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 Only a fraction of movie and TV
productions have resumed filming in Los Angeles
and elsewhere in the United States, where
coronavirus cases are rising. Actors and crew
members are unsure when projects might resume,
and some expect they will not return to work
until 2021.
Los Angeles County, home to the biggest movie
and TV studios, gave a greenlight in June for
filming to resume with safeguards. Major unions
issued a 36-page report outlining safety
measures. Producers had hoped to have many sets
working again in August.
The number of film permit requests in the Los
Angeles area since mid-June ran about 34 percent
of normal. Most of those were for commercials or
still photography, according to local
organization FilmLA, which said it expected
scripted TV and feature film production to pick
up in September.
Actor Seth Rogen, who produces TV series and
movies with partner Evan Goldberg, said he is
exploring international locations, including
Bulgaria, for some projects.
"I am not ambitious that any filming is going to
be happening in America anytime soon in a way
that I'm comfortable with," Rogen said in an
interview this month. "I look to other countries
who have dealt with this whole thing much better
and think maybe, if they'll let us in, maybe we
can film there."
OVERSEAS PRODUCTION
A few big movie productions have resumed
overseas. The next "Jurassic World" dinosaur
adventure from Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures
restarted filming in London, and the cast of
Walt Disney Co's "Avatar" sequels is back at
work in New Zealand.
To restart, producers must adapt the industry
guidelines to their situations, which takes
longer for bigger projects.
"It's not like flipping a light switch," said
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief operating officer
and general counsel for actors union SAG-AFTRA.
The union has cleared more than 1,000
return-to-work plans for film and TV projects,
he said, adding that the current production
level was "far lower" than normal.
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 Lingering shutdowns will limit
the supply of fresh programming that TV networks
and streaming services can offer even as many
viewers remain home-bound during the pandemic.
The cast of Amazon Studios series "The Boys"
recorded a video urging fans to wear face masks
to reduce coronavirus spread.
"You want a 'Boys' season three? They are not
going to let us shoot unless we get the numbers
down," star Jack Quaid said.
KISSING MANNEQUINS
Some TV series have pushed ahead with
protections including smaller crews, safety
officers to monitor compliance with
infection-prevention measures and inventive
fixes such as using mannequins for kissing
scenes.
Producer Tyler Perry created a "Camp Quarantine"
at his Georgia studio complex to film his BET
series "Sistas" in July. No coronavirus cases
were detected during a two-week shoot, Perry
said.
ViacomCBS, owner of MTV, Comedy Central and
other channels, is setting up closed sets called
"COVID compounds" to isolate people working on
series such as "RuPaul's Drag Race," said Chris
McCarthy, president of entertainment and youth
brands at ViacomCBS.
In the compounds, "we will control it, we'll
test, but we'll also contain it and keep
everyone as safe as possible," McCarthy said.
A few productions have reported positive
coronavirus tests to SAG-AFTRA, Crabtree-Ireland
said, declining to name them. Some temporarily
paused production for contact tracing and other
steps, he said. Others were caught before the
person had reported to set.
"In our view, it's a sign the system is
working," he said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional
reporting by Rollo Ross and Jill Serjeant;
editing by Bill Tarrant and David Gregorio)
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