Anna Daniels
While many of those interviewed agreed that waiting for testing was better, It: Chapter Two producer Roy Lee backed Blum’s belief about smaller productions resuming sooner.
“I feared that we would have to wait for a vaccine to be developed before any production would be back up and running. But now I’m optimistic that there will be a plan in place to allow for smaller-scale productions to start before a vaccine is developed,” Lee said. “I have a project called Shut-In at New Line Cinema, which is a one-location movie with a very small cast. I believe that it will be one of the first studio productions that will start once we figure out the proper protocols that will ensure that the cast and crew are as safe, if not more, during production than they would have been pre-pandemic.”
The group in charge of creating those protocols is the unions, several industry members said. Their work to establish a safe working environment will be critical not just to getting their members back on set, but also to ensuring their practices are in sync with and safe for other crew members.
“Like with anything in life we need to adapt to make the work and live environment as safe as possible, for everyone,” Joker makeup artist Nicki Ledermann said. “The only way to do that is for every union to work out what is needed to keep their specific membership safe, then all unions should combine those safety measures and create a plan that works for everyone.”
With so much still in the air, Marvel fans and MCU filmmakers alike may discover that patience is its own superpower. “At first, I briefly thought the hiatus would only be for a few weeks,” Blockers director Kay Cannon told the LA Times. “I’ve come to accept that no one knows anything and that patience is our best friend.”
Written by: Looper
