While the official film rules for the 2020 edition of the SAG Awards will not be revealed until June, an email sent to studios this week points to the organization following the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ temporary eligibility amendments for the Oscars.

‘We are still revising our film release criteria but will be following the Academy’s rule change to allow titles with a planned theatrical release to be eligible if streamed or released on VOD first’, the email said, according to Variety. ‘Full language will be announced in June along with the rest of our rules.’

©KATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

On 28^th April, the Academy announced that their board of governors had approved a temporary hold on the prerequisite that a film would need a 7-day theatrical run in a cinema in Los Angeles County in order to qualify for the Oscars.

With this change, however, films will be permitted a digital release without the prior necessity of a movie theatre screening. There is still a hitch, though—the streamed film must have already had a planned theatrical release to be eligible for Academy Awards consideration. The film must also be uploaded on the Academy Screening Room members-only streaming platform within 60 days of its streaming or VOD release.

New FYC guidelines and fee structures for film for the SAG Awards were also sent to the studios this week. The one-page memo states: ‘The SAG Awards Nominating Committee will be finalized in early July. In light of the pandemic, in-person events are suspended until further notice. As we move to primarily virtual events and digital screeners (though limited mailings are still permitted) we have developed new rules — and a new fee structure — around FYC campaigns geared towards our members.’

‘The pandemic is an evolving situation and as things change, we will evolve with it and keep you informed on any updates to our guidelines and rules through the summer and fall’, the memo continues.

Previously, studios have also had to provide DVDs of eligible movies to nominating committee members. According to the new rules, digital screeners are now permitted during the pre-nom voting phase. All digital screening platforms and streaming sites must be approved by the SAG Awards.’

The nominees for the Buma Awards Music in Media 2020 were announced today. Based on nine different categories, the 25-member jury has looked at the best music for film, television, radio, documentary and advertising, with three nominations for each category. In addition, new talent will be under the spotlight through the presentation of the Buma Music in Motion New Talent Award. All winners will be announced on Tuesday, 19 May.

 The Buma Awards Music in Media are traditionally presented during the annual Buma Music in Motion event, however, due to the global coronavirus crisis, the Buma Cultuur-organised event will not take place in 2020. That did not, however, stop the jury from looking for the most talented and effective composers of music in media.

BUMA NOMINEES

Two categories – Best Original Composition in Advertising and Best Sync in Advertising – are presented in collaboration with Adformatie, with nominees including Sizzer & DeWolff, who have been chosen for ‘Live Like You’ for Skoda, a song that has also recently been released as a single. In the Sync in Advertising category, Afrojack, a.k.a. Nick van de Wall, has been nominated for his part in Run the World (Girls) for DNB’s Girls Invest campaign.

The nominated composers and producers were selected by a 25-member jury of industry experts including composer Bob Zimmerman, Buma Oeuvre Award Multimedia winner Stephen Emmer, producer Kaja Wolffers, director Jon Karthaus, composer Martijn Schimmer, NRC journalist Joyce Roodnat, editor-in-chief of Adformatie Susanne van Nierop, and last year’s BMIM New Talent winner, Gijs Knol.

This year’s nominees of the Buma Awards Music in Media Categories are:

1. Buma Award Best Podcast, Radio and Television Imaging (5 May)

• Ward Henselmans, Daan Jansen and Jeroen Kuitenbrouwer 
• Close Up – 25 jaar
• link
• Publisher: AVRO Muziekuitgeverij

 

• Ad van Dongen
• Discovery Channel ‘Wanted’ brand movie
• link
• Publisher: Copyright Power International

 

• Guido Heeneman
• Diederik en Da Vinci
• link
• Publisher: AVRO TROS en SkyHigh TV

 

2. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Advertising (powered by Adformatie) (6 May)

 

• Sizzer & DeWolff
• Skoda – Live Like You
• link
• Advertising Agency: Optimist

 

