Costume Industry Coalition Launches COVID Relief Fund, Sets $4.5M Goal For “Survival”

The U.K.'s Film and TV Charity, which has already distributed several million dollars to creatives hit by the COVID-19 crisis, is launching a new recovery fund that aims to protect diverse talent and help them sustain their careers through and out of the pandemic. The Recovery Fund —which will distribute up to £2 million ($1.56 million) to U.K.

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe U.K.’s Film and TV Charity is rolling out a new COVID-19 Recovery Fund that will distribute up to £2 million ($2.5 million) to film, TV and cinema workers who have been hit hardest by the pandemic.The fund is designed to support those impacted financially by the crisis and who are most likely to see a negative impact on their careers, resulting in a focus on talent from diverse backgrounds.

As Hollywood location shooting in Canada slowly reopens, the country's overstretched COVID-19 rescue funds for indie film and TV producers has received another injection from the federal government. The Canada Media Fund, a key investor in local TV series using in part public funds, announced another $19 million for its COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund on Thursday.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorProduction on HBO’s “The Gilded Age” shut down three days before it was slated to begin back in March, and actor Cynthia Nixon has finally had her first fitting as the industry begins to ramp back up.She was picked up at her New York City apartment by a Teamster driver.  “I showed him my green screen saying I had passed my [daily COVID] questionnaire,” Nixon said on Thursday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.”

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterCBS All Access’s Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks are beaming down to New York Comic-Con this year and joining them is the streamer’s forthcoming limited series adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand. The virtual confab is set to take place October 8-11 and will be available to watch on YouTube and FindtheMetaverse.com.The panels will kick off opening day of NYCC and will feature cast and producers from both Star Trek series as well as The

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticA coronavirus relief fund for New York City’s small theaters was launched today by The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, the arts service organization dedicated to supporting nonprofit theaters.The Relief Fund for NYC Small Theatres, seeded by a gift by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, is designed for small stage venues based in or primarily produce in New York City with annual budgets under $250,000.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsThe New York Mets said Monday that hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen has reached a deal to purchase the team.“The Sterling Partners have signed an agreement with Steve Cohen pursuant to which Mr. Cohen would purchase the New York Mets,” the team’s official Twitter posted.

Naman Ramachandran Director Adam Benzine, Oscar-nominated in the best documentary short subject category in 2016 for “Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah,” is launching COVID-19 documentary “The Curve” to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival market.Structured as an investigative thriller and made in secret over the last six months, the documentary — also produced by Benzine via his Jet Black Iris Productions — examines the decisions around the pandemic made by America’s leaders

Alicia Keys has launched a $1 billion dream fund for black-owned businesses.The No One singer announced the full details of her latest initiative while explaining why she agreed to perform at the National Football League’s Kickoff event for its 2020 season on Thursday (September 10, 2020), revealing NFL bosses will be contributing to the endowment fund.“We are already seeing the blatant injustices that are going on around us,” Keys writes in an open letter to Billboard.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: LA-based Film Bridge International has boarded international sales rights to crime series Big Dogs, which it will begin selling during the Toronto virtual market.The eight-part series premiered domestically on Amazon Prime in July and stars Brett Cullen (Joker), Manny Perez (The Night Of), Michael Rabe (Homeland), and Lance Henriksen (Falling).Filmed in New York, the series charts intersecting stories of organized crime, white collar felonies, and

Patrick Hipes Executive Managing EditorZachary Laoutides, Jaime Zevallos and Alexander James Rodriguez have been cast in Where Sweet Dreams Die, the Ave Fenix Pictures Studios dramatic thriller being directed by Mirza Esho. Production is now set to get underway in November in Chicago and New York with COVID-19 protocols in place.The pic follows an Italian American on the verge of losing his restaurant and wife to cancer.

Shalini Dore Features News EditorThe Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals will kick off Oct. 3 with Baba Azmi’s “Mee Raqsam” (I Dance) and close with Prateek Vats’ “Eeb Allay Ooo!” on Oct.

The indie drama “Topside” opens with a startling image: a five-year-old girl sleeping on the ground with a beam of light shining on her from above. She’s underground living in the tunnels of New York beneath the subway system and she’s awoken by workers with flashlights.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticVeteran Broadway general manager Nathan Gehan is opening his own New York City general management firm, ShowTown Theatricals, with a roster of clients including the international musical production of Notre Dame de Paris at Lincoln Center in 2022, the Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol (Broadway, National Tour), American Prophet (Arena Stage), Anne of Green Gables (Goodspeed Musicals) and planned productions of Romy & Michele The Musical, Room, Syncing Ink and

United Veterans Council of San Joaquin County, of which the actor once served as Chairman.Born on March 18, 1943 in Jackson Heights, New York, Dobson worked as a trainmen, brakeman and conductor on the Long Island Railroad in New York followed by a few years as a waiter before he decided starting his acting career.Dobson got his start through a series of uncredited appearances on daytime drama “The Doctors” in 1969 and in the 1971 Jane Fonda film “Klute.” After a round of guest spots on dramas

The Scottish SPCA has launched an appeal for information after a lurcher was found to have 60 wounds from a pellet gun.The tan-coloured lurcher was found straying in the Newhouse area of Lanarkshire on August 19 and the local dog warden took him to the SSPCA animal rescue and rehoming centre in Hamilton.Animal care experts found the lurcher, who has been named Ashton, to be very fearful of anyone approaching him.

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorABC has set 9/11 Remembered: The Day We Came Together, an hour-long dedication special filmed on May 15, 2014, marking President Barack Obama’s opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The 2020 MTV VMAs featured a mix of seemingly traditional awards show moments, virtual acceptance speeches and outdoor performances as it became the latest awards show to try to mount a ceremony amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Host Keke Palmer emceed from a stage with what appeared to be a digitally generated backdrop of New York City, including videos of house-bound fans watching and applauding.