vox--2020-04-20--The Quarry is a slow-burn Western about guilt, racism, and salvation on the US-Mexico border

I ’ ve been friends with Scott Teems for years .
He ’ s a multitalented writer and director who ’ s worked in both TV ( most notably as a writer on the critically acclaimed show Rectify ) and film .
His 2009 film That Evening Sun , starring Hal Holbrook , Ray McKinnon , Walton Goggins , and Mia Wasikowska , won several major prizes at its South by Southwest ( SXSW ) premiere .
In 2014 , Teems reunited with Holbrook to make Holbrook/Twain : An American Odyssey , a documentary about Holbrook ’ s long-running one-man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Over the years , I ’ ve been lucky enough to have many conversations with Teems about filmmaking , the business , and how to tell a truthful story that dives into all facets of life , from human nature to religion to violence , love , and contrition .
Now Teems has returned with The Quarry , a slow-burning tale of sin and redemption , though maybe not in a way we expect it .
The film centers on a mysterious man with a dark past ( Shea Whigham ) who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ border .
The man poses as a preacher to fit into his new community and soon discovers that the place contains some darkness of its own .
Also starring Michael Shannon in a terrific role as the hard-bitten local sheriff , The Quarry is a meditation on a lot of things — forgiveness , old hurts , racial wounds , grief — and doesn ’ t try to provide any easy answers .
The Quarry was slated to premiere in March at SXSW , but after the festival was canceled due to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ digitally on April 17 .
I spoke to Teems , who ’ s currently working from his home in Los Angeles , to talk about the film , why he chose to tell this story , how he approaches the role of religion in his writing , and a lot more .
Our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity .
How did this film come about ?
After I made my first film , That Evening Sun , I was looking for another project .
This was 10 years ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ Damon Galgut ’ s 1995 novel The Quarry ] somewhere online .
I was immediately hooked by the premise .
It had a classic set-up : stranger rolls into town , claiming to be someone he ’ s not .
We ’ ve seen a bunch of stories like that , but this had a particular bent to it that grabbed me .
It sort of tapped into themes that interest me greatly , namely men , violence , religion , and where those things intersect , collide , explode , crash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So I read the book .
It ’ s set in post-apartheid South Africa , written in ‘ 95 , so it was very different .
But I felt like the hook was so universal that it could be translated to another setting , another milieu .
Racial injustice and strife is not relegated to South Africa .
It felt very relevant , and it ’ s only become more relevant in the 10 years it took to make this movie .
I wanted to set it in Texas because it felt like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Big ideas need a big canvas .
You don ’ t get much bigger than Texas .
That just spoke to me , and it all kind of fell into place .
I worked on the script for a while , and eventually brought my friend Andrew Brotzman to work on it with me [ as co-writer ] , to help me get it to the finish line , and he ’ s become a great partner in this project over the years .
What does the research process entail for a movie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a lot of details to get right when you ’ re making a movie set in a place where cultures collide .
I ’ ve never been one who loves a lot of research .
I was never a good student in school , so I never had great study habits .
I get antsy when I ’ m developing a story , and I just want to write .
What interests me are personal interactions , getting two people in a room with opposing points of view , or opposing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or whatever .
I like getting people in situations where there ’ s going to be some combustion .
That ’ s what interests me , because that ’ s how I expose and explore human nature .
Ultimately , what interests me in all the stories I ’ m telling is human nature and what does it mean to be human — all of our warts and all of our beauty and all of our terror .
How each of us contain multitudes .
For me , in some ways , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of people who have prejudice or who are prejudiced — myself included , even when I don ’ t know I am .
Ultimately , to me , it ’ s not about studying the ways of prejudice or racism or bigotry ; it ’ s more about studying myself and the people I ’ ve experienced , the times I ’ ve experienced that in my life .
Often racism is a much more subtle thing than what we usually see on television .
Of course , those things do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Charlottesville .
The history of America is riddled with very overt types of racism and prejudice .
But I often see it happening more subtly .
It ’ s a cultural blindness .
You don ’ t even know that you ’ re doing it .
