You can add an Instagram show to the Russo Brothers’ already full plate.
“Russo Bros. Pizza Film School” premieres Friday, May 15 on the social media platform. Each week, Joe and Anthony Russo, Cleveland’s most famous movie directors, will interview a guest about a classic film over a slice of a pizza. The brothers will reveal the name of movie to be highlighted prior to each episode so that fans can watch it and take part in the discussion during the live shows. New episodes will stream every Friday at 8 p.m. on their Instagram page.
The Russo Brothers are going back to the world of “Extraction.”
Cleveland native Joe Russo reached a deal to write the script for “Extraction 2,” Deadline reported Monday. The sequel (or prequel?) for the Netflix hit will be produced at AGBO, the entertainment company he runs with brother Anthony.
Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one of the signature shows produced in New York. Amazon
With production at a standstill in most of the world, the path back for New York-based film and TV producers is particularly fraught.
The city is the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with nearly 300,000 people infected and about 18,000 people dead.
In an effort to coordinate the early conversations about the restart, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is convening the first of two Zoom calls Thursday for those in the industry affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Hundreds of freelance filmmakers, craftspeople, producers and executives are expected to dial in given the swirl of uncertainty and the acute safety and financial hazards that lie ahead.
Robyn Beck / AFP An aerial view of an empty Hollywood Blvd on April 27, 2020.
Collective quarantines, staggering crew work hours, daily temperature checks, regularly disinfecting props and costumes should be considered, write a trio of employment lawyers.
As communities begin to “flatten the curve” amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, employers have started the difficult task of planning to resume operations. But getting workers back on the job presents a host of unique challenges for employers in the entertainment industry, particularly in on-location production environments.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter | Anthony J. Oncidi, Kate S. Gold, Philippe A. Lebel
April 30,2020
Getty The shuttered Warner Bros. studio lot on April 8, 2020, as TV and film production halt amid a coronavirus pandemic.
Studios and guilds are debating a phased approach that includes pretesting for antibodies, quarantining sets and airline-style packaged meals: “The days of doing an eight-episode show and traveling to five countries are done.”
Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, when predicting the future may seem futile, there’s at least one thing Hollywood is in agreement on: When the industry is eventually able to start up production again, film and TV sets are going to look very different. Gone are the days of grazing on the communal snacks at the craft services table, inviting friends and family to pop over to the set and maybe even kissing scenes between actors — at least until a coronavirus vaccine is widely available.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter | Bryn Elise Sandberg, Etan Vlessing
April 27, 2020
“Everything is on the table”, says British Film Commission and Film London CEO Adrian Wootton about the manual being drawn up to help kick-start production in the UK post-lockdown.
Industry vet Wootton is leading the UK’s Inward Investment Recovery Group, which is co-ordinating a widespread consultation with producers, studios, streamers, unions and industry bodies about how they can safely get back to work once Covid-19 restrictions ease.
Source: Deadline.com | Andreas Wiseman
April 27, 2020
As Hollywood contemplates the risks and uncertainties around going back into production in the coming months after coronavirus-imposed shutdowns, strategies for scaled-back sets are beginning to emerge. Producers Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Chris Ferguson — from the companies Automatik (“Honey Boy,” “Bad Education”) and Oddfellows (“Child’s Play”), respectively — have created a proposal titled “Isolation Based Production Plan,” which Variety has obtained.
Cleveland-born filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo love playing with moviegoers’ expectations: from taking over a Marvel superhero franchise and turning it into an homage to 1970s conspiracy thrillers in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” to lopping off the villain’s head and time jumping five years into the future within the first 20 minutes of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Source: Cleveland.com | Joey Morona
April 24, 2020
The film industry in Cleveland was beginning to thrive before COVID-19 brought filming and production to a halt.
“Unfortunately, the breaks were put on because you have to think of all the other industries that are impacted, just to crew a film. If the vendors aren’t able to work, a production is unable to work,” says Evan Miller, President of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.
Miller continued, “We had a Netflix film that was in the middle of its 5 day shoot and then we had a Lion’s Gate film that was prepping to shoot here. That was actually supposed to start next week and they had to go on a hold.”
The good news, Miller says, is that Lion’s Gate film is planning to come back. Not only that, but with Ohio’s current situation compared to other states, there are plenty of other projects calling as well.
Sweden Coronavirus Janerik Henriksson/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Film and TV shoots could soon be back underway in two Euro countries, Sweden and Denmark, with a local producer penning a guide that it says allows production to resume.
Hobby Film, which specializes in commercials, published the notice, titled “The New Rulebook: Guidelines for Film Production in Sweden and Denmark,” on its website. The company said that at present there were no specific government guidelines in place for the film and TV industries regarding resuming shoots, but that its guide was compiled from broader applicable rules that apply to all work environments in the countries.
