Film and television crew members and support staff were hit hard by the two strikes in Hollywood. The latest relief effort, announced last month, comes from Friends Co-creator Marta Kauffman, Paul McCrane and Paul Scheer are leading a live fundraiser in collaboration with the Union Solidarity Coalition.
Titled Enter Back-ular Spectacular!The two-hour variety show at the Orpheum Theater, which will be streamed live, will feature approximately 30 artists, including Jeremy Allen White, Halle Berry, Bryan Cranston, Lily Tomlin, Lil Dicky, LeVar Burton, Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt. It includes games, sketches, stand-up, some improv, musical performances and magic by Penn & Teller.
Without giving too much away so as not to spoil the surprises, Kauffman teased a few numbers.
“Let me put it this way: We have a sketch about out-of-work actors auditioning.” magic microphone“, she said. “We have amazing actors who give monologues that they should never give, we have a game called Don’t get me startedWe have a game called Fame whore, great stand-up – Ray Romano, Janelle James, Nicole Byer – Lawrence, the band, Michael McKean and Rachel Bloom do something together and Jack Black makes an appearance. It has a little bit of everything”
Tickets for the show are still available on the event’s website. Donations can also be made there and will be distributed through the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
Enter Back-ular Spectacular! came about because McCrane “said, ‘I have an idea, let’s buy a barn and put on a show,'” Kauffman said. He then turned to Kauffman and Robbie Rowe Tollin, who brought in Paul Scheer; All three have experience in fundraising.
“We all think it’s very important to do something for the people who didn’t vote for this walkout but supported us,” said Kauffman, who serves as the event’s showrunner.
Talent includes an actor from a previous Kauffman series, Grace and Frankieis Tomlin, who starred alongside Jane Fonda in the Netflix series.
“Yes, Lily came because I asked her; “Jane wanted to do it, but she’s not in town to pursue any of her very incredible political activities,” Kauffman said.
An experienced television creator, Kauffman has served as showrunner/co-showrunner on a number of series including Friends for NBC and Grace and Frankie for Netflix.
But in terms of showrunner duties, “that might be the hardest thing because there’s less people working on it and we’re doing everything,” Kauffman said. This includes things she’s never dealt with before, including the technical aspect of streaming the event, sitting at a table with one actor at a time instead of a table shared with the entire cast was read, and tackling game shows, which she got help with. with the game. Show authors.
“It’s all very fresh and new and damn loud. But very rewarding and exciting. And it will be live, which is always fun and scary,” Kauffman said.
For the sake of the cause, it is worthwhile to provide financial support to crews and support workers not only in Los Angeles and New York, but also in other production centers around the country affected by the strike-related production shutdown.
Kauffman spoke about the value crew members bring to a production that extends beyond their core duties.
“I think about things like: We photographed something [on Grace and Frankie], and it just didn’t feel romantic enough. And the barker came to me and said: What if we put up a moon? And it was a great idea,” she said. “We envisioned doing an episode and the hair and makeup people made it happen, they made it happen. Even though we wrote it, it wasn’t until they had their hair and makeup on that we said, “Oh my God, this is it.” That’s how it works. “We had PAs making jokes in scripts.”
These production workers had financial problems; Most of them have not been paid for at least six months, as admissions fell dramatically in the spring in anticipation of a possible WGA strike. The writers went on strike on May 2, followed by the actors on July 14.
“From what I’m hearing now from crew members, they really want the strike to end,” Kauffman said. “They just want it over with, they want to go back to work, and we all want them to go back to work, but not before the actors get a good deal. “But they understandably want to go back to work.”
SAG-AFTRA remains on strike. WGA reached an agreement with the studios late last month, which was ratified.
“One of the things that was extremely important to me was that we saved the writers’ room,” Kauffman said of the new contract. “That was important to me because the only way we’re going to have a future generation of showrunners is if we have a current generation of mid-level and lower-level writers who have the experience of being responsible for their own episode as part of all the creative decisions, being able to be on set and rewrite on the spot. You need that experience, it’s great.
“The AI thing is great, even if it’s not like it’s going to be groundbreaking for the future; None of this actually represents changes for the future. The leftovers are something we should have gotten a long time ago, they’re great and I think they’ll make a big difference to a lot of writers. But honestly, I never intended to change the way I decorate a room, and what I do in a room is that I have a lot of people.
Kauffman spent the WGA strike like many other guild members.
“I went to the picket lines. I have a bad back so I can only go about three days a week,” she said, adding: “Otherwise I was at home, we were talking about documentaries at the time because it’s not covered by the WGA and I have covid. “.”
Through her production company oke Goodnight, Kauffman is working on a number of TV documentaries and scripted projects, as well as an improv project.
Kauffman has had hit shows on both television and streaming under different business models, and she wouldn’t mind returning to either medium.
“I personally really enjoyed my streaming experience because the way we did it at the time was that when they said it was over, we immediately started producing 13 episodes. And it was a whole new experience instead of doing a pilot, learning from the pilot, doing this, doing that and then starting Episode 2. It’s just that you are shot out of a cannon. And I really liked it,” Kauffman said.
“On the other hand, I also have to say that networks are attractive at the moment. You are really handsome now. They are starting to show that they can do quality work again – not that they haven’t in parts – but with things like Abbott Elementary School Where are you going, oh my God, that’s what’s missing from broadcast comedy. If something came up that was right there, I went back to broadcasting.”
One thing is not in Kauffman’s future: something else Friends Reunion as a continuation of the 2021 reunion, which took years to create.
“I think we’re done with the reunion,” she said.
Will visit Kauffman again Grace and Frankiewho previously considered a spin-off?
“I’d like to have a wrap party because we never had one because of Covid,” she joked.
As for greetings Enter Back-ular Spectacular!Also produced by Jesse Schiller, Tony Phelan, Tara Miele and Kate Wagener, the film may have rekindled an old passion for Kauffman.
“I love TV, I really do. But at some point I would like to do theater again,” she says. “I think I’m better on TV than I am in the theater, so maybe I should just stay where I am and stay in my lane. But I miss the theater.”
Source: Deadline
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