The chief [ in The Quarry ] would not claim he ’ s a racist .
The chief would say , “ What are you talking about ?
My two deputies over here , my best buds , they ’ re two Mexican guys , and my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to place blame is on the person who doesn ’ t look like him .
The first inclination .
He doesn ’ t even consider anything else , that it might be someone else .
That ’ s the way it manifests , I think , in a lot of people .
It ’ s more insidious .
It ’ s not so overt .
I ’ ve seen a lot of movies that take place near the border between the US and Mexico that have come out in the past decade or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extremely bleak .
They ’ re trying to reinvent the Western , where there are good guys and bad guys .
The Quarry isn ’ t exactly a Western , but it shares some characteristics with Western — including the stranger with a dark past who rides into town .
But in contrast to some of those other movies , which lean deeply into exploring the broken , craven sides of humanity , The Quarry seems really interested in the people themselves as humans in search of redemption .
One thing that attracted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subverted the usual way these stories are told .
Usually , these movies begin with the stranger rolling into town .
The movie then becomes a question of Who is he , and what has he done ?
What I liked about The Quarry was that from the beginning you know exactly what he ’ s done .
That changes the emphasis .
It changes the focus of the story , the thrust of it .
It ’ s no longer , “ Who is he and what has he done ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the cost of what he ’ s done , and how is that going to manifest itself upon him and everyone else throughout the story ?
” In The Quarry , the man at the center of the story is like an Alka-Seltzer tablet dropped into the water of the town , and it just stirs up everything .
He ’ s a catalyst for change among everyone else .
He prompts reactions from everyone else — good and bad , positive and negative , and in himself as well — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That was what interested me .
It changed the focus to become much more personal .
It became about the burden of guilt and conscience , the weight of conscience .
Certainly , when you ’ re making a Texas noir kind of story , you stand in the shadow of films like No Country for Old Men , especially in the last decade .
That was certainly an influence on me and this .
I think it ’ s a perfect film , and it ’ s impossible not to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But ultimately , I ’ m just trying to tell my own story .
Another movie that really influenced me is Paris , Texas .
Paris , Texas and No Country for Old Men are two very different movies with very different sorts of narrative thrust .
But I think there is a humanness and a warmth to Paris , Texas , and a starkness to No Country .
How my influences work on me is I try to soak in the things that are good , and hopefully some of that will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work .
I ’ m not consciously trying to emulate or riff on anything , but I ’ m hoping that it just sort of spills out , and some goodness from those works of art that have so inspired me will somehow leak into this too .
The Quarry also made me think a lot of Cormac McCarthy ’ s Border trilogy , and All the Pretty Horses in particular .
McCarthy seems to tell stories on the border , where the Americans want to have agency and forget about the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past is always going to shape you and catch up with you .
In his stories , history is alive in Mexico .
In The Quarry , a guy trying to get away from his past is actually confronted by it because he puts himself into a position where he ’ s always reading the Bible out loud to people in the church , and it tears at him .
I feel like the Bible can be tricky to integrate into a movie like this without people thinking you ’ re trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ?
Sure .
Any time religion has come into play in stuff I ’ ve done , most prominently in Rectify — the reason [ the most religious character in Rectify ] worked as a character was that her faith was a part of who she was .
It was organic to her , and it informed the story but wasn ’ t the story .
It just was a part of it .
It felt true to the world .
There were many different voices with different beliefs that informed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I feel like that ’ s the pathway toward authenticity — iron sharpens iron , and no one ’ s going to let your propaganda get through .
Not even that it ’ s propaganda intentionally .
Sometimes you can ’ t even help it when you ’ re just writing from who you are , and if that ’ s a thing you believe .
That ’ s a part of my life , certainly — religion and faith — but I ’ m hyperaware of how I integrate it into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest in any kind of propaganda .
I just have such a distaste for it , so I trust that if it ’ s bad , it ’ s not gon na pass my sniff test .
The last thing in the world I want to do is make something that feels trite .
I actively push against that .
And I think that ’ s ultimately what The Quarry is trying to do : Push against your perceptions of what the Bible is or what faith is .
