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.’

The upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures have announced that a number of prolific filmmakers will collaborate on exhibitions when the museum opens—among them, Spike Lee and Pedro Almodóvar, as well as composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, Oscar winner for her ‘Joker’ (2019) music score, and Ben Burtt, a veteran sound designer of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise fame.

Bill Kramer, the Academy Museum’s director, announced the details of these future partnerships on Saturday. The institution is due to open on 14^th December this year, nearly a decade after the project was first made public.

‘We will open the Academy Museum with exhibitions and programs that will illuminate the complex and fascinating world of cinema — its art, technology, artists, history, and social impact — through a variety of diverse and engaging voices. We will tell complete stories of moviemaking — celebratory, educational, and sometimes critical and uncomfortable. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy, these first exhibitions will establish this museum as incomparable in the world of cinema’, Mr Kramer said in his statement.

SPIKE LEE, ©JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP

He also acknowledged that this announcement comes at a difficult time for most museums, movie theatres and other cultural establishments, given that the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to shutter for the foreseeable future.

‘We are keenly aware that we’re working towards the opening of the Academy Museum during a time of great challenge. Over the past century, motion pictures have reflected and impacted major historical issues and events. The stories we tell in the Academy Museum are part of those bigger stories, and we are committed to highlighting the social impact of motion pictures. We look forward to brighter days for everyone, everywhere’, the Academy Museum’s director added.

PEDRO ALMODOVAR, ©NICO BUSTOS

The six-level museum will be located at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, and its exhibits will tell stories of our beloved film industry—stories from all over the world, giving visitors an opportunity to dive into the arts and sciences of filmmaking. Among the planned galleries, the Academy museum will focus on classics such as ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939), ‘Citizen Kane’ (1941), ‘The Matrix’ (1999), along with works from Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s stellar animated production company.

Spike Lee won his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay last year thanks to ‘BlacKkKlansman’ (2018), after an honorary award received in 2016. Pedro Almodóvar has earned his own share of Oscars over the years—one for ‘All About My Mother’ (1999) and another for ‘Talk to Her’ (2002). Ms Guðnadóttir is only the fourth woman in history to win the Best Original Score Academy Award, and Mr Burtt is the recipient of plenty of trophies of his own for the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981), ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982), and ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989).

The coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc through the British film industry, halting filming on most major TV shows. In response, the BBC has outlined a plan for assisting the UK production community.

Given that its funding is guaranteed by the licence fee, the BBC is in a most fortuitous position, keen to show that it’s using this advantage of relative stability to support program makers across the country. According to Deadline, the proposed five-point plan covers the following:

1. Supporting producers with shuttered shows. The BBC stated that it would be flexible regarding delivery times. There will also be cash flow solutions on offer, on a ‘title-by-title’ basis.

2. Doubling its Small Indie Fund. Plans were set out in January to offer access to a £1M development funding pot to producers whose revenue is below £ This fund will now be doubled to £2M.

3. Supercharging development. Although production has stopped, the BBC said it will increase development spending across the program-making community. There will also be clarifications about short- and long-term opportunities.

4. Boosting BBC Three’s nations and regions initiative. The youth channel is looking to build on partnerships with regional organizations such as Northern Ireland Screen to develop and pilot ideas from out-of-London indies.

5. Ramping up acquisitions and archive investment. The BBC has pledged to spend more on finished programs, but also archive material.

LORD TONY HALL, BBC DIRECTOR GENERAL, ©BBC PICTURES/DIGITAL PICTURE

‘We recognise this is an incredibly challenging time for all of those working in the creative industry and especially the smaller independent production companies. We want to do what we can to keep creativity focused and thriving so that we can continue to bring audiences the high-quality content that they expect. These measures demonstrate our long-term commitment to sustaining the creative health of the industry, right across the UK’, says BBC director of content Charlotte Moore.

Bal Samra, the BBC group’s commercial director, added: ‘It’s at times like these that the creative industries need to pull together – to make sure the sector we return to at the end of the pandemic is as rich and vibrant as the one we have now.’

There are wonderful news coming from the United States! Amazon Prime Video have teamed up with SXSW to launch ‘Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection’, which offers filmmakers in the 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup an invitation to opt in to take part in this online film festival.

The 10-day film festival part of this year’s SXSW was among the many casualties of the last-minute cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival was meant to be a joyous cinematic celebration that included everything from Hollywood blockbusters to sleeper indie flicks and Academy Award-winning documentaries.

In fact, SXSW Film is a crucial part of a small, yet important network of festivals meant to help artists find distributors and get onto the screens. Its cancellation means the abrupt end of a years-long dream for many filmmakers, depriving audiences of new, fresh works of film.

THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE IN AUSTIN ©SHELLEY HIAM

Fortunately, this new collaboration will ensure that these movies will be screened through Amazon’s streaming platform, for the very first time. The Texas-based festival and the tech giant announced the creation of a one-time online film jamboree where filmmakers who were meant to debut their work at SXSW 2020 can do so on Prime. Running the length of SXSW itself, the movie fest will stream for 10 days in the United States, and it will be available for free, with or without an Amazon Prime membership.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a press release: ‘We’re honoured to be able to provide a space for the SXSW filmmakers to share their hard work and passion with audiences for the first time.’

