Netflix and Amazon to Restart Production in France

In a matter of weeks, both Netflix and Amazon will kickstart their productions in France, signaling a long-awaited return to work for the streamers. As the French government continues forward with a phased reopening of the country, both Netflix and Amazon will once again start rolling cameras on their projects in the country in the coming weeks, according to a new report from Variety. The report specifically mentions Amazon’s Voltaire, Mixte and Netflix’s Arsene Lupin as two heavyweights looking to go back into the groove of things.

Though Arsene Lupin has the green light to begin production as soon a June 2nd, Netflix is holding off until September due to arrangements in the cast’s schedule. Voltaire, on the other hand, will begin filming again in mid-July.

France isn’t the first country to prioritize the reopening its entertainment industry. Earlier this month, Italian officials started to reopen the country’s film industry with certain new procedures in place. That news came right around the time Czech officials revealed filming could once again take place in Prague. The policies, which you’ll see most other places as they start opening up, include COVID-19 testing for all cast and crew involved on the project and occasional on-set temperature checks.

Though it still is some time before filming will restart in the United States, Netflix has started a fund for employees temporarily put out of work by coronavirus-related shutdowns. Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos announced last month that the fund itself had been extended to $150 million. The streamer’s subscriber base has never grown as fast as it did during the first quarter of this year, thanks in part to most Americans being confined to their homes for two straight months.

“Most of the fund will go towards support for the hardest hit workers on our own productions around the world. We’re in the process of working out exactly what this means, production by production. This is in addition to the two weeks pay we’ve already committed to the crew and cast on productions we were forced to suspend last week,” Sarandos said at the time.

He added, “Beyond helping workers on our own productions, we also want to support the broader film and television industry. So $15 million of the fund will go to third parties and non-profits providing emergency relief to out-of-work crew and cast in the countries where we have a large production base.”