• Jesse Koolhaas
• Fashion’s Dirty Little Secret
• link
• Advertising Agency: The Ridley Scott Creative Group

 

• Merlijn Snitker
• Ace & Tate – Take Another Look
• link
• Advertising Agency: Halal

 

3. Buma Award Best Sync in Advertising (powered by Adformatie) (7 May)

 

• Nick van de Wall (Afrojack) (and Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash, Adidja Palmer, Wesley Pentz, David Taylor)
• DNB – Girls Invest – ‘Run the World (Girls)’
• link
• Sync Agent: Bente de Jong
• Publisher: BMG, Warner Chappell, Sony ATV, CTM, Kobalt
• Advertising Agency: TRY

 

• Thomas Azier, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe
• DM Drogisterij – Die Veränderung beginnt in mir – ‘It’s A New Day’
• link
• Sync Agent: Bente de Jong
• Publisher: BMG, Kobalt
• Advertising Agency: ela productions GmbH

 

• Stephanie Allen, Reynard Bargmann (Mucky), Richard Cowie, Idris Elba, Thomas Mackenzie Bell, Sean Paul
• Sainsbury’s Tu – Summer Of Love – ‘Boasty’
• link
• Sync Agent: Justin Hendrik
• Publisher: Maktub Music Publishing

 

4. BMIM New Talent Award (8 May)

• Daan Hofman
• Danny and the Wild Bunch
• link

 

• Componist Thomas van der Burg
• Ridder Marie

 

• Componist Annelotte Coster
• Als Je Later Groot Bent

 

5. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Documentary, Short Film, Telefilm and Animation (11 May)

 

• Alex Simu 
• They Call Me Babu
• Director: Sandra Beerends
• Production: Pieter van Huystee Film & TV

 

• Paul M. van Brugge
• A Fool’s Paradise
• Director: Saskia Vredeveld
• Production: Pieter van Huystee Film & TV

 

• Ward Henselmans, Daan Jansen en Jeroen Kuitenbrouwer
• Stuk
• link
• Director: Jurjen Blick
• Production: VPRO

 

6. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Television Series (12 May)

 

• Merlijn Snitker
• De 12 van Schouwendam
• link
• Director: Anne van der Linden en André van Duren
• Production: Endemol Shine

 

• Tim van Berkestijn
• Hoofdzaken
• link
• Director: Menno Otten
• Production: Kepler Films
• Producer: Derk-Jan Warrink, Koji Nelissen

 

• Joris Oonk en Jef Richaerts
• Baantjer: Het Begin
• Director: Arne Toonen
• Production: Millstreet Films
• Producer: Rachel van Bommel
• Publisher: Millstreet Music

 

7. Buma Award Best Sync (in Television, Film, Online) (13 May)

 

• Ramses Shaffy (arranger Maaike Ouboter)
• Netflix promo voor serie “Our Planet” – ‘Zing – Vecht – Huil – Bid – Lach – Werk en Bewonder’
• link
• Sync Agent: AMP
• Publisher: Strengholt Music Publishing

 

• Joep le Blanc and Rob Jager
• 8×4 – ‘GRLS’
• link
• Sync Agent: 2weimusic
• Publisher: Felt Music UK

 

• Giovanni Rustenberg (Cho), Tevin Irvin Plaate (Spanker)
• Savage x Fenty – ‘Popalik’
• link
• Sync Agent: Bente de Jong

 

8. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Trailers (14 May)

 

• Reinder van Zalk
• Terreur
• Publisher: Earforce

 

• Joep Sporck
• Tales of Arise
• link
• Publisher: Elsy Music – Liquid Cinema

 

• Jochem Weierink
• The Oscars Opening Trailer 2019
• link
• Publisher: Liquid Cinema

 

9. Buma Award Best Original Composition in Film (15 May)

 

• Vincent van Warmerdam
• ROJO
• Director: Benjamín Naishtat
• Production: Bord Cadre Films, Descia Produções, Ecce Films

 

• Rutger Reinders
• Dirty God
• Director: Sacha Polak
• Production: Marleen Slot Viking Film

 

• Ella van der Woude
• Take Me Somewhere Nice
• Director: Ena Sendijarevic
• Production: Pupkin Film

Poland has given the green light to resume film and TV production with safety measures, according to communications from the Polish Film Institute, making it the latest European country to attempt a return to normalcy during the COVID-19 crisis.

