Casting and News: Show Business Weekly

NYC axes controversial film permit regulations

Public outcry prompts city to redraft rules affecting 2-man crews

In response to an overwhelming public outcry, the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB) has decided to revise its controversial film permit regulations. Last week, the office announced that it will redraft and clarify its proposed permit rules, primarily because of negative responses from local artists and concerned citizens. MOFTB Commissioner Katherine Oliver stated, “Our office remains committed to providing our customers with expedited coordination of their film location work in the safest manner possible, so that the city’s film and television industry can continue to flourish, free speech is protected and all parties can continue to film, photograph and enjoy the greatest city in the world.”

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The city originally proposed that two people using a camera and a tripod for more than 30 minutes at a single location would need a permit and liability insurance in order to film. The same rule would apply to a group of five or more filming for more than 10 minutes. As Show Business reported last month, these new rules would have a wide impact on the city, primarily because they were vague at best, leaving room for inconsistent enforcement. Potentially, amateur filmmakers, independent journalists, photographers, and even families on vacation could be subject to the new permit rules. The New York Civil Liberties Union declared the new rules “unconstitutional.” Picture New York, a coalition of artists and photographers, collected 20,000 signatures and held a public demonstration against the new permit rules.

MOFTB wants clearer permit rules so that filming will have less of an impact on traffic and daily life. The new rules would reportedly not affect press photographers and student filmmakers, as both are credentialed by the NYPD and film schools, respectively. Furthermore, if a group can show it is unable to obtain insurance, the city would issue a waiver. Once the redraft is issued, another 30-day public comment period will begin. Keep visiting nyc.gov/film and reading Show Business for updates.-Brianne O’Donnell

Juicy Raise for Union Thesps: Actors’ Equity Association has entered into a three-year agreement with the Association of Non-Profit Theatre Companies (ANTC), a pact that will increase actors’ salaries by 10 percent during the term of the contract. Current minimum salaries ranging from $265 - $411 are expected to grow by 4 percent in the first year and 3 percent in each subsequent year. Stage managers will see the same increase, while health rates are set to spike a total of 23 percent over three years. Other improvements are promised in the areas of program bios, billing and advertising, and costumes. Theater companies covered under the deal include the Atlantic Theater Company, the Vineyard Theatre and others. -Rachel Royan

Another One Bites the Dust: Renowned Greenwich Village theater the Actors’ Playhouse is closing its doors for good. Execs cite a stark increase in the 62-year-old theater’s rent, which has doubled in the last six years. The Playhouse joins a growing list of off-Broadway theaters, like the Promenade Theater and Lambs Theater, that have been forced to close in recent years. In the past two years, six off-Broadway theaters have closed for various reasons, including rising production costs and, of course, rent. Competition from commercial off-Broadway theaters is also contributing to the problem. Commercial theaters are mounting productions that have mass appeal, whereas smaller, nonprofit theaters tend to choose more serious work with less chance for financial success. -Brianne O’Donnell

INSIDE INK
By John Rowell

DREAMING AGAIN

I can’t imagine a better environment for Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, A Midsummer Nights Dream, than the wilds of Central Park, our very own Forest of Arden. Nestled within the great park is The Delacorte Theater, summer home of the Public Theater, which has just begun performances for its second Shakespeare show of the season, the one in which “the course of true love never does run smooth.” The course of rehearsals doesn’t always run smooth, either: the show’s director Daniel Sullivan accidentally fell through a trap on the set on July 31, fracturing four ribs and collapsing a lung, forcing the cancellation of last week’s first preview. However, Mr. Sullivan made a speedy recovery and returned to the show’s helm. Midsummer’s Dramatis Personae includes such stalwart performers as Keith David, Mireille Enos, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Tim Blake Nelson, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, George Morfogen and Martha Plimpton. Now that’s what I’d call a “dream” cast. Performances run through September 9, with opening night set for August 23. And, as every New Yorker knows, tickets are free — you just have to stand in line, but we’re already accustomed to that. www.publictheatre.org.

TWO FOR THE SHOW

It’s not often that a playwright is able to premiere two new plays at once, but that’s what’s happening at 59E59 Theaters as playwright Le Wilhelm returns to New York with the world premieres of two new plays, The Hanging of Razor Brown and The Shattering of the Golden Pane. In Razor Brown, three French students head to a picnic on a grassy knoll, where they encounter balloons, jugglers, food, merriment... and a noose hanging from an oak tree. Merry Beamer directs a cast that includes Nick Giello, John Mervini, Anastasia Morsucci, Tracy Newirth and Jaclyn Sokol. In Glass Plane, two young misfits meet in a long-abandoned church that was once a rollicking nightclub in the 1940s but now lies in ruins. Part ghost story and part tale of sexual obsession, Glass Plane features Kristin Carter, Mark A. Kinch, Kevin Perri and Kristen Walsh, and direction by Gregg David Shore. Performances now through Sept. 2. Visit www.59E59.org for a complete schedule

Jon Oak looks forward to someone else’s death in The Hanging of Razor Brown.

