Filmmakers: Theaters may not survive pandemic
After more than six months of struggles amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood issued a dire message about the state of the movietheater industry — the nation’s cinemas “may not survive” without help.
Groups representing movie studios, theater owners and directors this week called on lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to provide “specific relief ” for film exhibitors, saying that nearly 70% of small and midsized theater companies would be forced to declare bankruptcy or go out of businesses without government assistance.
Dozens of famous filmmakers, including Judd Apatow, James Cameron, Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele, Wes Anderson, Clint Eastwood and Ang Lee, signed a letter calling on the federal government to provide support for the industry, which remains shuttered in much of the country.
The National Association of Theatre Owners, or NATO, the Washington-based organization that stumps for exhibitors, sent the letter, which was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.) and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R- Calif.). The Motion Picture Association, the lobby representing the major film studios, joined NATO in signing the letter, as did the Directors Guild of America.
“Absent a solution designed for their circumstances, theaters may not survive the impact of the pandemic,” the industry groups said in the letter.
“Cinemas are an essential industry that represent the best that American talent and creativity have to offer. But now we fear for their future,” it continued.