Meghan Markle’s Suits character lays law on new employee
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can turn Hollywood’s crippling twin strike by actors and writers to their own advantage, a leading film and TV expert believes.
American director, producer and entertainment coach Paul Duddridge claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could use the break to regroup and staretgise for the future.
Duddridge says: “Harry and Meghan may yet turn out to be beneficiaries of the strike. It will give them a much-needed chance to review their creative strategies while using the industry shutdown as cover.”
His comments come after former Paramount and 20th Century Fox CEO Barry Diller warned the walkouts over streaming payments and A.I. could spark a ‘Hollywood Apocalypse’ in which “the entire industry could collapse.”
And they follow an announcement earlier this month that Harry and Meghan’s company Archewell will not be among 39 independent production firms allowed special dispensation by union leaders to complete filming current projects.
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This means their plans for a first scripted TV series for Netflix – a prequel to Charles Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations with the working title Bad Manners – will be placed on indefinite hold and may never end up being made.
But Mr. Duddridge believes the first joint strike by actors and writers since 1960 “gives them an opportunity to regroup and retool their operations. So far, their creative projects have received very mixed reviews.
“Harry and Meghan need to flip the narrative. They have seemingly worn out the goodwill of the Royal Family and have not set the world alight with their creative output in the US.
“They are now well-positioned to salvage their image with a critical success in the creative sphere. They should grab this opportunity with both hands. It may be their last.”
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His view is echoed by UK entertainment expert Mark Boardman, founder of showbiz website MarkMeets, who declared: “The next six months could be perceived as the most challenging for Harry and Meghan, with increasing probability that we could be about to enter the beginning of the end of their Hollywood ambitions unless they can make a big turnaround.
“Harry and Meghan find themselves at a crucial juncture in their media journey.”
A senior Hollywood production executive added: “Their efforts will have to be as diverse as possible to continue yielding revenue streams while Archewell is, in effect, forced into a hiatus of unknown duration.”
One immediate money-spinner could be the anticipated relaunch of a massively expanded version of Meghan’s blog The Tig, which she shut down in 2017 just before her engagement to Harry was announced.
The Duchess dropped a massive hint that The Tig is firmly on her mind in an episode of the Netflix series Harry and Meghan in which the former Suits actress said: “It wasn’t just a hobby. It became a really successful business.”
Many observers believe a major relaunch, given her now-royal status, could turn her into a bigger online influencer than her friend and near-neighbour Gwyneth Paltrow, whose Goop company is now reckoned to be worth £200 million.
Aside from Prince Harry’s upcoming docuseries Heart of Invictus, due to air on Netflix later this year, there are no other creative projects on the couple’s current slate from which they are guaranteed a pay day and the Hollywood production source said: “They need to find sure-fire ways to keep the dollars rolling in – especially now the strike is on.”
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