FRINGE WATCH

After weeks of anticipation, The Fringe is now swinging, baby! Once again, The New York International Fringe Festival has our downtown streets and avenues, laden with off- and off-off-Broadway theaters as they are, popping and rocking with bold and exciting theatrical activity for the next couple of weeks. (Remember to log onto www.fringeNYC.org for complete festival info.) Meanwhile, here are a few more shows to look out for:

• Bye, Bye Big Guy. It may be a memorial to that late, great, gold-spinner Rumpelstiltskin, but BBBG is not a musical for children. This irreverent musical satire gathers together Snow White, Dr. Jack Sprat, Goldilocks and a multitude of dwarfs to pay their last respects to R. Stiltskin and also to find out if they might be in line to gain his fortune. (Even fairy tale characters are greedy capitalists, given the chance.) With a score by David Evans (A... My Name is Alice) and Faye Greenberg (High School Musical), the show features Danielle Lee Greaves, Carly Jibson, Jill Abramovitz, Orville Mendoza, Christopher Youngsman and Michael Gerrard among the cast. Lucille Lortel Theatre, Aug. 20-25.

• The Program. What if the Sopranos moved to Wisteria Lane? In Michele Aldin’s comedy, the Bianchino family from Brooklyn gets put into the Federal Witness Protection Program and relocated to suburbia — only to find life more difficult than ever on the mean streets of Everytown, USA. Elysa Marden directs; the cast includes Bruce Barton, Kurt Elftmann, Wende O’Reilly, Cara Samantha Scherker and Ben Sumrall. The New School for Drama Theater, Aug 11-20.

• Slammer! The Bianchinos, not to mention the Sopranos, might be well-acquainted with a few of the gals in Slammer!, a new women-in-prison musical. (As opposed to all the old women-in-prison musicals that we know and love.) THRILL to the lovely and demure innocent-turned-revolutionary Tabitha! QUAKE at the evil prison guard “Smiley The Screw!” PRAY when you see the legendary “Reverend Mama!” Set to a diverse, multicultural, Texas-influenced musical score by Steve Adams and Chan Chandler, Slammer! features Sandra-Reaves Phillips, Merrill Grand and Saverio Guerra, among others. Looks like Slammer! has what it takes to be one of the Fringe’s “breakout” hits. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, Aug. 20-25.

SHORT CUTS
By Sarah Ricard

ACQUIRING MOVIELINK

In what seems like a very lucrative move, Blockbuster announced last week that it had acquired Movielink, an Internet movie provider offering video downloads. The movie rental giant has already answered rival Netflix by offering a similar system of movie-by-mail rentals. Not only does this business deal put Blockbuster in the digital business, but it also will give video consumers an easy — not to mention legal — way to download movies. Even though Movielink only has some 3,300 titles in its library at the moment, this could be a new and improved means for accessing films for your TV and your computer. Or, maybe even your iPhone — if you dare.

NYC’S GLOBAL LENS

While a ways off, it’s worthy to note that the Global Film Initiative has chosen the line-up for its 2008 series, premiering at the Museum of Modern Art in January. The GFI’s mission is to contribute to cultural diversity through film, particularly in an age when “filmmaking in the developing world has suffered” from the worldwide success of the American film industry and when “traditional funding sources have all but disappeared and worldwide distribution channels have collapsed.” After playing in New York, the 10 international titles chosen for the series will travel throughout the country for the remainder of the year. Films include: “All for Free,” directed by Antonio Nuic (Croatia); “The Bet Collector,” directed by Jeffrey Jeturian (Philippines); “Bunny Chow,” directed by John Barker (South Africa); “The Custodian,” directed by Rodrigo Moreno (Argentina); “The Fish Fall in Love,” directed by Ali Raffi (Iran); “Kept & Dreamless,” directed by Vera Fogwill and Martin Desalvo (Argentina); “The Kite,” directed by Randa Chahal Sabbag (Lebanon); “Let the Wind Blow,” directed by Partho Sen Gupta (India); “Luxury Car,” directed by Chao Wang (China); and “Opera Jawa,” directed by Garin Nugroho (Indonesia).

THREEQUEL FEVER

In a bit of a departure from its indie focus, Short Cuts is eager to report an upswing in this year’s Summer of Threes. I have just seen “The Bourne Ultimatum” (or as I heard it called the other day, “Bourne Old Tomato”) to wind down the blockbuster season. I have not yet seen “Rush Hour 3,” but after starting the summer with the latest “Spiderman,” catching up on my Jack Sparrowisms, eating enough ogre-sized M&Ms to feed a small village and telling everyone that you do not, in fact, need to see “Ocean’s 12” to understand “Ocean’s 13,” I am happy to report that the late-summer “Bourne” hit has been the best of the threequel installments. A gripping, nerve-wracking action flick with understated acting and amazing intensity, “Bourne” brings fight scenes, chase sequences and awesome stunts to a whole new level. It’s not that Bruce Willis’ preposterous wrangling of a big rig on the run from a government-issued fighter jet wasn’t great fun; it’s more that “Bourne” was fun and smart. And actually worth $10.50. It’s the kind of blockbuster that summers are made for — even if you’re not one for those big Hollywood movies.

Three’s-a-Crowd: Amid the summer’s endless barrage of threequels, “Bourne Ultimatum” is everything a bloated studio tentpole should be.