Because if what the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if God is real , then it ’ s going to stand up to any test I can throw at it .
That ’ s what I ’ m interested in — banging on my belief system , banging on what I was raised on , how I was taught .
What is the meaning of forgiveness ?
Who can be forgiven ?
How does that work ?
I hope the end of The Quarry makes people uncomfortable , because I try to address that idea head-on .
But I try to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re pretending to be a preacher , the Bible is going to be a part of it .
That ’ s unavoidable .
This idea struck me early on : If you didn ’ t know what you were doing , you would do the bare minimum to get by .
You would do everything you could to not expose yourself as a fraud .
As soon as you opened your mouth with your own opinion , if you ’ re pretending to be something you ’ re not ; you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he just does the one thing that guarantees him not to be fraudulent , which is just to read the words on the page [ of the Bible ] .
If that is transformative or revelatory for somebody , the reader or the congregation , that ’ s interesting to me .
Might it be also a commentary on evangelicalism in America ?
Perhaps .
Maybe not .
The cult of personality ?
Maybe .
That ’ s a little bonus for me , if nothing else .
But I feel like it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world and the characters .
There ’ s a great moment where the “ preacher ” reads a totally random , apocalyptic passage at a graveside and Michael Shannon ’ s character says , “ That ’ s a weird fuckin ’ verse.
” And I mean , yeah !
How many times have you wanted to say that in church ?
I know .
That ’ s the beauty of it .
That ’ s the Bible .
The Bible is deep and beautiful and weird as hell , and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elements of it , because you have to wrestle with verses like the one he reads at the funeral .
That ’ s in there .
You have to deal with it .
We have to deal with it if we ’ re going to engage the Bible at all , and there ’ s nothing to be afraid of .
So I ’ m just trying to call a spade and spade and say , “ That ’ s weird .
What does that mean ?
” It interests me .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s certainly not going to be afraid of my inquiries or my attacks against it .
They ’ re not even attacks ; I ’ m just trying to punch holes in it and see if it stands up , because that ’ s my interest as a person who ’ s constantly trying to examine and reexamine my own relationship to it .
How I feel about it today is different than how I felt about it yesterday .
I ’ m just very , very fortunate that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this scale .
I feel so grateful that this movie exists , because if I step back and look at those little details , it ’ s kind of a miracle that this got made .
Speaking of that : This movie was supposed to premiere at South by Southwest , which was canceled .
How do you feel about that ?
How have your hopes for the film shifted or morphed from what you were thinking a few months ago ?
Certainly , it ’ s a disappointment .
I love the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ culture .
I love the opportunity to celebrate the movie with all the people that worked on the movie .
There ’ s such great value in the festival experience and that community .
And we lost that , and we mourn for that .
But I really believe there ’ s an opportunity now , with this crisis that we ’ re in , to offer the world a strange and suspenseful and thoughtful diversion to occupy their time .
The irony is that more people will probably see this movie now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planned , small theatrical release , going up against a lot of bigger movies .
Now those things have cleared away .
We have a bit more of a path , and people at home to see it .
My hope is that more people will see it .
I ’ ve made peace with that .
But it ’ s never going to be great that we didn ’ t get to show the movie at South by Southwest .
I was thinking the other day about something you once said to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2014 documentary ] Holbrook/Twain .
You said , “ This is a film that grows.
” When you said that , I said , “ That ’ s what I want my movies to do.
” What I took that to mean is that the movie started out a certain way and then it evolved .
It went in places you didn ’ t expect it to , and it got bigger on a thematic level as it went along , in a surprising way .
That ’ s what I was trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all my movies — to start out toward a goal that you think we ’ re going toward , and then thematically it turns and becomes something hopefully deeper and richer .
If I can accomplish that , then that ’ s real victory .
The Quarry is available from a variety of on-demand services , including iTunes , Amazon , Google Play , YouTube , and Vudu .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ save lives .