As part of its most recent phase of easing, it will reopen restaurants and hairdressers as of 18^th May. Deadline reports that on the same day, Poland will also allow film and TV sets, outdoor cinemas, and drive-in cinemas to open their premises once more, after a lengthy lockdown.

Productions that have been in a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic include ‘The Thaw’, HBO Europe’s crime-drama series directed by Xawery Żuławski; ‘Other People’, a Warner Bros. Poland/Madants feature length film directed by Aleksandra Terpińska; ‘Leave No Traces’, a movie from director Jan P. Matuszyński and producer Aurum Film (the latter better known for ‘Corpus Cristi’); and ‘Sexify’, a previously unannounced Netflix original series directed by Piotr Domalewski and Kalina Alabrudzińska.

‘CORPUS CHRISTI’ (2019), ©AURUM FILM

A total of 182 productions were interrupted by the virus—of these, 69 are feature films, 51 are TV and streaming series, 34 are commercials, 22 are documentaries, along with six additional projects.

International air travel into Poland is still restricted, which will pose an issue for international productions, though most local shoots are Polish-language and likely to cause few logistical problems. Insurance, like with most other industries in these difficult times, will be quite the challenge.

With regards to film sets, the Polish Film Institute stated that it will be ‘recommended that all team members work in masks, as long as this does not prevent them from effectively performing their tasks and duties. Exceptions include actors and hairstylists — in this case, it is recommended that they maintain distance from other members of the film crew.’

‘It is also recommended to limit the number of people on set depending on the nature of the shooting day and to arrange the crew in such a way as not to create larger clusters, for example by separating zones where one can move around’, the organization added. The Polish government is currently in the process of finalizing production safety guidelines.

In the meantime, drive-in and outdoor cinemas will be allowed to operate with social distancing measures in place. The institute mentioned that further guidelines will be published online. There is no date set yet for the reopening of cinemas otherwise. New Horizons and Krakow Film Festivals are but two of the festivals who have had to cancel their physical editions. Poland has earned four foreign-language Academy Award nominations over the past ten years for ‘In Darkness’ (2011), ‘Ida’ (2013), ‘Cold War’ (2018), and ‘Corpus Christi’ (2019).

Japan is the world’s third-largest box office market, right after North America and China, and it is currently preparing to re-open its cinemas this weekend after a lengthy coronavirus shutdown. Toho Cinemas, the country’s biggest movie theatre chain, has announced that it will once again open its doors to ten of its venues on Friday, 10^th May.

None are in Tokyo, however, and there is currently no information of any cinemas opening in the capital this weekend.

Toho is prepared with a series of COVID-19 preventative measures: encouraging anyone with virus symptoms to stay away or to contact a staff member, should they feel ill during their visit; all employees will be wearing masks and gloves; the use of automatic ticket machines to avoid physical contact will be encouraged, along with regular handwashing; ventilation will also be increased, and an empty seat will be kept between each sold seat for the sake of social distancing. Sofas and communal tables have also been removed from the lobby areas.

©TOHO CINEMAS SHINJUKU

Aeon Cinemas, another major Japanese chain, has confirmed it will resume its activities at 27 movie theatres in 16 regions, starting 18^th May and with similar preventative measures as Toho Cinemas.

The Japanese government recently said that they were looking to gradually lift the countrywide lockdown, which has been rather soft while compared to other nations. Said lockdown lift will surely begin in certain parts of the country where the infection rate has been decidedly slower. The return to a semblance of normalcy will take longer, however, and each step will be taken with great caution.

