While delaying movie and/or TV show release dates is nothing new to the world of Hollywood, having productions and release dates being pushed back years or postponed indefinitely has never been seen before.
Actress Taylor Misiak is in the new TV show “DAVE.” This new comedy TV show is close to being FXs’ most watched comedy series according to online news source Deadline. “You know, all things considered, quarantine is not that bad,” Misiak said. “With everything that’s going on in the world, it feels silly to complain about feeling bored or restless.”
According to Misiak, “Our schedule [on “DAVE”] wasn’t largely affected by COVID-19,” and “Dave Burd, our showrunner Jeff Schaffer, and the post-production crew were finishing the edits, sound mixes and color on our last few episodes when the shelter in place order began. Fortunately the work was able to be finished remotely and the season was completed safely.”
Misiak doesn’t know how Hollywood will be affected in the future by this pandemic.
“I do think it will take time for film and television to get totally back on its feet…Fortunately the industry isn’t at a total stand-still,” Misiak said. “A lot of shows are still being written in virtual writer’s rooms and others that have already been shot are being edited and given finishing touches remotely.”
Stuntman, Lexter Santana, has worked on big budget TV shows such as “Marvel’s Runaways” and “Fear The Walking Dead.”
Santana said that most of the projects he is working on now have been delayed, but will most likely be pushed back further.
“Most projects have been delayed for two months,” he said. However, the impact is minimal, according to Santana, who believes the amount of work left to be done can be finished by a relatively small number of people.
“As soon as I started working on [Fear The Walking Dead], not even a week went by and then the news was like ‘Yep. Shut everything down, we’re going to just call it in,’” Santana said. “But with everything going on I just think it’s better for everyone to be safe.”
Documentary director Tim Harris is located in Philadelphia. His most recent project “Mr. Y Not” was released during quarantine.
“I think it’s a pretty sharable film,” Harris said.
Harris believes that it’s “impossible” to know how COVID-19 is going to affect the film industry moving forward.
“Who knows when we’ll be back [working], but safety is the number one priority,” Harris said.
According to Harris, “We are not legally allowed to shoot at the moment.”
Harris said that commercial film, which he also creates, is a non-essential business.
“So even if we wanted to shoot, which we don’t at the moment, we could not,” Harris said.
Up and coming actor, Warden Wayne has had a few projects that have been delayed. This would include a short film he was supposed to star in as it was delayed another year because of COVID-19.
“Mostly, I’ve just been quarantined,” Wayne said. “I have had a few projects that have been pushed back because of [COVID-19],” he added.
COVID-19 has hit the world of film and television very hard, putting multiple projects on hold even huge movies or TV shows. Yet, the people working on these movies and TV shows during this time have hope for the future.
“Film and TV can serve as a great comfort during tough times,” Misiak said. ”I know Hollywood is going to keep telling stories, even if we have to figure out creative ways to do it.”