a certification mark; its purpose is to designate that the producer has met an officially recognized standard of performance on that motion picture.

For all the details about the Producers Mark, please go to producersguild.org.

PRODUCED BY

P G A AT YO U R SERVICE

MARKING TIME The Producers Guild proudly salutes the following whose credits have been certified with the Producers Mark. The list includes both theatrical and VOD/streaming releases due to current circumstances with COVID-19. Certification via the Producers Mark indicates that a producer performed a major portion of the producing functions on the motion picture.

ADVERSE Brian A. Metcalf, p.g.a. Kelly Arjen, p.g.a. Thomas Nicholas, p.g.a.

BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR Kristen Wiig, p.g.a. Annie Mumolo, p.g.a. Jessica Elbaum, p.g.a.

BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD’S A LITTLE BLURRY R.J. Cutler, p.g.a. Trevor Smith, p.g.a. Michelle An, p.g.a. Chelsea Dodson, p.g.a.

BLISS James D. Stern, p.g.a.

BOSS LEVEL Joe Carnahan, p.g.a. Frank Grillo, p.g.a.

CHARM CITY KINGS Caleeb Pinkett, p.g.a. Clarence Hammond, p.g.a.

CHERRY Anthony Russo, p.g.a. Joe Russo, p.g.a. Mike Larocca, p.g.a.

COMING 2 AMERICA Kevin Misher, p.g.a. Eddie Murphy, p.g.a.

EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE Richard Barton Lewis, p.g.a.

FALLING Viggo Mortensen, p.g.a. Daniel Bekerman, p.g.a. Chris Curling, p.g.a.

FATHERHOOD Peter Kiernan, p.g.a. David Beaubaire, p.g.a.

FEAR OF RAIN Dori Rath, p.g.a. Joseph Restaino, p.g.a

A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX Ross M. Dinerstein, p.g.a.

GODZILLA VS. KONG Mary Parent, p.g.a. Alex Garcia, p.g.a.

HONESTY WEEKEND Colin MacDougall, p.g.a. Leslie Thomas, p.g.a.

I CARE A LOT Teddy Schwarzman, p.g.a. Michael Heimler, p.g.a. J Blakeson, p.g.a.

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH Charles D. King, p.g.a. Ryan Coogler, p.g.a. Shaka King, p.g.a.

LAND COSMIC SIN Corey Large, p.g.a.

ELBOW GREASE Paul Papadeas, p.g.a. Jason Shirley, p.g.a. Matthew Rhoads Zboyovski, p.g.a.

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Peter Saraf, p.g.a. Leah Holzer, p.g.a. Allyn Stewart, p.g.a. Lora Kennedy, p.g.a.

LIFE IN A YEAR Caleeb Pinkett, p.g.a. Clarence Hammond , p.g.a. Marc Bienstock, p.g.a.

P G A AT YO U R SERVICE LITTLE FISH Chris Ferguson, p.g.a. Brian KavanaughJones, p.g.a. Rian Cahill, p.g.a. Lia Buman, p.g.a.

LONG WEEKEND Deanna Barillari, p.g.a. Laura Lewis, p.g.a. Audrey Rosenberg, p.g.a.

MALCOLM & MARIE Kevin Turen, p.g.a. Ashley Levinson, p.g.a. Sam Levinson, p.g.a. Zendaya, p.g.a. John David Washington, p.g.a.

THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS Gregory Lessans, p.g.a. Aaron Ryder, p.g.a. Ashley Fox, p.g.a.

THE MIMIC

THE RIGHT ONE Ken Mok, p.g.a. Geneva Wasserman, p.g.a.

THE SEVENTH DAY Dallas Sonnier, p.g.a. Amanda Presmyk, p.g.a.

SILK ROAD Duncan Montgomery, p.g.a. Alex Orlovsky, p.g.a.

TEST PATTERN Pin-Chun Liu, p.g.a. Shatara Ford, p.g.a.

Benjamin Cox, p.g.a.

THUNDER FORCE MINARI Christina Oh, p.g.a.

MONDAY Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, p.g.a. Argyris Papadimitropoulos, p.g.a.

MORTAL KOMBAT Todd Garner, p.g.a.

MOXIE Morgan Sackett, p.g.a. Amy Poehler, p.g.a. Kim Lessing, p.g.a.

MUSIC Vincent Landay, p.g.a. Sia, p.g.a.

NOBODY Kelly McCormick, p.g.a. David Leitch, p.g.a. Braden Aftergood, p.g.a.

THE OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON

Ben Falcone, p.g.a. Melissa McCarthy, p.g.a. Marc Platt, p.g.a. Adam Siegel, p.g.a.

TOM AND JERRY Chris DeFaria, p.g.a.

TOM CLANCY’S WITHOUT REMORSE Michael B. Jordan, p.g.a.

THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY Lee Daniels, p.g.a. Pamela Oas Williams, p.g.a. Tucker Tooley, p.g.a.

THE UNHOLY Evan Spiliotopoulos, p.g.a.