The CineEurope exhibition convention was initially delayed from June to August in Barcelona, but given the current COVID-19 uncertainty, the organizers have decided to cancel the event altogether for this year. In a public note, Film Expo Group said: ‘With concern for the health and safety of our attendees as our absolute priority, we regret to inform you that we have decided now to cancel the 2020 CineEurope Convention, planned for 3-6 August.’

This event is a key stop on the annual tours that Hollywood studios go on to present their upcoming slates to European cinema operators, usually attracting big name talent to Spain’s beautiful city. CineEurope was one of the last major holdouts of summer industry events. Its organizers took early steps to postpone the event at first before setting tentative August dates. Ultimately, it was pulled off the calendar completely.

©FILM EXPO GROUP/CINEEUROPE

While some markets worldwide begin to reopen film theatres, concern over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not dwindled, and Spain is barely in the early stage of a four-phase lockdown lift, which currently includes a two-week quarantine for foreign visitors. ‘Given ongoing uncertainty over the COVID-19 virus, we feel this is the prudent decision for the industry and everyone. Please stay safe and we look forward to seeing everyone soon’, added Film Expo Group in their note.

There is, however, good news attached to this cancellation, as a two-day online CineEurope conference and trade show will still take place on 17^th and 18^th June this year, with details soon to be revealed. In 2021, the convention is scheduled from 21^st until 24^th June.

CineEurope is the official convention of the International Union of Cinemas, representing 42,000 screens in 38 European countries. We do look forward to the online event, now, as we hope for the next year to bring fewer disruptions to the film and theatre industry altogether.

National Theatre has just announced the next collection of plays to be streamed on their Youtube channel for free over the next few weeks.

Following the coronavirus lockdown that has seen theatres around the world lower their curtains indefinitely, National Theatre has launched a Youtube channel dedicated to streaming productions that had been previously screened in cinemas globally as a part of National Theatre Live.

They kicked off their exciting programme on 2 April with Richard Bean’s ‘One Man Two Guvnors’ featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from James Corden, followed by Sally Cookson’s stage adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’, Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island’, and ‘Twelfth Night’ featuring Tamsin Greig as Malvolia in Shakespeare’s classic comedy.

TOM HIDDLESTON IN CORIOLANUS. © JOHAN PERSSON

Following stellar performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller who exchanged the roles of the Creature and Victor Frankenstein on two consecutive nights (30 April and 1 May, respectively) in Danny Boyle-directed ‘Frankenstein’, Gillian Anderson and Tom Hiddleston are now headlining the next carefully-curated selection of plays.

The streaming schedule for the following weeks is as follows:

7 May – ‘Antony & Cleopatra’, starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo, and directed by Simon Godwin.

14 May – Inua Ellams’ ’Barber Shop Chronicles’, with Fisayo Akinade, Hammed Animashaun, Cyril Nri and Sule Rimi.

21 May – Tennessee Williams’ ’A Streetcar Named Desire’, directed by Benedict Andrews and starring Gillian Anderson as Blanche, Ben Foster as Stanley and Vanessa Kirby as Stella. Fun fact: this is the fastest-selling show in Young Vic history.

28 May – James Graham’s ‘This House’, directed by Jeremy Herrin, and featuring Phil Daniels, Reece Dinsdale, Charles Edwards and Vincent Franklin.

4 June – the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Coriolanus, staged by former Artistic Director Josie Rourke and starring Tom Hiddleston, Alfred Enoch, Deborah Findlay and Mark Gatiss.

Each production will be screened live every Thursday at 7.00pm GMT, and will then be available on demand for seven days.

GILLIAN ANDERSON IN A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. © JOHAN PERSSON

Even though all productions will be streamed for free, National Theatre encourages viewers to donate what they can via Youtube. The money donated will be shared with the co-producing theatre organisations of each stream, including the Donmar Warehouse, Fuel, Leeds Playhouse and the Young Vic, which will help support them during this difficult period of closure.

