Producers Bruna Papandrea and Gregg Fienberg are rallying a coalition of Hollywood producers, actors, writers, directors and showrunners to raise funds for below-the-line film and TV crews whose jobs have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiative, called It Takes Our Village, will distribute funds via the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) and The Actors Fund, and aims to provide $1,000 for individuals and potentially higher for families.
The goal is to support the film and TV production assistants, coordinators, supervisors, office staff, location teams, AD teams, costume teams, hair stylists, make-up artists, art departments, prop masters, set decorators, set builders, camera and sound teams, electric and grip teams, script supervisors, SFX and post-production, caterers, craft services and transportation teams, among others.
Among those on board the plan are Mark Ruffalo, writer and showrunner David E. Kelley, directors Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), producers Lynette Howell Taylor, Molly Allen, Stephanie Allain, Liza Chasin, and Steve Hutensky, and writer-showrunners Pam Veasey, Kenya Barris, Dana Fox, Ben Watkins, and content creators Kenya Barris, Leslie Linka Glatter, Jess Wu Calder, and Todd Black.
“The below-the-line crews are the backbone of our industry,” said Papandrea, the founder and CEO of Made Up Stories who started the initiative after she was forced to shut down several of her productions. “They are our community – and our community is in need. This initiative is personal to me as I’m a working-class girl who grew up with unions protecting my family. I want to help provide that protection to those who are a vital part in creating stories; the stories that are providing escapism and comfort to people around the world.”
Fienberg worked as an executive producer alongside Papandrea on Big Little Lies and added: “In reaching out to my network to see if this idea would fly, it became apparent that Bruna and I had the exact same idea, so we decided it made perfect sense to come together to do this important work. We’re all in this together, and it’s in that spirit that we are combining our forces to get the word out on behalf of our crews.”
Donations are being raised via a GoFundMe campaign here.
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