COVID-19 and impact on entertainment industry

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AMC bans Universal films from its theaters over 'Trolls World Tour' spat - CNN

AMC bans Universal films in their theaters and this is due to Trolls World Tour movie's success as an on-demand release instead of in theaters, due to the pandemic.



The bolded part is what has movie theater owners worried as they would likely loose even more business if more movies become available on-demand at the same time as they open in theaters.

AMC is just signing their own death sentance.
 

discostu

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We'll see what the response is when the first Universal mega release comes out and who blinks first.

I understand where theatre owners are coming from and the desire to protect their business, but this seems very short sighted.

I also don't think the success of the Trolls movie is going to be a good indication of viability of direct video release. The market is starved and people will pay more for homes video options whenever they're can't leaves their house.

It also seems like a foolish time to wage thsi type of war when you're facing bankruptcy.
 
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Jumptheshark

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One of my buddies who works in the Vancouver scene is telling me that they might not start shooting till September at the earliest. Due to an outbreak amongst CW staff(while the shows are more or less independent, they share offices and other stuff and while none of the staff have died, reportedly several behind the scenes people did get it) and the network wont start till it is cleared up
 

Mario_is_BACK!!

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I'd imagine the same would apply to anything filming in Australia (such as the next Thor and Shang-Chi). Their cases are down to zero. If anything is filming in New Zealand, where it's pretty much eliminated, could do the same. Government willing of course.
 

discostu

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I wonder how work Visas are being managed for this type of stuff. If I'm NZ or any country opening up film industry, one of the conditions would be minimizing foreign crew. You'd want these productions using the local industry as much as possible,but for these big budget films, that's probably only feasible to a point.
 
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x Tame Impala

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I wonder how work Visas are being managed for this type of stuff. If I'm NZ or any country opening up film industry, one of the conditions would be minimizing foreign crew. You'd want these productions using the local industry as much as possible,but for these big budget films, that's probably only feasible to a point.

Yeah I was wondering something similar. I'm not sure how reluctant people would be to have a bunch of people from more infected countries coming down NZ or wherever and start filming again
 

beowulf

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It will be interesting what new material, movies, songs, books, come out of the quarantine

Puscifer released a new song and the video and lyrics are very much influenced by the current world situation

Verse 1]
Concrete conclusions be damned
They won't believe you until it's far too late

[Chorus]
Be damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned
Be���damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned
Be damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned
Be damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned

[Verse 2]
Go on, moron, Ignore the evidence
Skid in to Armageddon
Tango Apocalyptical

[Chorus]
Be damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned
Be damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned

[Verse 3]
Go on, moron, Ignore the evidence
Skid in, tango
Apocalyptical
[Refrain]
They won't believe you until it's far too late
They won't believe you until it's far too late

[Chorus]
Be damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned
Be damned, dumb
Dumb, be dumb
Damned

[Verse 4]
Jog on (Jog on)
Head down, ignore the evidence (Head down, ignore the evidence)
Trippin' (Trippin')
Over Armageddon
Moonwalkin' Apocalyptical

[Refrain]
Concrete conclusions be damned
It's far too late
Concrete conclusions be damned
It's far
Too late

[Outro]
It's far
Too late (Too late)
It's far
Too late
It's far
Too late
 

kook10

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One of my buddies who works in the Vancouver scene is telling me that they might not start shooting till September at the earliest. Due to an outbreak amongst CW staff(while the shows are more or less independent, they share offices and other stuff and while none of the staff have died, reportedly several behind the scenes people did get it) and the network wont start till it is cleared up

The biggest hurdle is negotiating a back-to-work scheme with all the unions and guilds, which want a unified approach. This might mean significant changes to existing bargaining agreements with regard to working conditions, minimum staffing, night and weekend premiums etc. They want fewer people on set at any given time, so spreading everyone out will significantly change the workflow.
 

bleedblue1223

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Jan 21, 2011
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Well it seems like Disney is owning everything, so why can't Amazon?
I wouldn't say Disney owns everything, just a lot in their area. Now they are probably getting to big. Amazon on the other hand is already spread throughout many industries and destroying them to the point where they have significant control of the markets. Bezos is a modern day Rockefeller, and that's not a good thing.
 

Osprey

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Feb 18, 2005
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I can see anti-trust lawyers having a problem Amazon owning a theatre chain

Actually, it's the anti-trust division of the U.S. Department of Justice that is behind all of this. They've been looking at lifting the "consent decrees" that barred movie studios from owning theaters way back in 1948. Amazon (and a number of other big studios) are considering buying up theaters only because the government is close to making it legal again.

Justice Department Moves to End Paramount Antitrust Decrees – Variety
 
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kook10

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Jun 27, 2011
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I can see anti-trust lawyers having a problem Amazon owning a theatre chain

Trump's DOJ specifically rolled back the rules from US v Paramount last year. Even if there is some grumbling, he is not one to let lawyers get in the way.

Trump’s Justice Department Wants to Change the Movie Industry

At that point, it was seen more as a move to pander to the streamers so they could meet the theatrical requirements for the Oscars. That was seemingly why Netflix bought the Paris Theatre in NY. Now, in the age of COVID, there is a whole different context to it all which would raise the hackles of some regulators. However, the POTUS is not known for admitting mistakes and reversing course.
 

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