Lisa Burger, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive said, ‘I’m delighted that in this next collection of titles to be streamed as part of National Theatre at Home we are including productions from our NT Live partner theatres. When we launched National Theatre at Home last month, we wanted to offer audiences the opportunity to engage with theatre during this time of isolation while we were unable to welcome them to the South Bank or into cinemas.

‘This initiative wouldn’t have been possible without the support of a great number of artists for which we are incredibly grateful. We have been absolutely thrilled by the response from viewers enjoying the productions from right across the globe, and we have also been surprised and delighted at the generous donations we’ve received since closure. Whilst the National Theatre continues to face a precarious financial future, we now feel able to make a payment to all artists involved, as we recognise a great many are also experiencing a particularly challenging time at this moment. While theatres across the world remain closed, we’re pleased that we can continue to bring the best of British theatre directly into people’s homes every Thursday evening.’

The Oscars will be making a one-time-only concession in their eligibility rules, as they will allow movies initially released through streaming or video-on-demand to compete in next year’s awards.

The board of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences which presides over the Academy Awards made the decision, along with a few other changes to the process, including the consolidation of sound editing and sound mixing into a single ‘sound’ category.

Citing the forced closure of theatres because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the board also noted that only films with a ‘previously planned theatrical release’ would be eligible. Up to this point, films were required to have at least one week’s worth of theatrical run to qualify for consideration.

©SHUTTERSTOCK

Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement that the organization’s commitment to the theatrical experience is ‘unchanged and unwavering’. In previous years, the board has faced pressure to relax its streaming-related rules. Netflix, in particular, has pushed for in inclusion in the awards competition.

Among other high-profile Academy members, Steven Spielberg has been known to speak out about maintaining a certain distinction between streaming and theatrical releases.

Next year’s ceremony for the 93^rd annual Academy Awards is set to take place on 28^th February but the board has mentioned that additional changes might be required as we approach that date, ‘based on national guidelines, state-mandated government orders and Academy-determined best practices’.

Given this year’s low ratings for the famed ceremony, the board has approved a few more procedural changes—among them allowing all members to vote in the International Film category, previously known as Best Foreign-Language film.

The Academy also announced that the current award season is to be the last in which studios may distribute DVD screeners to voters. Citing environmental reasons, distribution of screeners will shift to digital as of 2021.

Actors Steve Zahn and Assol Abdullina, along with Alice Wu’s ‘The Half of It’ (2020), were some of the winners of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.

‘The Half of It’ will be released on Netflix on 1^st May of this year, and it follows Ellie Chu, a shy, top-of-her-class student who makes extra cash by writing papers for her high school mates. She reluctantly agrees to write a love letter for an enamoured jock to his crush, a girl that Ellie is also fawning over. All three students embark on a journey of complicated friendship and self-discovery in the drama-comedy film that was included in the slate of juried awards.

‘THE HALF OF IT’ (2020), ©NETFLIX

Jan Komasa’s ‘The Hater’ (2020) took the prize for best international narrative feature, while ‘Socks on Fire’ (2020), directed by Bo McGuire, was awarded for best documentary feature.

Given the worldwide halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, most in-person award shows have switched to streaming and digital, and Tribeca made no exception. This year, its winners were announced on Instagram.

Tribeca Film Festival co-founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal said: ‘We are fortunate that technology allowed for our jury to come together this year to honor our filmmakers. Despite not being able to be together physically, we were still able to support our artists, which has always been at the heart of the Festival.’

The full list of winners:

U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION CATEGORIES

Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, ‘The Half of It’, directed by Alice Wu.

Best Actress in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film, Assol Abdullina in ‘Materna’.

Best Actor in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film, Steve Zahn in ‘Cowboys’.

