[ad_1]
6:39 PM PST 01/05/2021
by
Bryn sandberg
Major studios and streamers have halted their Los Angeles-based projects with the intention of restarting them in mid-January – but sources say it’s increasingly unrealistic.
With production stranded in Los Angeles amid the city’s latest COVID-19 wave, the industry is grappling with when it can safely return to work in one of its most popular filming regions .
Major studios and streamers have suspended production on most of their Los Angeles-based projects, most of which were already on hiatus during the holidays, marking the city’s biggest shutdown since March when the virus began to spread. to the United States instead of returning. To work as scheduled on Monday, January 4, major content creators including Disney, Warner Bros. Universal, CBS and Netflix have pushed back their filming schedules after the holidays due to the dire COVID-19 situation in the city. Additionally, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, SAG-AFTRA, the Joint Policy Committee, and the Producers Guild of America have further recommended that productions consider hitting the pause button.
Most productions that were scheduled to resume on January 4 are now considering January 11 or January 18 as new start dates. However, some production insiders suggest that even these dates seem increasingly unrealistic. They fear the city may not yet feel the full effects of a COVID surge after the holidays, which was widely expected. If the city’s workload continues to skyrocket and the capacity of the intensive care unit decreases further in the coming weeks, they say the studios would likely continue to push their schedule – albeit little. likely they will make those decisions until they can take stock of the situation closer to those dating.
Of course, others remain more optimistic about Hollywood’s chances of returning to work as soon as possible, often pointing to the effectiveness of the strict COVID guidelines used on productions and what they claim to be low transmission rates on. the tray. “The industry has been hugely responsible throughout the pandemic, as demonstrated by their recent actions during the increase in COVID-19 cases and the history of strict safety protocols,” the president said. of FilmLA, Paul Audley. The Hollywood Reporter. The organization, which tracks filming in the greater Los Angeles area, notes that it plans to release data in January that shows applications for filming permits declined significantly in December as the industry began to ” significantly reduce its activity “thanks to the advice of the county public. health experts.
While most production executives and government officials are reluctant to speak directly about the situation given the degree of uncertainty surrounding it, the Director’s Guild of America, for its part, told members on Tuesday that it was keeping a keen eye on the current environment. “The situation remains fluid and we will continue to monitor new developments and work across the industry to ensure worker safety remains a top priority,” the statement read. “Together with our sister unions, we have informed employers that we are ready to work with any of their productions to further extend their disruption. Since then, the major studios have announced extensions of hiatus for many of their projects.
The DGA acknowledged that this kind of surge was anything but planned for the new year. “We have long predicted that there would be this post-holiday spike in community COVID-19 infections, which is why, ahead of Thanksgiving, we negotiated a deal giving employers flexibility and an economic incentive to increase testing. and take longer to get results before resuming production, ”the statement read. Of course, most studios haven’t taken advantage of this buffer until now. The DGA also highlighted the effectiveness of the safety protocols on the set that its leaders helped develop over the summer. “Data so far has indicated that these protocols have been widely effective in catching infected individuals before they are contagious, and limiting potential spread on the shelf,” the email read. “Our goal has always been to minimize the risk of workplace exposure for our members and all workers on set.”
Hollywood has been able to continue operating despite the fact that other businesses, including the restaurant industry, have had to shut down in various parts of the country. The reason is that workers in the entertainment industry are considered “essential” in California, according to guidelines set out by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. As such, production has remained exempt from the state’s recently extended home stay order – at least for now.
[ad_2]
Source link