In The News

‘Called To The Wild’ is airing on the National Geographic channel and streaming on its website.

“This is a Maine thing, but it’s really a story about how we find these things, and how it got to Maine.”

That’s Munjoy Hill resident and veteran TV producer Devon Platte of Film 45, who, along with Matt Reccow of Red Cow Productions, sent a cast of intrepid would-be survivalists (and their loyal canine best friends) into the Maine wilderness for the National Geographic reality series, “Called To The Wild,” the first six-episode season of which started airing this month. Filmed in and around rough-and-tumble Maine locations from Rangeley to Aroostook County, the NatGeo series pits these human-dog teams against the worst and wildest the Maine woods has to offer – at least thanks to Platte and Reccow.

Unions and guilds across 70 countries, including IATSE, want reduced working hours, more minimum standards and safe working hours and conditions worldwide.

Global unions and guilds have called for the film and TV production industry worldwide to end a “long hours culture” that has only worsened during the current post-COVID-vaccine surge in filming.

In a report titled “Demanding Dignity Behind The Scenes” released on Tuesday, UNI Global Union, which represents 20 million film, TV and arts workers worldwide, called for production wages and working hours to respect collective agreements, “or in their absence national legal standards.”

A small Maine ski company is going to get a lot busier after its owners were featured in the newest Warren Miller ski film that is being shown across the country.

“It’s a great honor. It’s great to be part of the film and share the beauty of Maine,” said Amalgam Skis co-owner Phil Taisey said.

“I’ve been watching Warren Miller movies since I was a kid,” co-owner Amy Taisey said.

For seven decades, millions of ski enthusiasts, such as the Taisey’s, have kicked off the ski season by watching a Warren Miller movie.

“It’s a long tradition in the industry, and there’s a ton of people within the sport that seek it out every year,” Taisey said.

After years of bit parts in TV and films, the Bridgton-based actor has a key role in director George Clooney’s upcoming film ‘The Tender Bar,’ which stars Ben Affleck.

Until this year, Matthew Delamater was taking his acting career one day at a time.

One day, after all, was the amount of time he spent on most TV and film sets. He’s worked steadily for about a decade, but often in small roles. He was credited as “bearded prison guard” in a 2018 episode of the Stephen King-inspired Hulu series “Castle Rock” and “gun salesman” in the 2017 comedy film “Daddy’s Home 2.”

Then, in February, he began two solid months on the set of the much-anticipated drama “The Tender Bar,” working side-by-side with Oscar winners George Clooney, the film’s director, and Ben Affleck, its star. The film is about a boy essentially raised by his bartender uncle (Affleck) and the bar’s patrons. Delamater plays one of those regulars, Joey D.

Negotiations for a new SAG-AFTRA film and TV contract won’t get underway until 2023, but the union’s newly elected leaders already are vowing to take a tough stand at the bargaining table.

“I intend to build up the perception of SAG-AFTRA as one of power and strength to the envy of our industry peers and reservation of our employers,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher told members in the latest issue of the union’s magazine. “Only if we take a stand and commit to the things that matter, do we have influence both in D.C. and at the negotiating table.”