WITH Prime Minister Andrew Holness's announcement on Monday that bars, nightclubs, pubs, and other related facilities be closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jamaica, media consultant Clyde McKenzie says players in the entertainment industry, will suffer a major financial blow.
The firm says the pandemic "will materially weaken Disney's operating and credit profile over the near term."
That number represents about 80% of the 150,000 members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, according to the IATSE. Leaders of the International Cinematographers Guild, which has about 9,000 members and operates as IATSE Local 600, made the disclosure about the IATSE estimate in a message to members as part of its most recent weekly newsletter.
If the situation continues in April and theatres stay closed, the losses will reflect in quarters two or three. Films will either clash or release within a short gap of one or two weeks.
The Federation of Western India Cine Employees is organising the distribution of ration and basic materials of daily needs to the needy members of all its affiliates.
There's no information yet on whether Vijay''s 'Master' will be pushed but several other films have decided to postpone their release dates.
"In light of the complete shutdown of all production-related activity for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is bound to be a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of daily wage earners in the industry," said the President of The Producers Guild of India, Siddharth Roy Kapur.
Producers of March 13 releases in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam will face 70 to 80% loss due to the sudden closure of theaters. Together, the producers of these films will face 70 to 80 crores loss.
The suspension of shooting of films and TV shows should have been immediate, but because of the pressure under which all the daily soaps operate, I guess they decided to give a 3-day leeway to create some sort of a bank of episodes.
The first time we are seeing something like this where the world has come to a standstill.