Variety: Tom Cruise expected to spend his summer in Italy, hanging onto the sides of planes, dodging bullets and engaging in elaborate car chases. The arrival of COVID-19 spoiled those plans, indefinitely postponing the shooting of “Mission: Impossible 7,” the latest installment of the globe-trotting espionage franchise.
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I think this will be part of a learning curve. I’m sure you can shoot a movie with less of a crew, but in my head I can only imagine it would be far more taxing on that crew and take more time. I understand why cutting back on numbers is a smarter way to keep as few people concentrated in the first place but this does affect jobs for the crew who aren't working. While it sounds like the things the unions have said so far are fine, they really need to be on top of their game in order to provide for their members. However, I also want to know what types of scenes can be shot. If production is allowed to begin again, (but for example actors must be one foot apart), this would affect the content of these films as well. If production does continue under these limited numbers it would be interesting in the long run to analyze the movies made during the “pandemic period.”
To be blunt, coronavirus has catapulted our industrialized, fast-paced society into a logistical nightmare- largely because there are still so many potential outcomes for how we will be able to start back, what that will look like, and when that will be. When thinking about Hollywood trying to restart, I think there is a lot to think about when you look at films and tv-shows that had to be put on pause and will now have to pick back up with certain requirements. There is a certain intimacy that comes along with being on camera, or even behind the scenes on camera that cannot be completed with proper social distancing- because while sound stages are large and vast places, they also are usually packed with people all helping the production go forward. Our industry is going to continue to push forward and try to keep working as soon as we can, that’s without a doubt, but it will be interesting to see the burnout that people experience from the environment they will be jumping back into, and in conjunction with that, the new style of work that we will be seeing in a post-pandemic world.
It goes without saying that the coronavirus has been weighing on the backs of the entertainment industry ever since they had to shut down. With the increasing spread of the disease, it is becoming more and more concerning that it will take a while for the functionality of the industry to come back. It is also forcing the industry to brainstorm for how they can continue their work in these conditions, because many people are losing the money they thought they would be earning now. While it is good that ideas are being brainstormed, the panic and confusion is pretty obvious in the article. I thought it was a bit comical they asked the director of Contagion for advice for how to handle this. I do greatly sympathize with them, as this is a near impossible situation to predict, but it’s good to see that they are doing their best to get back on track as soon as possible.
The coronavirus pandemic is definitely producing some big challenges for the film production industry. Besides the fact that production companies will most likely have to implement social distancing on production sites, I had not thought of some of the other challenges that might come up in a post pandemic film industry. It’s really crazy to think about how the costume and wardrobe departments will be affected by this. I had not thought of how putting makeup on actors and clothing them would be potentially dangerous right now. I will be interested to see what solutions they will come up with, such as actors putting on their own makeup and possibly even doing their own laundry on set with direction from the wardrobe/costume team. It’s also an interesting idea to have all of the cast and crew members be put up in separate hotel rooms. I will definitely be curious to see how the industry handles all of these new issues brought upon by Covid-19.
I am glad to finally see this topic being discussed to this level of specifics, but think that it is much more cavernous of an issue than is being openly reported on currently. The most obvious issue would be with content; if actors can be no closer than “x” feet apart, then that will impact the content being portrayed on-screen (and in theaters, as well). There could be no physical intimacy between characters or camera or crew members which affects not only what is being shot but how it is being shot. There is also the issue of close interaction between cast and crew; hair and makeup artists must be within arms length of an actor to do their job successfully (or they must adapt to be able to instruct an actor in how to apply the necessary hair or makeup or prosthetics). Dressers and costumers in the wardrobe department also - in normal conditions - interact rather closely with an actor’s person. What about camera operators who need to get a shot close up to an actor that can not be executed with the zoom function on a lense? What the unions are currently saying completely checks out, but there are definitely more considerations to be had.
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