Episode Details

Having directed and produced such shows as Jack Ryan, Hunters, For All Mankind, Hell On Wheels, Legion, Waco, Goliath, and frankly too many others films and shows to count...Dennie Gordon is no stranger to working with giant crews on massive sets. Having also directed a feature film in China during the SARS outbreak, I think it’s safe to say that Dennie knows something about keeping her crew members safe despite the risks.

And not more than 2 minutes into our interview, Dennie rolled the following grenade into the middle of the room:

“I think the cameras are going to start rolling again when there’s a vaccine.”

Whoah.

So what does that mean for everyone who’s livelihoods depend on cameras rolling? On needing makeup and hair done, sets to be designed, built, and painted...lights to be set up, focused to be pulled, costumes to be purchased and fitted, and in the case of most of my listeners...footage that needs to be cut.

What’s the plan if cameras don’t roll again until we have a vaccine? And are there alternatives? Will production flee to other states or other countries that are willing to take the risks? Are crew members going to have to choose between unemployment or signing death waivers?

There are a lot of questions right now, and neither I nor Dennie promise to have the answers. But we do our best to discuss all of the various options out there so all of us can make more informed decisions about what comes next.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• Despite the “when there’s a vaccine” grenade Dennie rolled into the room, she assures us the Industry is putting protocols in place to make sets as safe as possible. But we have a long road ahead.
• Why she thinks talk shows, game shows, stage studio events will come back much sooner. Location set pieces won’t come back for a while.
• The astonishing story of Dennie Gordon's experience working on a feature film in China DURING the SARS-COV2 outbreak.
• Insurance. Waivers. Liability… Who’s really going to take this on at the end of the day?
• What should we expect working on set to look like before a vaccine?
• How do we tell good stories while following physical distancing guidelines?
• How can creative professionals continue building their careers? After all, we never learn anything when we’re not working.
• How will we be able to collaborate at the same level as before? For example, if writer’s rooms are meeting on Zoom calls instead of in person, how much gets lost in the creative process?
• Why not create stories that reflect the reality we’re living in with COVID-19?
• Dennie’s thoughts on having everyone live on set as a closed community where everyone is tested. (Example: Tyler Perry who built a set on a former army barracks.)
• Does she think people will be willing to live in a quarantined set, isolated from family and friends for months just to have a job again?
• What about reality shows? Will they resume before scripted?
• People in some countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Czechoslovakia, Iceland, & South Korea have already started shooting. What opportunities does that present?
• How do you navigate production when one state says they’re not ready to start shooting because it’s unsafe and in the next state, they’re saying “We’re already making television, what are you guys doing over there?”
• Since it’s going to be more expensive for productions to operate and doing so with less