3 Ways Hollywood Adapted To Quarantine

by Kevin Faber

Like most other industries, film and television were highly affected by quarantine. Fortunately, creatives in Hollywood managed to keep releases coming. Audiences were still able to delight in new offerings, despite the necessary delays and changes. So, if you're wondering how this happened, here are three ways Hollywood adapted to quarantine. 

1. Streaming Became the New Normal

When quarantine hit, live entertainment was one of the most affected industries. After all, sitting next to strangers wasn't exactly safe. Movie theaters, most of which couldn't change the seating arrangements, were particularly affected. Because of this, releasing movies in theaters was no longer profitable. So, streaming became the new normal. Several platforms began streaming new releases for a certain fee. One of the first platforms to do this was Disney+. This site began allowing viewers to see new films after joining another membership. Unfortunately, this caused problems with actors who lost money in the process. This resulted in a highly publicized lawsuit involving Scarlet Johannsen. Another platform that participated in this was HBO Max. Many new releases were available to watch with an HBO Max subscription. Unfortunately for post-production companies, this wasn't exactly easy. Everything, from editing to releasing, had to be done online. Fortunately, most were able to use services like cloud monitoring to release films. While this caused delays, it allowed audiences to continue enjoying new projects.

2. Projects Were Delayed

Unfortunately for lovers of film and TV everywhere, the pandemic delayed a lot of projects. Many of these were highly anticipated releases that had already started filming. While this was devastating for many people, it was made less difficult by some interesting release strategies. One particularly well-known example of this is Lucifer. This show, which depicts the devil solving crimes in Los Angeles, had planned to release a fifth season during the pandemic. So, when quarantine forced filming to stop, fans prepared for a long wait. Fortunately, most of the season had already been filmed. Because of this, the first half was released during quarantine. This kept fans sated while everyone remained safe. It's also important to remember that Hollywood is still catching up. Films like The Batman, Death on the Nile and West Side Story, all of which were released post-quarantine, were delayed several months to a year. While this can be difficult for fans to endure, it's reassuring to know that Hollywood is hard at work. Sure, waits will be longer. However, movies are still being made. 

3. Directors Got Creative

For some Hollywood producers, waiting at home wasn't an option. Of course, filming something during quarantine was extremely dangerous. So, the directors that had to keep going got creative. Soap operas during the time are a great example of this. If you watch some of the quarantine-era soap operas, you'll see a lot of scenes with actors standing far apart. Unfortunately, since soap operas generally involve love scenes, this made some segments undeniably awkward. Some directors tried to fix this awkwardness by using props. For instance, the Pushing Daisies-signature of kissing through plastic became fairly popular. In one especially funny example, a woman had an intimate conversation with what was obviously a dummy. Sure, the more high-profile TV shows and movies couldn't do this. However, there are clear signs of quarantine-era filming in current projects. Many films and shows have scenes where characters are far apart. While this is generally explained away by the plot, it's pretty clear that the space is mandatory.

The pandemic brought many changes, several of which don't seem to be going away. So, it may be time to embrace streaming and other quarantine-based policies.