money Captain America is 'hopeful' Hollywood will bounce back from COVID-19 pandemic
Cameras are slowly starting to roll again in Hollywood as the movie industry begins to wake up from its coronavirus pandemic-induced slumber.
Some movie and TV productions have resumed filming with quarantined sets and innovations such as love scenes using mannequins.
FilmLA, the nonprofit that tracks production in the Greater Los Angeles area, says filming from July through September declined by 55% compared to the same time last year. It’s estimated that Hollywood shutdowns due to the pandemic will cost the film and television industry upwards of $20 billion.
Actor Chris Evans, best known for his role as the Avengers’ Captain America, tells Yahoo Finance that work has been “slow.”
“It’s tricky, everyone’s kind of on pause right now,” says Evans. “I will say Hollywood is slowly making steps in the right direction of going back to work. I have a few friends who are in productions right now and it’s a lot of overhead, trying to make sure they can work safely during this time.”
Evans is waiting to start filming on the Warner Bros. re-remake of “The Little Shop of Horrors” where he’ll play the sadistic, abusive dentist Orin Scrivello, a role made famous by Steve Martin in the original 1986 film.
“That’s so exciting, I’m thrilled to be a part of that,” says Evans. “Again, it’s one more job that’s kind of up in the air right now because I think a lot of people have a lot on their plate. So hopefully that goes next year sometime in the summer, and I really can’t wait.”
Evan’s Marvel co-star Scarlett Johansson will play his love interest, Audrey, in the highly anticipated reboot.
Of course, even when the film is made, there’s no guarantee it will premiere in theaters. A growing list of Hollywood blockbusters have been forced to skip the cinemas and debut straight to streaming services as movie theaters remain closed or open at reduced capacity because of the coronavirus.
Warner Bros.’ “Tenet” cautiously reopened in a limited number of theaters in late summer, while tentpole films like “Soul” will debut on Disney+ Christmas Day.
Many movie studios are pushing back release dates in the hope of buying time until people feel safe going back to movie theaters.
Comcast’s Universal has pushed back the 25th James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” by an entire year. It will now arrive on April 2, 2021.
That revised timeline for a growing list of films may prove to be a death knell for the movie theater industry. AMC, the world's largest theater chain, warned this week it could run out of money by the end of the year.
“Wouldn’t that be a heartbreaker if that goes away,” says Evans, referring to movie theaters. “I’m ever sanguine that things will equalize and get back to some sort of recognizability. I don’t know how and I don’t know when, but I’m hopeful.”
Alexis Christoforous is co-host of Yahoo Finance’s “The First Trade.” Follow her on Twitter @AlexisTVNews.
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