After a tidal wave of more than 70 TV and film production shutdowns last week, Hollywood’s major players spent much of Monday sorting out the tricky question of how long crew members will be paid during the unexpected dark period. Industry sources said the issue of how to handle obligations to crew members was the
Movies
As Hollywood scrambles to stay active while preventing the spread of coronavirus, one international studio is ready to send people back to work — in China. Legendary Entertainment has devised a rotation strategy that will allow its Beijing-based staff to return to work safely, insiders familiar with the company told Variety. Under the direction of
Guangdong province, China’s top movie-going region, announced Monday that it will allocate nearly $7 million in funding to support more than 1,000 cinemas there slammed by forced closures due to coronavirus. Though other local Chinese governments have acknowledged the need to step in and help the country’s suffering film industry, Guangdong is the first to
Hollywood is grappling with a new reality. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, movie and television productions have shut down, theaters and cinemas have closed, and red carpet premieres and concerts have been canceled or pushed back indefinitely. These abrupt moves have resulted in layoffs and a lot of workers staring at an uncertain
The happiest place on earth also looked like one of the most crowded over the weekend in Florida. Disney World, which was shut down Monday due to the coronavirus outbreak, faced intense backlash online over its decision to keep the theme park until late Sunday – as photos from a Disney World fansite went viral,
Regal Cinemas, which operates 543 locations in the United States, will be shutting down all of its movie theaters starting Tuesday due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The move came following White House news conference telling Americans to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people. On Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and
As the growing coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt film and television production across the globe, the South African industry is bracing for the impact of the virus’s spread as the government announced a raft of emergency measures, including a travel ban on foreign nationals from the U.S. and the U.K. The ban cast a shadow
At least one cinema in China’s far west officially reopened its doors Monday after shuttering for nearly two months due to coronavirus prevention measures, it has said — but no viewers came the first day. The Zhongying Golden Palm Cinema in Urumqi, the capital of China’s vast northwestern region of Xinjiang, attempted a soft re-open
March 16, 2020 1:04PM PT Sony is the latest studio to pause filming on a major movie, halting pre-production on “Uncharted” for six weeks. The video game adaptation was about to start shooting next month in Berlin, but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, execs felt it was best for the safety of all involved
France has been placed in full lockdown mode by its government, following similar coronavirus measures taken by neighboring Spain and Italy. Starting on Tuesday at noon, individuals will be obligated to stay home — except to got out to buy food or medicine — for a duration of two weeks, said Macron in a televised
March 16, 2020 9:29AM PT With production expected to start on Monday in the U.K., sources tell Variety that Warner Bros. has postponed production on the third installment of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Like with so many productions that have already stalled due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s unknown how long the
Apple has been fined a record €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) by France’s anti-trust board for engaging in anti-competitive practices within its distribution network of electronic products. It’s the single biggest fine ever handed out by France’s anti-trust board. Apple was also sanctioned for abusing of a situation of economic dependency with regard to independent distributors.
The BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival has been canceled days before it was set to launch in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Set to open on Wednesday and run until March 29 at London’s BFI Southbank, BFI Flare is one of the world’s leading LGBTIQ+ festivals. This year’s event was due to present
The coronavirus outbreak is set to trigger a brutal reality check for the French film industry. With theaters shut down, film and TV shoots halted and movie releases canceled, the country’s rigid window release schedule, lack of proper piracy law and struggling independent distributors are facing epic challenges. For a number of days now, France
Due to coronavirus concerns movie theaters have been shuttered across most of the Middle East where the United Arab Emirates, which is the region’s top market, on Saturday also announced closure of Hollywood theme parks including Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi and the Legoland Waterpark in Dubai. Across the Middle East and North Africa the only
India will temporarily stop all film, television and digital productions from March 19 through 30 as a response to the spreading novel coronavirus pandemic. Indian media industry regulatory bodies met on Sunday and arrived at a unanimous decision to suspend production. “The health and safety of our colleagues comes first, hence we completely support the
Europe’s film and TV industries are embarking on damage limitation. In one of the first Europe-wide moves, the Paris-based European Producers Club, one of the continent’s most-prestigious industry associations, is calling on national governments and the European Union to implement a 10-point rescue plan vital for Europe’s film and TV industries’ survival. Circulated on Saturday
Captain America is sick and tired of Donald Trump. On Sunday afternoon, the president told Americans to “relax” during a press briefing with health officials, saying his administration had “tremendous control” of the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected over 3,000 people in the U.S. and killed at least 61. “We’re all going to be great
“Happy Old Year,” directed by Thailand’s Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, was named as the winner of the Grand Prix best picture award at the Osaka Asian Film Festival, which concluded its virus-impacted 15th edition at the weekend. While many festivals around the world have been postponed or cancelled due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have ordered movie theaters in their respective cities to close in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the first time in history that cinemas have shuttered en masse not due to weather concerns. New York City also took dramatic steps on Sunday
Debate just how deep the impact coronavirus will be on the U.S. economy in the coming weeks, but even the best-case scenario is bleak for a broad range of industries. It’s an awful truth that is just beginning to hit home in the movie industry, where audiences fearing contagion are staying away in droves, if
Universal Music Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge has been hospitalized after testing positive for coronavirus, multiple sources exclusively told Variety. He is currently receiving treatment at Los Angeles’ UCLA Medical Center, sources said. A UMG spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. Word of Grainge’s illness has rattled West Coast power players who attended his
March 15, 2020 1:48PM PT “Field of Dreams” cinematographer John Lindley has been elected at the new national president of the International Cinematographers Guild, a month after Lewis Rothenberg resigned from the post. The news was announced Sunday following an online meeting of the national executive board. He will serve for the remaining two years
March 15, 2020 12:23PM PT The board of trustees of the Directors Guild of America’s health plan has announced that there will be no charge for coronavirus testing for participants in the plan. “Effective immediately, all patient cost-shares (co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles) will be waived for all COVID-19 related testing through June 15, 2020, as long
The international box office has taken a major hit because movie theaters in China, Italy, South Korea and other areas heavily impacted by coronavirus have been entirely or partially closed for weeks. Multiplexes that remained open in various parts of the world were likely still negatively affected by the rapidly spreading virus since audiences opted
For those who work in the motion-picture industry, the coronavirus must feel like a crisis coming on the heels of an earthquake — a disruption built on a disruption. The toll that it’s about to take on our collective moviegoing habits is already profound. The canceling of film festivals, led by SXSW, was the first
Dim echoes of David Lynch and early Roman Polanski abound throughout “The Carnivores,” a fitfully fascinating mix of teasing narrative opacity and stylized psycho-thriller atmospherics. The shot-in-Austin indie feature, originally set to premiere at the cancelled SXSW Film Festival, instead had a March 14 unveiling at a private event in the Texas capital city attended,
March 14, 2020 3:19PM PT Blumhouse has suspended production on its thriller “Vengeance,” B.J. Novak’s directorial debut, due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. “Vengeance” had been shooting in Albuquerque, N.M., during the past two weeks. Crew members were informed of the decision on Saturday. Novak is directing from his own script, and details of
March 14, 2020 1:02PM PT After shutting down production on “Stranger Things” and several other projects, Netflix has decided to temporarily halt production on “Red Notice” starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds. The movie had been shooting all over the world since February but had recently moved their production to Atlanta. Johnson made
March 14, 2020 11:51AM PT “The Batman” is the latest movie to shut down production over the coronavirus. Following the news that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson attracted the coronavirus during the “Elvis Presley” shoot in Australia, Warner Bros. has made a decision to halt production on “The Batman” for two weeks The film’s crew