Hollywood is in flux. The coronavirus has forced most every production around the world to shut down, meaning that we’ll all be seeing the next crop of movies and TV shows later than expected. As for when the entertainment industry will be open for business again, optimistic studios are aiming for to kick things back into gear in July or August, according to Deadline. But a more realistic date may be September.
Hunker down, kids. We could be here for a while.
The uncertainly regarding reopening reflects the uncertainty as to when it will be safe again to go out in public and gather in groups. Really, no one knows for sure, and even if coronavirus cases recede in the summer, there’s the possibility of a second wave in the fall. That doesn’t sit well with the insurance industry, which apparently has plans to refuse to insure sets for COVID-19 infections once productions do start up, which could delay things further or maybe even mark an end for productions that can’t afford to take other protective measures.
And what protective measures are we talking about? When Hollywood open up again, things are going to be pretty different on set. For example:
- Everyone on set will have to sign a rider covering the studio in case of coronavirus infection. One source gave us a taste of the language involved: “You acknowledge you are going into a high-density area, and while we will do our best effort to protect you, nothing is failsafe and if you contract COVID-19, we are not liable. There is no other way we can think of to address this. If you don’t want to sign, don’t take the job.”
- Everyone will be tested for the coronavirus before they are allowed on a set, provided there are enough tests to go around after hospitals have first responders have first pic. There will also be health questionnaires, a temperature check and hygiene training. Health professionals will hang out on set monitoring people for symptoms. If tests show that you already had the virus and recovered, you might not need to get tested every day, but this will still add a good amount of time to everyone’s workday.
- Crew members will all need to have their own tools; no more sharing screwdrivers and the like. Also, no more cafeteria-style meals; craft services will hand out individual pre-wrapped lunches, and lunch times will be staggered to cut down on crowd size.
- Personnel interacting with directors and certain actors — basically, people the production can’t replace — will have to wear masks and gloves at all times.
- Offices and bathrooms will have swinging doors only — no more knobs multiple people can touch.
- A crew will disinfect the set at the end of every day.
- Movies and TV may have to rethink how they do crowd scenes. Location shooting is obviously more dangerous, so we might see a lot more green screen work. The Mandalorian came along with that dynamic back-screen technology at just the right time.
And there’s probably more in the works behind the scenes. And still, the insurance industry isn’t keen on covering studios for the disease. You can see how this all might scare studios who are already pouring lots of money into big productions; there’s a TV boom on right now, with many shows inspired by successes like of Game of Thrones to go bigger and better. This could set things back, as some shows may not have the resources to implement all the changes.
And cost-cutting measures are still being taken. “The economics right now are worse than they have ever been, and the box office muted, so it is a double whammy and without the incentives and rebates that come with shooting outside the U.S., you could not absorb the extra costs,” said one source. “The hard part is, you go around the world looking for the best tax incentives and put movies in Budapest, Serbia and Australia, and now you have to tell an A-list actor they have to get on a plane for eight hours to spend 16 weeks away. What if they get sick there? How do you get them to feel safe?”
And there’s also the question of whether it’s appropriate for studios to go about making movies and TV shows that depict life as it was pre-pandemic. It might be jarring, for example, to see characters eating at a crowded restaurant. Studios are talking about what should be shown once production ramps back up.
On the distribution side, Hollywood may have to get used to theaters not being as big a thing, at least for a while. Even when stay-at-home orders are lifted, it’s unlikely everyone will be willing to rush back into big dark rooms where they sit for hours with dozens of strangers.
We’re already seeing some tension in that area. For example, the Academy is loosening its Oscar rules — at least for now — and allowing movies to be eligible even if they haven’t had a seven-day run in a Los Angeles theater. And going forward, Universal has plans to release its movies in both theaters and on streaming at the same time, inspired by the recent digital release of Trolls World Tour. In response, AMC executive Adam Aron penned a letter to Universal Studios boss Donna Langley threatening to not show any Universal movies in AMC theaters were Universal to go through with that plan. So good luck working that out, guys.
In short, even when Hollywood does open back up, which isn’t happening as soon as we’d like, things could look very different.
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h/t The A.V. Club