June 9, 2020

California Is Ready to Resume Film Production. But Is Hollywood? (variety.com)

Film and television production may be able to resume in California on June 12, but major studios are still weeks — if not months — away from rolling cameras.

Before shooting can start or resume on movies and TV shows, the various labor unions that represent everyone from the grips to the actors to the directors, have to sign off on safety procedures for how sets should operate in the age of coronavirus. Nearly 200 people from across the entertainment industry were involved in drafting a white paper outlining new safety protocols that range from increasing testing and temperature tests to quarantining casts and crews. Insiders predict that the final sign-off on those plans is between four to six weeks away.

“For the major film productions and a handful of premium TV shows, this pandemic was like tranquilizing an elephant,” said one top film studio executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “We’re not going to be able to stand up right away.”

By Brent Lang, Matt Donnelly

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