According to the same release and while the dates are yet to be determined, the Prime film fest could begin by late April. Not much is known about the line-up, either, but filmmakers who were originally slated to appear at SXSW have received details on how to take part. On top of that, they will also be paid a screening fee for the ten days of the festival.

‘I’m thrilled that these two great champions of indie film (SXSW and Amazon Prime Video) are teaming up to resurrect this year’s cancelled film festival’, Jay Duplass, independent filmmaker and SXSW alum, said. ‘These are unprecedented times, and it’s going to take unprecedented solutions to carry on and celebrate these great films and the people who worked so hard to make them.’

On 24^th March of this year, SXSW Film announced the 2020 Jury and Special Award winners of what would have been the 27^th festival. Hopefully, the 28^th will find us all back in Austin.

A multi-year distribution deal has been signed between Entertainment One and fledgling scripted indie Three Tables Productions, according to Variety. Under this agreement, the British company will develop and produce original scripted programming for eOne to distribute worldwide.

Recently acquired by American toy and media company Hasbro for $4 billion, Entertainment One has been expanding its portfolio over the past few months. In a bid to further grow on UK domain, they’ve signed on with Three Tables, founded by an impressive trio: former Leopard Pictures head of development David Chikwe, ex-UK Film Council executive Himesh Kar, and J.T. Wong, an entrepreneur and investor. David Green is chairman of the production company—he also founded September Films, after which he became CEO and then-chairman of DCD Media.

THREE TABLES PRODUCTIONS

Three Tables is currently developing drama projects aimed at the British and international markets, including projects that are in partnership with France Télévisions’ france.tv studios and the BBC. Among their talents, they have writer Beatrix Christian of ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ (2018), writer Simon Block of ‘The Windermere Children’ (2020) and ‘The Eichmann Show’ (2015), writer Bola Agbaje of ‘Gone Too Far!’ (2013), and Veronica Gleeson, better known for ‘Sixteen’, presently in pre-production.

During his time with Leopard Pictures, Mr Chikwe co-created and series produced CBBC’s ‘Eve’ (2015), as well as BBC1’s ‘Missing’ (2009), starring Pauline Quirke.

As a senior executive for the UK Film Council, Mr Kar was responsible for selecting and overseeing the development, financing and production of films—among them ‘Man on Wire’ (2008), and ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ (2006) by Ken Loach. He was also a managing director for Speakit Films and an executive producer for ‘Walk with Me’ (2017), fronted by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Mr Wong is a co-founder of Mystical Productions, which gave us ‘The Mysti Show’ (2004-2005) on Saturday mornings on BBC.

‘We are continually looking for ways to grow our distribution pipeline with commercial and individual content from truly creative suppliers. This new deal with Three Tables is a great opportunity to get in at ground level on just that’, Noel Hedge, eOne’s EVP of acquisitions, said.

The film industry is suffering tremendously due to the shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to help, the South Korean government has announced a set of measures to support the local film industry, which has been negatively impacted during the outbreak.

According to Variety, multiplex chains will be exempted from having to contribute to the country’s film development fund, for example. The fund usually operates as a mandatory contribution of 3% from the gross box office. Since 2017, that has amounted to more than $40 million annually, and the government has stated that the exemption will apply retroactively from early February.

Another measure involves a subsidy for the marketing costs of twenty selected films that were forced to cancel their theatrical releases during the months of February and March, when audience numbers were dismally dropping. Cash injections have also been proposed for twenty selected film productions, where filming was halted because of the pandemic. There will also be a provision of specialized vocational training for four hundred casual workers who’ve lost their jobs in the industry because of the coronavirus crisis.

‘PARASITE’ (2019), ©NEON CJ ENTERTAINMENT

In the past decade or so, Korean cultural industries have had remarkable success on the international market, mostly powered by K-pop music and the export of Korean dramas. Further contributing to the Halyu wave was ‘Parasite’ (2019), Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece which won a slew of Cannes prizes and Academy Awards, among other prestigious trophies. Last year was particularly fortuitous with record box office numbers, but takings have fallen dramatically since the COVID-19 outbreak.

KOFIC (the Korean Film Council) have reported that barely over 1.83 million tickets were sold in March of this year which, when compared to 14.7 million in the same month of 2019, proves that the South Korean movie industry has taken a severe hit. February 2020 didn’t do much better either, with a depressed 7.37 million tickets sold. Needless to say, the government’s proposed measures are more than welcome at this point.

The aforementioned fund contribution exemption only serves the industry’s largest companies, since small exhibitors were already spared of these payments. On top of that, since the fund contribution is a percentage of ticket revenue and not a flat fee, the recent box office drops would have already reduced the big chains’ requirement to pay.

The Korean Film Council is also due to announce its own set of supportive measures soon enough, in a bid to further help the movie industry recover from a crisis that is taking a massive toll on creatives worldwide.