Coronavirus Throws Hollywood’s Tight Schedules Into Disarray
- James Bond delay follows ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ shutdown
- ‘We’re lighting candles to various gods and deities’
The crew fled so quickly after last week’s decision to delay filming of “Mission: Impossible 7,” Paramount Pictures forgot to cancel the welcome party at the opulent Gritti Palace Hotel in Venice, Italy. When a handful of straggling technical workers showed up, they feasted with silver cutlery and exquisite china in a mostly abandoned banquet hall.
That kind of confusion -- and needless spending -- has been characteristic of Hollywood in the coronavirus era. On-location production work, often planned years in advance, has been rescheduled at great cost. After halting filming in Venice, Paramount said this week that “Mission: Impossible” shooting scheduled for Rome this month would also be delayed. And even completed films are in trouble: Shuttered movie theaters in Asia have forced studios to scrap some premieres and rethink their schedules for the rest of the year.