On today’s episode of the Daily Variety podcast, Variety’s Gene Maddaus talks about SAG-AFTRA seeking input on the rapid growth of nonunion microdrama production activity in LA and other parts of the United States. And Variety magazine’s international editor, Elsa Keslassy, will discuss themes and takeaways from last week’s tenacious coverage of the American Film Market.
Maddaus, a senior media writer at Variety, was surprised to learn during the interview process how much vertical series production activity is taking place in locations like Los Angeles and New York. Although hard numbers are still difficult to come by, there is no doubt that it is growing rapidly. And there is no doubt that some union talent have taken steps to hide their identities in order to appear in microdramas.
“Anecdotally, people are certainly doing a lot of work in this area, and we’re hearing about a lot more work,” Maddaus said. “When I cover this industry, for the past three years, everyone I talk to has been talking about, “I don’t have a job, I don’t have a job.” And this is the first conversation I’ve had in a genre where I’m talking about, “I have to say no because there are too many jobs.” So something is happening there. This is really a growing business. ”
So it’s no surprise that in October, SAG-AFTRA announced a low-budget series contract template designed for short-form content, which is gaining popularity on a variety of new short-form content streaming apps such as ReelShort and GoodShort.
“If you’re in SAG-AFTRA’s position and they’re hiding from you the fact that their union members are working, that’s not a healthy situation. So if your union members want to work in this field, is there a way to make that happen under the union’s bylaws? That’s what Sag-Aftra is trying to do,” Maddaus said.
Elsa Keslassy, Variety’s Paris-based international editor, talks about the hottest stories and projects from last week’s American Film Market. The American Film Market returned to Los Angeles this year after a disastrous run last year.
“Prestige packages were also on sale, including Bad Bridgets, a 19th-century revenge thriller from the filmmakers of Kneecap starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Emilia Jones, sold by Film Nation and WME Independent. And there was a lot of talk about it,” Keslassy says. “The problem with that package is that it’s very expensive. And it’s not doing very well at the box office and it’s a very tough market, so it’s a very prohibitive price for most buyers at the moment.”
AFM had no shortage of titles to shop and showcase, but by AFM standards it wasn’t a very busy slot for trading.
“The biggest news that came out during AFM wasn’t actually AFM-related, but it was that[Margot Robbie’s]LuckyChap Entertainment was launching an international division and partnering with Media One to create a London office and a London production company. That was big news and a big trend for American companies to have offices and production companies in Europe,” Keslassy says.
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(Photos: Microdrama “Farewell, My Forbidden Vampire”, from ReelShort, “Mistaken for a Gold Digger”, from GoodShort, “Claimed by My Ex’s Alpha Brother”, from ReelShort)
