This spring, applicants vying for a spot in the Art Directors Guild's Production Design Initiative — a program that offers mentorship and on-the-job training to future production designers and art directors — received a troubling email. The message from the initiative's leadership team said that, 'due to historic and unprecedented circumstances within the entertainment industry,' the program would be suspended until 2025.
'Because we don't believe that the creation of film and television is going to cease,' James said. 'And as long as there is stories being made and told, we want our participants to have access and the ability to work in that space.' Studios are feeling the crunch too. Warner Bros. Discovery typically reopens the application portal for its Access to Action program — which gives industry newcomers a pathway to entry-level, below-the-line jobs — once a year.