The entertainment industry worldwide temporarily has halted almost all activities due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Vin Diesel did not disagree in postponing the Fast and the Furious 9 playdate a year later, as the world enters into a state of emergency with the deadly virus spreading fast and wide. Initially, the James Bond movie franchise moved its release from March to November this year. Other Hollywood movies follow suit, putting release date schedules on hold.
Mission Impossible shoot in Italy halted even before the coronavirus become a global pandemic. Amazon pauses the shoot of its series of Carnival Row with Orlando Bloom, Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, and Steven Spielberg’s mini-series being filmed in Mexico. Also, Warner Bros. Television, Netflix, Apple, Hulu, HBO, TNT, FX, and Marvel shut down shoots of their shows.
Universal stops the production of around 35 shows. At the same time, Amazing Race, Survivor, and The Bachelorette shows have been put on hold. Talk shows like Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Wendy Williams Show, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and other shows would not even be taped and would be put on a temporary break.
Event organizers opt to cancel festivals, concerts, tours, and music shows in Las Vegas and other states following safety protocol.
The cancellation of projects and events would significantly affect the small entertainment industry workers economically. This pushes Matthew D. Loeb, the international president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, to urge the United States Federal Government to provide financial and medical assistance for below the line workers in all sectors of the entertainment industry.
Asia and Australia
South Korean entertainment industry stops rolling its film shoots, and BTS postpone their performances. But some producers push through pre-recording variety shows sans audience and continue scheduled press conferences. In order to maintain social distancing, stars of the Korean Netflix series My Holo Love answered the questions sent by the press in advance via an online conference.
To ensure the safety of the whole crew and the actors from deadly coronavirus, Bollywood film bodies and Producers Guild of India unanimously agree to halt the shoots of TV shows, films, and web series from March 19-31.
Major studios in China already shut down their operations before the announcement of the Chinese’ government for the indefinite stoppage of all film productions. The closure of 70,000 widescreen cinemas in China for months has an enormous impact not only on the Chinese movies in terms of profit. Hollywood also faces financial losses as China comprises a huge chunk of the blockbuster market.
Philippine government’s enhanced community quarantine pushes its television and film productions to suspend all shoots temporarily. The possibility of Luzonwide quarantine prolonging up to a month may lead to rehash television shows in the country.
Still under quarantine in Australia after testing positive of the coronavirus, Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson continue to rest in a rented home.
Meanwhile, the Australian government announces the ban of gatherings of more than 500 people. The ban leads Australia’s live performance industry to voice out their needs to the federal government. They implore the government to create an emergency industry support package to help the creatives, workers, and organizations.
More:
- Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were found Coronavirus Positive in Australia
- Coronavirus outbreak: James bond release delayed
- FIFA postponed World Cup qualifiers due to coronavirus outbreak
- Musicians Give Free Online Concerts to Beat Corona Virus
Africa
Amazon Studios’ shoot outside of Cape Town titled Love Island France ends its season production earlier. In Johannesburg, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) announces the cancellation of South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA). However, local cinemas remain accessible to the public with the implementation of rigorous measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
Michael Auret of Spier Films calls the attention of the South African government. Speaking in behalf of the small production companies and freelance entertainment industry workers: “We hope that measures will also be put in place to support vulnerable workers in the film and TV industry and all vulnerable persons by suspending mortgage, rent, and other bill payments for three months so that people can have the disposable income to buy food and medicines they need.”
Europe
Due to the corona pandemic, Spain and Portugal declare a state of emergency. In Italy, 2,503 have already died from the virus.
Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday for people to work from home, avoid pubs, clubs, and mass gatherings. The United Kingdom reported 2,626 confirmed covid-19 cases with 104 death tolls while 65 have already recovered.
While German scientists test drugs to kill the public’s no. 1 enemy called coronavirus, German musicians decide to use the online platform to give free concerts.
British singer and songwriter Chris Martin of the band Coldplay entertained fans online with his music, playing songs requested by the fans. Martin’s act inspires other musicians like John Legend, Dropkick Murphys, and Carly Pearce. They also gave online mini-concerts straight from their homes.
Heavy traffic goes off the road these days. Everybody remains at home to avoid contracting the deadly virus. So, expect the transfer of traffic on Netflix, Hulu, and other online streaming platforms.
