, Hollywood studios and content production companies are ramping up their efforts to respond to the human and economic impact of a potential pandemic.Pictures Entertainment shook off its Oscar hangover from wins for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Little Women” and Matthew Cherry’s “Hair Love,” a note went out from human resources apprising staff of the Japanese-owned studio of the latest travel restrictions and best practices from the World Health Organization and the CDC.
The memo closed with what many American businesses with interests in China, particularly at the coronavirus origin site in the city of Wuhan, have heard: Individuals who have recently visited mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau were to work from home for two weeks.Quarantines have been in effect around the world, keeping families separated and affecting the due course of business since late January.
At Universal, employees have been advised not to travel to China. Only “critical business cases” would be permitted with pre-approval from management, an individual familiar with the company said. Same for, which is taking guidance from the WHO, CDC and State Department. Chinese employees of IMAX have been working from home and teleconferencing with employees in New York, while the China-owned Legendary Entertainment has slowly seen employees return to the office.
In numerous interviews with studio executives and producers this week, the biggest takeaway was the need for show business leadership to respond confidently to any outcome.
“In the short term especially, the impact is huge,” Li Dan, a Beijing-based film festival organizer, told