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I’ve been friends with Scott Teems for years. He’s a multitalented writer and director who’s worked in both TV (most notably as a writer on the critically acclaimed show Rectify) and film. His 2009 film That Evening Sun, starring Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, and Mia Wasikowska, won several major prizes at its South by Southwest (SXSW) premiere. In 2014, Teems reunited with Holbrook to make Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey, a documentary about Holbrook’s long-running one-man show in which he plays Mark Twain. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to have many conversations with Teems about filmmaking, the business, and how to tell a truthful story that dives into all facets of life, from human nature to religion to violence, love, and contrition.
Now Teems has returned with The Quarry, a slow-burning tale of sin and redemption, though maybe not in a way we expect it. The film centers on a mysterious man with a dark past (Shea Whigham) who arrives in a town near the US-Mexico border. The man poses as a preacher to fit into his new community and soon discovers that the place contains some darkness of its own. Also starring Michael Shannon in a terrific role as the hard-bitten local sheriff, The Quarry is a meditation on a lot of things — forgiveness, old hurts, racial wounds, grief — and doesn’t try to provide any easy answers.
The Quarry was slated to premiere in March at SXSW, but after the festival was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the film was released digitally on April 17. I spoke to Teems, who’s currently working from his home in Los Angeles, to talk about the film, why he chose to tell this story, how he approaches the role of religion in his writing, and a lot more. Our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Alissa Wilkinson
How did this film come about?
Scott Teems
After I made my first film, That Evening Sun, I was looking for another project. This was 10 years ago. I came across the synopsis for [Damon Galgut’s 1995 novel The Quarry] somewhere online. I was immediately hooked by the premise. It had a classic set-up: stranger rolls into town, claiming to be someone he’s not. We’ve seen a bunch of stories like that, but this had a particular bent to it that grabbed me. It sort of tapped into themes that interest me greatly, namely men, violence, religion, and where those things intersect, collide, explode, crash together. That grabbed me instantly.
So I read the book. It’s set in post-apartheid South Africa, written in ‘95, so it was very different. But I felt like the hook was so universal that it could be translated to another setting, another milieu. Racial injustice and strife is not relegated to South Africa. It felt very relevant, and it’s only become more relevant in the 10 years it took to make this movie.
I wanted to set it in Texas because it felt like a big story with big ideas. Big ideas need a big canvas. You don’t get much bigger than Texas.
That just spoke to me, and it all kind of fell into place. I worked on the script for a while, and eventually brought my friend Andrew Brotzman to work on it with me [as co-writer], to help me get it to the finish line, and he’s become a great partner in this project over the years.
Alissa Wilkinson
What does the research process entail for a movie like this? It seems like there’s a lot of details to get right when you’re making a movie set in a place where cultures collide.
Scott Teems
I’ve never been one who loves a lot of research. I was never a good student in school, so I never had great study habits. I get antsy when I’m developing a story, and I just want to write. What interests me are personal interactions, getting two people in a room with opposing points of view, or opposing desires, or one with a secret, or whatever. I like getting people in situations where there’s going to be some combustion. That’s what interests me, because that’s how I expose and explore human nature. Ultimately, what interests me in all the stories I’m telling is human nature and what does it mean to be human — all of our warts and all of our beauty and all of our terror. How each of us contain multitudes.
For me, in some ways, it was quite simple. I know a lot of people who have prejudice or who are prejudiced — myself included, even when I don’t know I am. Ultimately, to me, it’s not about studying the ways of prejudice or racism or bigotry; it’s more about studying myself and the people I’ve experienced, the times I’ve experienced that in my life.
Often racism is a much more subtle thing than what we usually see on television. Of course, those things do happen, too; we all saw Charlottesville. The history of America is riddled with very overt types of racism and prejudice. But I often see it happening more subtly. It’s a cultural blindness. You don’t even know that you’re doing it.
The chief [in The Quarry] would not claim he’s a racist. The chief would say, “What are you talking about? My two deputies over here, my best buds, they’re two Mexican guys, and my girlfriend …” But his first inclination to place blame is on the person who doesn’t look like him. The first inclination. He doesn’t even consider anything else, that it might be someone else.
That’s the way it manifests, I think, in a lot of people. It’s more insidious. It’s not so overt.
