In The News

With the era of easy money long gone, producers are looking to co-production, financing and distribution models pioneered by the independent film industry.

The bubble — that surge of cash that over the past decades helped bankroll an unprecedented boom in TV drama production — appears to have burst. TV producers, gathered in Cannes this week for the MIPTV international television market, are pondering a future in which the cost of TV drama continues to spike while the primary sources of financing, namely broadcasters and online streamers, are slashing their commissioning budgets.

Officials have announced that Hollywood’s COVID policy will expire for the film and TV industry on May 11th – including the mandate that required all cast and crew to be vaccinated. “The date coincides with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ end to the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration on May 11,” the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers said. Any production with a vaccination mandate in effect as of May 11 will continue to implement the procedure throughout the duration of filming.

What will AI (artificial intelligence) do to Hollywood? Who better to answer that question than ChatGPT, a thrilling but scary chatbot developed by OpenAI. When the Guardian asked it about AI’s potential impact on the film industry, it made the following points. 

Travelers are being inspired to visit destinations they have seen on screen. According to a travel trends report, 66% of travelers have considered trips to destinations based on a movie or TV show they’ve streamed. TV tourism, or tourists visiting a destination after learning about it on a TV show, can boost the local economy by increasing tourism and spending. It can also increase cultural awareness as visitors learn about the destination’s history, traditions, and way of life.

The Writers Guild of America has commenced high-stakes negotiations with studios over a contract set to expire on May 1 — which could lead to the first strike in nearly 15 years, a prospect that would cause massive disruption to television and film projects across the industry. The guild is seeking higher compensation for writers, a boost in contributions to pension and health funds, and better workplace standards. Most notably, the guild wants to factor in the streaming economy into compensation packages for its members.