Production is restarting with elaborate precautions to protect the cast and crew.
An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. |
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 | | The New York Times |
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A new frontier for Hollywood |
After a five-month hiatus, Hollywood film production has returned. But you won’t find cast and crew members in Los Angeles County, where coronavirus cases remain high and testing is scarce. Instead, studios are shooting overseas, bringing numerous safety protocols with them. Among the first test cases is Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which has become a model for moviemaking in the Covid-19 era. |
Shot mainly outside London, “Jurassic World” resumed production in early July with some 750 people. To keep the virus at bay, Universal spent about $9 million on measures that include an entire rented hotel for the cast and crew, 150 hand sanitizer stations and temperature stations staffed by nurses. A comprehensive manual covers details like how to serve meals, which are vacuum sealed and distributed from behind plastic barriers. |
Production has been divided into two categories: a larger one with departments that don’t need regular access to the set and a smaller “Green Zone” for the director, cast and essential crew. Green Zone workers and hotel staff members are screened three times a week for the virus, thanks to a supply of 18,000 tests, and sets are regularly fogged with antiviral mist. After an initial two-week quarantine, the cast and crew have been able to wander their hotel bubble mask free — no social distancing required. |
Only two crew members who had been on set in England have tested positive for the virus. Others have been sent to a second filming location in Malta, where four have tested positive. Universal said no one had fallen seriously ill. |
Production changes are one thing, but the pandemic has also thrown a wrench into film debuts. Some Hollywood executives believe consumer behavior may be shifting permanently as big-budget films opt for streaming debuts over theater premieres, explained Nicole Sperling, a Times reporter who covers media and entertainment. “But then there’s the argument that once theaters are open again, aren’t people going to want to get out of the house?” |
Changes onscreen. People in the film industry say the future of TV and movies will be defined by austerity, The Washington Post reports. Don’t expect many crowd scenes, real-world locations or displays of romance. And expensive virus safeguards could mean there will be cutbacks in other areas, like the number of takes for each scene, resulting in a less polished final product. |
A risk factor for men only? |
A new study suggests that extreme obesity puts men — but not women — at higher risk of death from Covid-19. |
Researchers analyzed thousands of patients at a Southern California health system and found that extreme obesity was a risk factor for dying, particularly among men and patients 60 or younger. For reasons that scientists don’t fully understand, obesity on its own did not appear to increase the risk for women. It could be physiological: Women carry weight differently from men, who tend to have more visceral and abdominal fat. |
The findings influenced the debate about the risks of reopening schools, and it’s a reminder that when making important decisions about the coronavirus, it’s important to look at the entire spectrum of evidence, rather than any one specific study. |
Treatment delays. Clinical trials for monoclonal antibodies, drugs that make Covid-19 less deadly, are taking longer than expected. Researchers at a dozen clinical trial sites said that testing delays, staffing shortages and reluctant patients were causing them to delay potential treatments by week or months. |
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What else we’re following |
- The U.S. agreement with Canada and Mexico to limit nonessential travel has been extended a fifth time, through Sept. 21, the Department of Homeland Security said today.
- The cost of “learning pods” — often from $30 an hour per child to $100 or more — has prompted concerns that they could make public education even more unequal.
- Researchers have found a way to sanitize N95 masks for reuse using electric cookers like the Instant Pot, The Washington Post reports.
- Cosmetic surgeons say business is booming, with quarantine offering an opportune time to recover in secrecy.
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| When the public beaches closed in South Carolina, I started live-streaming sunrise from the ocean for my friends who were craving a nature fix. Somehow it’s become a daily thing: it gives me a way to connect with distant friends and connect them with one of the most basic, reassuring parts of nature. |
| — Judy Drew Fairchild, Dewees Island, S.C. |
Let us know how you’re dealing with the outbreak. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
| Sanam Yar contributed reporting to today’s newsletter. |
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