Producer Jason Blum has some choice words about the industry post-COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on a lot of things. It was an unexpected pothole in the road that no one expected to affect things as much as it did. The result has been countless projects getting pushed back indefinitely, in addition to releases getting pushed. At this point, it does seem like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but you can never be sure. This goes double for film productions, which require massive numbers of cast and crew in one place.

So, when could we expect things in Hollywood to pick up again? When could they finally finish up the productions they started and move forward with new ones? This is a question the Los Angeles Times asked many filmmaker sin the industry. From Gina Prince-Bythewood to Akiva Goldsman and Roy Lee, and they all gave their opinions about when Hollywood would be making movies again.

Their answers varied from June to the fall of this year. However, one producer’s comment caught my eye. Jason Blum of Blumhouse productions had a more nuanced answer that singled out big productions.

“I do think smaller productions will start sooner, but I don’t think we’re going to see Marvel movies shooting, or big expensive movies, until 2021,” Blum told the outlet. “The real answer to your question is that it’s all about when testing will be in this country as good it is in other places, which it isn’t yet.”

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Blum brings up a good point. It’s almost too early to be counting our chickens on that one — thought studios are understandably already sticking stakes in the ground. In an uncertain business, you need to lay your claim and assume for the best, otherwise, you get nothing done. But I do think Blum is right about the productions ramping up. It’s not going to change from one day to the next, but over the course of months.

So, what does this mean? I think we’ll have to be ready to accept the fact that even MCU shows like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier won’t actually be coming out this fall. 

But one greater concern Blum had had to do with the industry’s aversion to taking risks. It’s already bad, but with business doing badly, it could bring about less innovation.

“I am concerned that people will be less likely to take risks on artists who have slightly less experience,” Blum siad. “But I hope that we haven’t lost the progress the industry has made over the last couple years on that front. I don’t think we’ll lose it, but I don’t know if it’s going to go as quickly as it had been going before this happened.”

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If nothing else, Blum predicts the consolidation of power we’ve already started seeing will be accelerated. In these uncertain times, large companies are the ones best suited to survive. 

“I think we were going in a world where those guys were going to control a big bite of distribution and now I think that’s going to happen even more quickly,” Blum said.

Yeesh, that’s a pretty bleak picture, isn’t it? A world where no one is taking risks and everything comes from the major powerhouses. In a world like that, those indie filmmakers will become rarer commodities for film nerds. I suppose all we can do is support the artists we love and let studios know that unique content is to be celebrated not abandoned. Then again, I understand the irony of that as I write for a website dedicated to big blockbusters.

How do you feel about Jason Blum and his comments on the industry post-COVID-19? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: LA Times