Return to film work? Not so fast
Reaction is mixed on the governor’s plan to allow work to resume this week.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that the state would deliver guidelines that would allow many counties to resume filming as early as this week, the reaction in Hollywood was muted.
After nearly two months of shutdowns caused by the coronavirus outbreak, many of the hundreds of thousands of cast and crew across the country are eager to return to work. But there are also lingering concerns that the industry isn’t ready.
“I’m grateful the governor recognizes how important the film industry is,” said Nickolaus Brown, president of the IATSE Motion Picture Costumers Local 705. However, he added, “it’s misleading to suggest the film industry is going to open on Monday. There’s been a mix of reactions from members. Some are excited and some are scared out of their minds.”
Newsom’s announcement caught many in Hollywood off guard. The governor made the statement in a session with entertainment industry executives, including Netf lix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos and Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay as part of his socalled Economic Recovery & Reinvention Listening Tour.
Newsom said that the state would release requirements Monday that California’s 58 counties need to meet to begin filming and that some areas could resume production as early as this week. Los Angeles, how
ever, is going to be several weeks behind that because of ongoing deaths, he said.
“We are working with industry stakeholders — including labor and management — to produce guidance that is inclusive of industry voices while prioritizing worker health and public safety,” Jesse Melgar, press secretary to the governor, said in a statement.
The governor has been under increasing pressure to reopen the state to business despite the ongoing death rate caused by COVID-19. The disease has had a devastating economic impact on the film industry, where crews and actors interact in close proximity.
Part of the challenge has been a patchwork approach, with some regions racing to start before others. In San Francisco, the city’s film office said it was planning to issue permits for crews of fewer than 10 people, providing they meet certain guidelines.
But SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood’s largest union, has told its 160,000 members not to return to work without getting its approval. Like other unions, SAG-AFTRA has been hiring epidemiologists to help them formulate reopening procedures.
The union said in a statement that it had not yet signed on to “any specific set of procedures for reopening ” and that it was reviewing “multiple efforts throughout the industry to create various procedures for a safer return to work.”
Steve Dayan, secretarytreasurer of Teamsters Local 399, which represents location managers, drivers and casting directors, said flatly: “No, the industry is not going to open on Monday.” Dayan said that although he applauds the governor’s handling of the pandemic, it is premature to talk about resuming filming while industry unions are still in talks with the studios over new safety protocols.
“I know people are anxious, but people need to be patient,” he said. “We are working around the clock to get this done. We need to protect our crews but also have an obligation to protect the public. The most difficult thing for me is to hear one of my members dies because I didn’t do my due diligence.”
Crew members remain anxious about returning to sets.
“I’m happy to go back to work, but I’m kind of scared,” said Robyn Buchanan, a 31-year old L.A.based second assistant camera who was working on a network series when production shut down in March. “If production can go back to work, then why aren’t restaurants and stores open?”
“We value the efforts by so many leaders in the production industry to develop in-depth back-to-work guidelines, and we hope the baseline guidance from the governor, in coordination with public health officials, will contribute to that collaborative process,” said Colleen Bell, the California Film Commission’s executive director.
On the call with Newsom, Danny Stephens, a key grip and IATSE Local 80 member, raised concerns about costs of any protocols required. Studios, for example, have discussed hiring COVID coordinators with their owns staffs, and crews may be staggered, which could slow production down.
“Someone needs to pay for all this,” said Stephens.
Although there is a need to develop rigorous protocols to keep people safe, the industry needs to keep it “financially feasible for production to afford this,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is price ourselves out of business.”
FilmL.A., the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and county, said it wouldn’t begin issuing any until at least June 15. “And it will be until the Department of Public Health issues its guidelines and gives the go-ahead,” FilmL.A. President Paul Audley said in a statement.
To be sure, many in the industry have been hit hard by the shutdowns and are keen to return to work. Mark Butts, an L.A.based production and lighting designer and lighting director and owner of Preset Productions, said the move by the governor was “great news.”
“One of the things that we’ve all been waiting for is that we’re all anxious to get back to work, as long as we can do it safely,” Butts said. “It’s encouraging that they understand that this business is a pretty big part of this economy and it’s getting attention.”