YES DAY Lawrence Grey, p.g.a. Ben Everard, p.g.a. Daniel Rappaport, p.g.a. Nicole King, p.g.a. Jennifer Garner, p.g.a.

Zachary Green, p.g.a. Jason Shuman, p.g.a.

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON Osnat Shurer, p.g.a. Peter Del Vecho, p.g.a.

PRODUCED BY

P G A AT YO U R SERVICE

NEW MEMBERS The Producers Guild is proud to welcome the following new members, who joined the Guild between February and March, 2021. 1

PRODUCERS COUNCIL Danny Chan Stephanie Drachkovitch 1 Davis Guggenheim 2 Nicole Kidman 3 Rankin Hickman

Brook Holston 4 Gina Mingacci 5 Per Saari Lyn Sisson-Talbert 6 Connie Tavel 7

AP COUNCIL Valerie Humbard 8 Mary Manchin

NEW MEDIA COUNCIL Emily Hsu 9

MEET TEACHER JESSICA

One book changed her life.

Photo Credit: Save the Children / Rachel Palmer

Jessica’s world is now wide open because she can read. She attends a school sponsored by Save the Children – and wants to be just like her teacher one day. For 100 years, Save the Children has been ensuring children’s needs are met, in the U.S. and around the world. See how one small act can change the life of a child.

PRODUCED BY

Learn more at savethechildren.org/change CHANGING A LIFE LASTS A LIFETIME

P G A AT YO U R SERVICE

MEMBER BENEFITS ■ Free access to a multitude of PGA webinars on all facets of producing, featuring the most experienced producers in the entertainment industry. ■ Admission to special PGA pre-release screenings and Q&A events. ■ Full access to PGA website including events, calendar, social networking tools, and extensive members-only video library. ■ Access to PGA Job Board, online resume search, employment tools and job forums.

■ Listing of contact and credit information in searchable online roster. ■ Participation in the Motion Picture Industry Health, Welfare & Pension Plan. ■ Wide variety of discounts on events, merchandise, travel. ■ Access to CSATTF online safety training videos. ■ Complimentary subscription to Produced By.

■ Eligibility for PGA Mentoring Program.

SEE THE DIGITAL EDITION PRODUCERSGUILD.ORG PRODUCEDBY February | March 2021

PRODUCEDBY THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA // FEBRUARY | MARCH

ARE YOU AN INDIE PRODUCER NEEDING INSURANCE?

P AND THE p.g.a. MARK GOES TO A STREAMED TV MOVIE

P Courtney Kemp

THE POWER OF DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION SUCCESS

COURTNEY

KEMP

volume XVII number 1

“The responsibility of the executive producer in TV is the same as in film—we protect our crews, in all ways. So can you imagine trying to protect your crew from something that is invisible, that you can’t smell, that you can’t touch or taste?”

Let’s get social.

Advertising Info: Ken Rose at ken@moontidemedia.com or 818-312-6880

PRODUCED BY

BEST ON-SET PHOTO OF ALL TIME

SERIOUS BUSINESS

“C

an’t hold a producer back when she’s got a film to get done!” says Cheryl Dillard Staurulakis, EP of the documentary Lady Ganga: Nilza’s Story.

She’s shown here with her crew near the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, India, while shooting in 2015. A sense of determined urgency was the theme of both the shoot and the film, which portrayed the late Michele Frazier Baldwin’s heroic, 700-mile journey down the Ganges. On a paddleboard. While fighting late-stage cervical cancer—all in an effort to raise awareness about the deadly disease. Cheryl adds: “It was 114 degrees Fahrenheit that day.” Talk about determination! ■

We know what you’re thinking. “Best of all time? No way. I’ve got an on-set photo way better than that.” If that’s the case, we dare you to prove it! Submit it to BOSPOAT@producersguild.org. Before you submit, please review the contest rules at producersguild.org/bospoat. Because no matter how great your photo is, we have no desire to get sued over it.

PRODUCED BY

B A F TA AWA R D NOM I N E E

ACADEMY AWARD® NOM I N E E

DIRECTORS GUILD AWARD NOMINEE

DOCUMENTARY

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DOCUMENTARY

“Absolutely unbelievable. ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES EVER.” Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Founder

The Jane Goodall Institute and U.N. Messenger of Peace

“The year’s most unexpected tearjerker is A HEARTEXPANDING ADVENTURE.” “QUIETLY PROFOUND. Hypnotic and beautiful imagery of this ecosystem only further draws us into this fascinating and fantastical milieu.”

WINNER

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF DOCUMENTARY MOTION PICTURES PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA

“SHE MADE ME REALIZE JUST HOW PRECIOUS WILD PLACES ARE.”

FILM.NETFLIXAWARDS.COM

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE ®

B E S T A N I M AT E D F E AT U R E

BEST ANIMATED FILM TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

“B R E AT H TA K I N G ” SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

BAFTA NOMINEE

ANIMATED FILM

BAFTA ANNIE AWARD ANNIE AWARD NOMINEE

ANIMATED FILM

NOMINATIONS INCLUDING

BEST INDIE FEATURE

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

NOMINATIONS INCLUDING

BEST INDIE FEATURE