How do actors connect with their audience on screen while maintaining a safe distance from each other on set? Paul Bernstein, vice chair of Venable's Entertainment and Media Group, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on Hollywood's plans to resume production roughly three months after being shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the article, Hollywood is saddled with a new reality that is likely to continue to disrupt work for at least several months. Before actors, directors, producers, and crews return to set, a range of issues need to be resolved, including coronavirus-safety protocols.
California's decision to allow production to move ahead came after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood's major studios, submitted preliminary safety guidelines to state and county authorities.
Some of the guidelines are similar to what most of the country has been doing for months—wearing masks and social distancing. However, that obviously doesn't work for actors in front of the camera.
"The trick is getting the talent to feel comfortable showing up on set," Bernstein said. Even with lots of testing, he expects television and movie shoots to steer clear of intimate scenes in the short-term.
"It will be like when the married couples had to have separate beds and one foot on the floor," he joked.
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