Waiting for a meeting at agency powerhouse Creative Artist Agency (CAA) is the stuff of film school dreams. Perched on the leather chairs in the lobby, one might catch a glimpse of an A-list client descending the sweeping staircase, or rekindle an important industry relationship while waiting to be summoned by an agent. An actual meeting at CAA could be the launchpad to a green light on a project. But a week ago, the agency shuttered its lobby doors to all outsiders in a quest to fight a monster not of Hollywood’s making: the novel coronavirus also known as COVID-19. And on Thursday the agency mandated that all employees worldwide begin working from home at the close of business.
Major film events and release dates for tentpole movies have already been canceled, and upcoming social highlights like the Cannes film festival are teetering on the pandemic bubble. But what about life in Hollywood itself, where the multibillion-dollar entertainment industry is built on a foundation of daily social interactions? Any given player’s weekly calendar usually includes breakfasts and power lunches peppered with meetings, moving into evenings filled with dinners, cocktail hours, and screenings.
What happens when the government advises social distancing in a town built on relationships? Well, your future entertainment landscape is going to see some potholes.
Non-employees are being barred from some Hollywood offices, where even internal meetings are now being handled via phone or teleconference. Most employees at Universal TV worked from home Wednesday, a trial run for when telecommuting becomes mandatory. Word has it that New York’s HBO satellite is already working remotely; I hear that Netflix, A&E, and Apple are also planning to work from home as soon as Monday, while major studios are considering the option for at least some employees.
Another Hollywood sea change: movie testings—i.e. previews for focus groups—are getting harder to schedule because audiences are growing reluctant to sit in movie theaters. Without test screenings, films can’t be edited for maximum audience satisfaction, which means even more release dates are likely to be pushed. One director whose test screening was recently cancelled told me this week that they had no idea when their movie would now be released.
While it’s been at least a week since meetings in an office setting and screenings began to be limited across Hollywood, meals between agents, managers, producers and executives were still happening as recently as Tuesday. But as of Thursday, manager Russell Hollander is looking at his entire schedule and trying to determine which in-person meetings aren’t mandatory. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to help slow the coronavirus,” he told me.
Meanwhile, if you’re a writer looking to pitch a studio for a sale or a job, it’s time to remember your Skype password and set up a decent backdrop in your home office—though nothing has the same oomph as an actual in-person meet-and-greet. “So much of landing a job is having confidence in that person’s ability, which you can only feel in a meeting,” a writer’s rep told me. Other meetings or pitches are simply being canceled, which could be due to heightened germ awareness—unless coronavirus panic is being used as an excuse to pass on certain projects.
Numerous projects in pre-production are pushing their shooting schedules into the future to ensure the safety of their casts and crews, as well as for a slightly less obvious reason: insurance companies won’t bond them during the COVID-19 outbreak. Universal Television delayed production on Russian Doll, Little America and Rutherford Falls, shows that didn’t have firm start dates, while writing goes on as planned. Writers’ rooms, creative hives where new shows are written, are another place in Hollywood where in-person collaboration is paramount—yet the writer’s rep told me Thursday that their client is part of a room that’s supposed to start Monday. As of then, they were still in the dark about whether that was going to happen. Does no room mean no show? No one in Hollywood knows yet.