Industry & Labor

New Mexico's governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has allocated $40m in funding for the development of the Next Generation Media Academy (NGMA) in Albuquerque, which will train New Mexicans to work in the film and TV industry.

In 1997, UCLA cinematography professor William McDonald was home with his newborn daughter. As he looked into her eyes in his sleep-deprived state he began to wonder what her life would be like if she grew up and wanted to become a cinematographer. Would she have the same opportunities as men who wanted to study cinematography? Would she be able to find work after getting a degree and experience?

Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of the death of Brent Hershman, the second assistant cameraman on Pleasantville who was killed March 6, 1997, when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed his car into a utility pole while driving home after working a 19-hour day – which had been preceded by four 15-hour days in a row.

Netflix’s new sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre has had the horror community all abuzz (pun intended) for months now. Particularly after the release of the trailer, everyone was talking about it, and, of course, deciding ahead of time whether or not it would be an acceptable follow-up to the beloved original, 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

A fixture on stage for more than 100 years, Cyrano de Bergerac returns in Cyrano, a musical romance starring Peter Dinklage as the lovelorn poet and Haley Bennett as his obsession, Roxanne.

When even Jimmy Fallon is upset, you know the 2022 Oscars backlash is real. After Academy president David Rubin announced February 22 via email that eight categories — documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound — would be pre-recorded for the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, otherwise live from the Dolby Theatre March 27, Hollywood has had something to say.

Studios and guilds have changed their guidance on appropriate masks and the definition of when an individual is “fully vaccinated” in their latest extension to the industry’s COVID-19 safety protocols agreement.

The California mandate requiring masks in public indoor settings expired for vaccinated residents on Feb. 16. What this will mean for film and television production hinges on several major factors.

This is Dan Laustsen’s second Oscar nomination and his second working with director Guillermo del Toro (after The Shape of Water). The seductive visuals of Nightmare Alley are like a trap luring Bradley Cooper’s grifter Stanton Carlisle to his dark fate.

As part of the latest round of meetings between Hollywood studios and guilds to review the entertainment industry’s COVID-19 safety protocols, changes are being considered to testing to adhere to new CDC protocols allowing infected individuals to only quarantine for five days if they show no symptoms.

It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the passing of former Local 600 National President, George Spiro Dibie, ASC, earlier today, Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at his home in Los Angeles.

Updated February 9: The frontrunning “Dune” (Warner Bros.) competes against “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix), “West Side Story” (20th Century/Disney) “Nightmare Alley” (Searchlight/Disney), and the black-and-white “The Tragedy of Macbeth” (Apple TV+). Significantly, cinematographer Ari Wegner (“The Power of the Dog”) became only the second female nominee, following DP Rachel Morrison (“Mudbound”) in 2018.