Best Cinematography in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film, Greta Zozula, Chananun Chotrungroj, Kelly Jeffrey for ‘Materna’.

Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film, Anna Kerrigan for ‘Cowboys’.

 

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION CATEGORIES

Best International Narrative Feature, ‘The Hater’ (Poland), directed by Jan Komasa.

Best Actor in an International Narrative Feature Film, Noe Hernandez for ‘Kokoloko’ (Mexico).

Best Actress in an International Narrative Feature Film, Shira Haas for ‘Asia’ (Israel).

Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature Film – Daniella Nowitz for ‘Asia’ (Israel).

Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature Film, Prashant Nair for ‘Tryst with Destiny’ (India, France).

 

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION CATEGORIES

Best Documentary Feature, ‘Socks on Fire’, directed by Bo McGuire.

Best Cinematography in a Documentary Film, Alejandro Mejia for ‘499’.

Best Editing in a Documentary Film, Amy Foote for ‘Father Soldier Son’.

 

BEST NEW NARRATIVE DIRECTOR COMPETITION

Best New Narrative Director, Gaspar Antillo for ‘Nobody Knows I’m Here’.

 

BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR COMPETITION

Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award, Jessica Earnshaw for ‘Jacinta’.

 

THE NORA EPHRON AWARD

The Nora Ephron Award, ‘Asia’, directed by Ruthy Pribar.

 

SHORT FILM COMPETITION CATEGORIES:

Best Narrative Short, ‘No More Wings’, directed by Abraham Adeyemi.

Best Animated Short, ‘Friends’, directed by Florian Grolig.

Best Documentary Short, ‘My Father the Mover’, directed by Julia Jansch.

Student Visionary Award, ‘Cru-Raw’, directed by David Oesch.

 

TRIBECA X AWARDS

Best Short, ‘Pay Day’, directed by Morgan Cooper.

Best Series, ‘Girls Room’, directed by Tiffany Johnson.

Writer, Lena Waithe.

Best Feature, ‘U Shoot Videos?’, directed by Morgan Cooper.

Major film festivals worldwide have joined forces to keep moving despite the COVID-19 pandemic currently reshaping everything in our lives, including the economy and the movie and TV industries.

Tribeca Enterprises and YouTube will put together the ‘We Are One: A Global Film Festival’, which features new and classic movies from all over the world. This special event will run over the course of ten days, with programming from the Berlin International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, New York Film Festival and even the Cannes Film Festival, to name but a few.

©TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL/PHIL YOON

Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Film Festival Co-Founder and CEO, said in a press release: ‘We often talk about film’s uniquely powerful role in inspiring and uniting people across borders and differences to help heal the world. All of the world needs healing right now. We Are One: A Global Film Festival unites curators, artists and storytellers to entertain and provide relief to audiences worldwide. In working with our extraordinary festival partners and YouTube we hope that everyone gets a taste of what makes each festival so unique and appreciates the art and power of film.’

Although the programme will be free to watch on YouTube, viewers are encouraged to donate to the World Health Organization and other local relief partners currently working to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The ‘We Are One: A Global Film Festival’ will run from 29 May until 7 June.

Adrian Wootton, British Film Commission and Film London’s CEO, is currently leading the UK’s Inward Investment Recovery Group, which coordinates with producers, studios, streamers, unions and other industry bodies as to how work can be safely resumed once the pandemic restrictions are eased. ‘Everything is on the table’, the industry vet said regarding a manual that is currently being drafted to help kick-start production post-lockdown.

The working group, focused more on high-end film and TV drama, is one of more units set up by the BFI to handle the fallout from the COVID-19 crisis. There are also groups working on exhibition and distribution (led by the CEA and FDA), domestic broadcasters (led by John McVay, PACT chief executive), and independent film (helmed by Ben Roberts, BFI’s CEO).

