January 12, 2021

Coronavirus: Slow Vaccine Rollout Could Spark More Movie Delays (cnbc.com)

A slower-than-expected rollout of the coronavirus vaccine could have a domino effect on the 2021 movie slate, with possibly devastating effects on the industry.

Movie theater operators and studios had been optimistic heading into the new year that a steady rollout of vaccines to the general public would result in more people heading to cinemas and keep films firmly set in their current release dates.

However, monthly targets set by President Donald Trump’s administration are not being hit, which has already forced Sony’s “Morbius” to be moved from its March debut to a seemingly greener October. The film had already been displaced twice from its original July 10, 2020, debut because of Covid.

By: Sarah Whitten

Read More at cnbc.com

Film, TV Production in Ontario to Continue Amid Pandemic Surge (hollywoodreporter.com)

Cameras rolling locally on Netflix’s ‘Locke & Key’ and Apple TV+’s ‘See’ is still permitted as the province declares a state of emergency.

Ontario has decided to leave Hollywood film and TV shoots on local soundstages untouched as the province declares a state of emergency amid a resurgent coronavirus outbreak.

“As further lockdown measures were announced by Premier (Doug) Ford today on January 12, film and television productions and post-production projects will continue to operate with no changes to the previously reported guidelines presented in the province-wide shutdown currently taking place,” the Toronto Film Office said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

By: Etan Viessing

Continue Reading at hollywoodreporter.com

Los Angeles Film and TV Permits Plunged in December as COVID Surged (variety.com)

Film permit applications in the city and county of Los Angeles declined steeply in December, dropping 24.9 percent from November levels to 613 permits. FilmLA reported Tuesday.

This is the second straight month that FilmLA has seen permit requests drop, as production levels that picked up after the pandemic shutdown began to drop again. In November, monthly activity slipped 7.6 percent from October levels to 813 permits.

FilmLA spokesman Philip Sokoloski explained, “When production was allowed to restart last June, the majority of work that powers the greater Los Angeles economy didn’t start up right away. It wasn’t until September that we started to see some of the scripted television production work and feature work resuming.”

By Jazz Tangcay

Continue Reading at variety.com

Los Angeles Film Permits Drop Nearly 25% in December as COVID-19 Cases Surge (thewrap.com)

Over the past month, Los Angeles has become America’s epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis; and even though film and TV productions in Hollywood have not been forced to shut down, the infection surge has taken its toll.

According to FilmLA, film permit requests in December fell 24.9% from November with 613 permit requests received. That’s an average of 29 permits per day, the lowest FilmLA has seen since August. While many businesses in L.A. County have been forced to close due to the pandemic, filming has been allowed to move forward as productions are subject to extensive government regulations and mandated COVID-19 safety requirements created last summer by Hollywood’s labor unions.

By: Jeremy Fuster

Continue Reading at thewrap.com