MISSIONS IMPOSSIBLE WITH CORONA
... AS SOMIZI CANCELS ITALY WEDDING
SONIA RAO
AS THE coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, the entertainment industry has heeded health notices and travel restrictions by cancelling events and postponing productions planned for the near future.
The Chinese film business suffered a swift blow when nearly all the country’s cinemas shut down after the Covid-19 strain began spreading in Wuhan, the capital of the country’s Hubei province. That impact has since been felt around the world by Italian productions and American festivals alike.
Some moves, like the James Bond producers’ costly decision to postpone the latest film’s release by several months, have surprised the industry. The decision to not cancel or push events has also caused rifts in some cases, such as the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference director resigning over its continuance.
Countless jobs will be affected by the virus, and financial reverberations for individuals, companies and economies will last months, at the least.
Here is a reverse timeline of how the coronavirus outbreak has affected the industry:
March 4: No Time to Die postpones its worldwide premiere
After cancelling the Chinese premiere, long-time James Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, along with MGM and Universal, announced they would be pushing the worldwide release date from April to November.
March 2: Facebook and Twitter pull out of South by Southwest Despite calls for SXSW to be cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the festival will continue – but not as planned. A number of companies have cancelled plans to have representatives travel to Austin this month, including Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s dozen speakers.
March 2: The National cancels its Japanese concerts
The indie rockers cancelled a pair of Tokyo tour dates.
February 28: The Cannes Film Festival issues a statement
Hours after the first recorded case of coronavirus in Cannes, the film festival told Variety that “as of today, it is still premature to express assumptions” on the mid-May event.
Festival staff will continue to prepare for the event, according to a statement that clarified that they would “take all the necessary measures, aiming at ensuring the protection of all attendees”.
February 28: CBS halts The
Amazing Race production After filming a few episodes in the UK, the 33rd season hit pause over “increased concerns and uncertainty regarding the coronavirus around the world”.
February 28: Green Day postpones its Asian tour dates.
“We know it sucks, as we were looking forward to seeing you all, but hold on to your tickets, we’ll be announcing the new dates very soon,” the rock band said.
February 26: Mission: Impossible 7 shuts down production in Italy The seventh film in the series was set to shoot in Venice for three weeks – a plan put on hold after the number of confirmed cases in Italy surpassed 100. “Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan,” a representative from Paramount Pictures said.
February 14: Khalid postpones his Asian tour dates
R&B singer-songwriter Khalid became one of the first American artists to postpone a concert tour over “the recent advisories and travel restrictions”, as AEG Presents announced on Instagram.
January 23: Thousands of Chinese theatres are shut down
The day after Chinese studios cancelled seven blockbuster releases, cinema chains shuttered thousands of theatres across the country as cities were already in lockdown.
January 22: Major Chinese film releases are cancelled
Lunar New Year is the “biggest blockbuster period in the world”, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which stated that major studios voluntarily postponed releases after medical experts warned against congregating in crowded public spaces.