Hollywood Studio Reveals Plan to Kickstart Productions During Coronavirus Pandemic

The current situation with the coronavirus is unprecedented in the world and has brought the entertainment industry to a grinding halt. Productions have been halted across the country and the globe, with movies already in the can and scheduled for release delayed as no exhibitors are open. It's unclear when things will be able to "return to normal," not only for film production but for every facet of life. Two studios are hoping to get ahead of that by compiling a document about getting crews and actors together to make new films with what they're calling the "Isolation Based Production Plan."

According to Variety, the proposal has been assembled by producers Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Upgrade, Insidious) and Chris Ferguson (Child's Play, 2019) and is ever evolving as they solicit feedback from others in Hollywood. The plan in the document reportedly begins by noting everyone on the cast and crew "would be in a two-week quarantine before they would begin production," not unlike when a production is set in another location and the crew "takes over a hotel that has been aggressively cleaned, and they live there full-time completely quarantined."

The next phase of the document reportedly lays out that after the quarantine the production will be set up into three different pods including the on-set cast and crew, the base camp operations, and set design/prep. Each pod of people would have their own "quarantine supervisor," responsible for maintaining quarantine and disinfection protocols. In addition there would be remote positions for the project with roles like line producer, production manager, and post-production workers all working elsewhere.

Furthermore all costumes, props, and sets for the projects would be in their own kind of quarantine, with sets sealed off for a few days after being dressed "to allow viruses on surfaces to die." There would also be a lack of "day players," meaning no supporting roles and extras that only work a few days at a time, with only the above-the-line actors.

So what's the feasibility of this plan and will it go into effect? In theory it could work for smaller productions with minimal casts or even films that require more post-production work than on-set days, but also seems like the requirements for the cast and crew won't be easily agreed to by many. Studios like Marvel will also be totally unable to commit to these standards and would need to consider other options and means for re-starting their productions (all of which are on hold).

"So how much collective risk are we willing to take as a community?" Kavanaugh-Jones told the trade. "That's going to be the question over the next coming months....There is going to be real change and upheaval through all of this, and people are going to have to get really creative and smart. It's so devastating for so many people. And ultimately that's the goal of the document — to start the conversation about getting people back to work."