‘KILLING EVE’ (2018), ©BBC AMERICA

The Inward Investment Group, which has its own legal and VFX/post-production subdivisions, has partnered with the BFI on getting British cameras rolling once more. Their effort reaches all the way to the U.S. studios, Netflix and Amazon included among them, and key UK hubs like Pinewood and Warner Bros. Leavesden.

‘Our intention is to produce a robust code of practice and protocols, covering best practice on set, insurance, risk, liability, medical advice, travel and more. The manual will help us build our argument to government that we have a recovery plan and can get back to work’, Mr Wootton explained.

One cannot argue how important this movement is, since there are billions of dollars at stake. Last year alone, the UK’s production spend jumped to $4.7 billion (£3.6 billion), a 16% increase from 2018. Hit shows such as ‘The Crown’ (2016), ‘His Dark Materials’ (2019), ‘Killing Eve’ (2018), along with films like ‘No Time to Die’ (2020) and ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ (2021) have helped supercharge the industry.

Netflix signed a deal to turn Shepperton into its UK production hub, while Disney forged a similar deal for Pinewood. Content created at both plus other UK hubs dominated the box office and online streaming, as well. Unfortunately, this year, the numbers will see a dramatic drop. Production has stopped across the country: ‘The Batman’ (2021), ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ (2021), ‘The Witcher’ (2019) and ‘Sex Education’ (2019) are just some of the impacted projects, whilst cinemas are all closed.

Mr Wootton hopes that consultation for the post-lockdown guidelines will be completed in a few weeks. Once they’re drawn up, they will be vetted by British health authorities, aiming to resume production within months. While this is hopeful indeed, the government has yet to announce any exit strategies regarding the pandemic restrictions. ‘We’d love to think that shooting might start again in mid-summer but that is completely out of our hands. That is up to the government’s lockdown policies. I want to get us to a position to be able to make the request. The government is listening. They are asking for recovery plans’, he said.

Asia and Scandinavia have recently resumed production on their film and TV projects. Based on this, Mr Wootton went on to add that they’re ‘looking at every example [they] can find of where people are developing protocols. Whether it’s the U.S., Scandinavia, Australia or the domestic UK broadcasters who are working on news and current affairs programs. Work is happening on a daily basis’.

‘SEX EDUCATION’ (2019), ©ELEVEN/NETFLIX

In conversation with Deadline and when asked about what the manual would cover when it comes to on-set practice, Wootton said it would include ‘contact, cleansing, volume of people on and off set, protective equipment, travel’. It will likely be available to download online once it’s ready, he added. Regarding the notion that studios might adopt their own measures, he said: ‘I’m sure each company will want to make amendments. But the studios are integral to our group. We are engaging everyone, and we are hoping to have one guide that will work across the industry’.

Ted Sarandos of Netflix said last week: ‘We’re currently in production in Iceland and in Korea, and we’re taking some of those key learnings about how we run those productions today and applying that to our plans to start our productions around the world’.

For British producers and studios, however, it would likely take longer for things to return to how they were—if that’s even a possibility, anymore. ‘There are going to have to be modifications to the way film and TV shows are made’, Mr Wootton said. ‘There will be differences. It won’t just go back to normal in a few months. The government has said that social distancing will likely be in place until the end of the year. Producers we’ve spoken to are very aware of this’.

With all this in mind, he is also optimistic about the UK’s ability to recover. ‘We’ve got a lot of work to do. Everyone is relishing it because they want to get back to work. The UK was in a fantastic position before COVID-19. The demand for content on the streamers is going through the roof. My medium-term view is that the demand is going to be even greater for UK talent, infrastructure and content, but we’ve got to get back to work. That’s our fixation now’.

‘We can help with the national recovery’, Mr Wootton continued. ‘We can employ a lot of people very quickly and generate income quickly. After 2008, the creative industry bounced back quickly and helped the economy. The creative economy grew at 9 percent last year compared to 3 percent for the economy as a whole. We helped keep the UK in the black. Our argument to government is that if you can help us get back to work, we can help UK PLC.’