epidemic sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. But in truth it was the culmination of weeks of mounting anxiety — in executive suites and corporate boardrooms, on studio lots, across television and film sets, at red-carpet premieres and in multiplexes and concert venues — that has left Hollywood fearfully staring into an abyss of uncertainty.
Suffice it to say, it’s difficult to fathom just how massive an impact this epidemic will have on the world, especially the entertainment industry, a multibillion-dollar business built on a foundation of public gatherings and routine travel. One thing, at least, is clear: Should the virus continue to spread on its current trajectory, Americans need only look across the Atlantic to Europe to grasp their immediate future, and across the Pacific to Asia to see where things will ultimately lead.
“They’re absolutely unique among public media companies because they are a pure streaming play,” says Imperial Capital analyst David Miller. “Consumption of streaming is obviously going to increase if people stay inside.”Jesse Tyler Ferguson, star of “Take Me Out” “If the insurance companies take the position that there are no exclusions for communicable diseases, then globally that will shut down production until this is over,” says Chris Spicer, an attorney with Akin Gump.
“It’s been a bad year for Hollywood in China, and it’s not going to get much better,” says Stanley Rosen, a USC political science professor and an expert on the China film market. Other industry veterans predict that theater shutdowns will be regional, not nationwide. That would make the economic fallout less intense.
“Entertainment will be particularly hard hit. People are scared right now, and they’re not going to want to spend a lot of time in a crowded theater.”Indeed, studio executives are privately worried about traveling to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual trade show for theater owners. No studio has yet dared to blink and pull participation from the annual event, where the movie companies trot out stars and exclusive footage to pump up the exhibitors for the coming year.
“There’s an interesting paradox,” says John Sloss, head of Cinetic, a management and sales company. “It’s not good for the festivals, but people are going to be trapped in their houses and they’re going to consume more content. So that’s not great for the theatrical experience, but it’s good for people selling movies to streaming platforms.”
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