🌆 Vegas' Blockbuster Bet: Next Film Capital? | Also, Oscar Weekend Must-Knows! 🍿

🎬 Welcome to The Reelarc Rundown 🎬

🔸 More film opportunities coming to Las Vegas…lots more
🔸 Oscar weekend is officially here
🔸 A big new name at Netflix

All that and more on this week’s Rundown ⤵️

Industry News

Time to Fill In Your Oscar Ballot

The 96th Annual Academy Awards will air on ABC and Hulu this Sunday at 7:00 EST. (For your watch parties, find a printable blank ballot here.) Signs point to Oppenheimer having the strongest showing, but there are always a few surprises at the Oscars. Read more predictions for Hollywood’s biggest night here and here.

Las Vegas Moves to Become “Hollywood 2.0”

Vegas is ready for lights, camera, action as plans for a new movie studio should be officially moving forward soon. The proposed production facility would include 13 buildings (totaling half a million square feet) and two open lots. The Clark County Zoning Commission will consider the project at their upcoming March meeting. This joint venture between Howard Hughes Holdings & Sony Pictures Entertainment isn’t the only possible addition to Las Vegas’ entertainment industry. Birtcher Development has also proposed developing a studio complex on 34 acres on the outskirts of the city. With a strong future in film development, all eyes are now on the Nevada legislature in hopes they will finally expand their film tax credit program by 2025.

Lin is In at Netflix

Perhaps the most sought-after job opening in Hollywood has now been filled. Dan Lin will officially replace Scott Stuber as the head of Netlix’s film department. The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Lin is a former senior VP of production at Warner Brothers and the founder of Rideback Productions. He has already produced content for Netflix, including the new Avatar series and the Oscar-nominated film The Two Popes. Lin has dedicated his career to inclusion and will continue to serve on the board of Rideback Rise, a non-profit BIPOC content accelerator to advance racial equality in the industry.

Concerning this big career move, Lin stated, “It’s always been my aspiration at Rideback to make movies with worldwide appeal and universal themes, and there is no better place to do that than at the company with the widest global audience.”

The Standouts of SXSW

The buzziest features of Austin’s upcoming SXSW festival truly run the gamut. Here are a few of the most promising contenders:

• Neon comedy Babes starring and co-written by Ilana Glazer. The film sees the Broad City star doing what she does best- telling real women’s stories with a lot of humor.

• Action/comedy/rom-com The Fall Guy starring everyone’s favorite Ken, Ryan Gosling.

• Thriller Monkey Man which not only stars and was co-written by Dev Patel, but marks his directorial debut as well. The revenge movie sees Patel taking action against the crime lords who killed his mother.

• Upcoming Netflix series 3 Body Problem. Game of Thrones creators David Benihoff & D.B. Weiss undertook an even grander saga with this adaptation of Liu Cixin’s sci-fi novel series revolving around an alien invasion of earth.

Box Office Numbers

1. Dune: Part Two - 82.5 Mil

2. Bob Marley: One Love - 7.4 Mil (82.8 gross)

3. Ordinary Angels - 3.7 Mil (12.4 gross)

4. The Chosen: S4, Ep 7-8 - 3.3 Mil (4.0 gross)

5. Madame Web - 3.2 Mil (40.4 gross)

Spotlight Strategies

Here we highlight behind the scenes masterminds to help actors strategize their next big move. Understanding who's who in casting and directing is vital to navigating your career path with confidence and agility.

Let’s take a closer look at one of this year’s Best Picture nominees American Fiction and who you need to know from this production.

Casting Director: Jennifer Euston

Former casting highlights: Orange Is the New Black, GLOW, Girls, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Dickinson, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Upcoming projects: TV series Dinner with the Parents for Amazon’s Freevee service

Find Jennifer on Instagram and check out her episode on the Life in Film Podcast, where she discusses the do’s and don’ts of auditioning for her. She was also a part of one of The Hollywood Reporters’ famous Roundtable Interviews for casting directors.

Director: Cord Jefferson

Previous projects: Cord was a writer for Station Eleven, Watchmen, The Good Place, Master of None and, of course, American Fiction. (American Fiction marks his directorial debut.)

Upcoming projects: Cord is set to write and executive produce Just Cause, an Amazon Prime limited series starring Scarlett Johansson.

Find Cord on Instagram and check out this conversation at VultureFest with former boss Mike Schur (creator of The Good Place) on adaptation and how to nail the tone you want.

Reelarc Casting Notices

NYC
male, 45-65, any ethnicity
female, 20-25, any ethnicity
any gender, 40-50, any ethnicity

LA
male, 45-65, any ethnicity
male, 20-30, any ethnicity
male, 16-20, Hispanic/Latino

Find Reelarc’s full casting board here.

Quiz Time

Can you match the following Oscar nominees with the amount of nominations they’ve received?

Trends on your FYP

Our FYPs, Discover, and Home pages have been brimming with Oscar content. Here are some of our faves-

What We’re Watching This Weekend

🎥 For Hollywood’s biggest night - The 96th Annual Academy Awards Sunday night at 7:00 EST on ABC & Hulu

🎥 For your ensemble comedy fix - Animal Control Season 2 is back now on Fox & Hulu

🎥 For the Stranger Things fan still waiting on Season 5 - Damsel starring Millie Bobby Brown on Netflix today

🎥 For the movie musical fans - Wonka comes to streaming on Max

🎥 For cinephiles still working their way through Best Picture noms - Poor Things is now streaming on Hulu

🎥 For those who believe the romcom isn’t dead - Meg Ryan reunites with her best genre for What Happens Later streaming on Showtime

Quiz Answers: A-21, B-59, C-1, D-54, E-12, F-8
(P.S.- Have a story or industry info you think should be featured on the Rundown? Let us know - [email protected]!)