Alissa Wilkinson
I’ve seen a lot of movies that take place near the border between the US and Mexico that have come out in the past decade or so. A lot of them are extremely bleak. They’re trying to reinvent the Western, where there are good guys and bad guys. The Quarry isn’t exactly a Western, but it shares some characteristics with Western — including the stranger with a dark past who rides into town. But in contrast to some of those other movies, which lean deeply into exploring the broken, craven sides of humanity, The Quarry seems really interested in the people themselves as humans in search of redemption.
Scott Teems
One thing that attracted me to this story was that it subverted the usual way these stories are told. Usually, these movies begin with the stranger rolling into town. The movie then becomes a question of Who is he, and what has he done?
What I liked about The Quarry was that from the beginning you know exactly what he’s done. That changes the emphasis. It changes the focus of the story, the thrust of it. It’s no longer, “Who is he and what has he done?” It’s now, “What is the cost of what he’s done, and how is that going to manifest itself upon him and everyone else throughout the story?” In The Quarry, the man at the center of the story is like an Alka-Seltzer tablet dropped into the water of the town, and it just stirs up everything. He’s a catalyst for change among everyone else. He prompts reactions from everyone else — good and bad, positive and negative, and in himself as well — and then he goes through his own transformation.
That was what interested me. It changed the focus to become much more personal. It became about the burden of guilt and conscience, the weight of conscience.
Certainly, when you’re making a Texas noir kind of story, you stand in the shadow of films like No Country for Old Men, especially in the last decade. That was certainly an influence on me and this. I think it’s a perfect film, and it’s impossible not to be influenced by it in some respects. But ultimately, I’m just trying to tell my own story.
Another movie that really influenced me is Paris, Texas. Paris, Texas and No Country for Old Men are two very different movies with very different sorts of narrative thrust. But I think there is a humanness and a warmth to Paris, Texas, and a starkness to No Country.
How my influences work on me is I try to soak in the things that are good, and hopefully some of that will organically pour out of me into my work. I’m not consciously trying to emulate or riff on anything, but I’m hoping that it just sort of spills out, and some goodness from those works of art that have so inspired me will somehow leak into this too.
Alissa Wilkinson
The Quarry also made me think a lot of Cormac McCarthy’s Border trilogy, and All the Pretty Horses in particular. McCarthy seems to tell stories on the border, where the Americans want to have agency and forget about the past, whereas the Mexicans know that the past is always going to shape you and catch up with you. In his stories, history is alive in Mexico. In The Quarry, a guy trying to get away from his past is actually confronted by it because he puts himself into a position where he’s always reading the Bible out loud to people in the church, and it tears at him. I feel like the Bible can be tricky to integrate into a movie like this without people thinking you’re trying to get preachy. Did you worry about that?
Scott Teems
Sure. Any time religion has come into play in stuff I’ve done, most prominently in Rectify — the reason [the most religious character in Rectify] worked as a character was that her faith was a part of who she was. It was organic to her, and it informed the story but wasn’t the story. It just was a part of it. It felt true to the world. There were many different voices with different beliefs that informed that character in the writers’ room. I feel like that’s the pathway toward authenticity — iron sharpens iron, and no one’s going to let your propaganda get through. Not even that it’s propaganda intentionally. Sometimes you can’t even help it when you’re just writing from who you are, and if that’s a thing you believe.
That’s a part of my life, certainly — religion and faith — but I’m hyperaware of how I integrate it into the stories I write. I have zero interest in any kind of propaganda. I just have such a distaste for it, so I trust that if it’s bad, it’s not gonna pass my sniff test. The last thing in the world I want to do is make something that feels trite. I actively push against that.
And I think that’s ultimately what The Quarry is trying to do: Push against your perceptions of what the Bible is or what faith is. Because if what the Bible is talking about is true, if God is real, then it’s going to stand up to any test I can throw at it. That’s what I’m interested in — banging on my belief system, banging on what I was raised on, how I was taught. What is the meaning of forgiveness? Who can be forgiven? How does that work?
I hope the end of The Quarry makes people uncomfortable, because I try to address that idea head-on. But I try to do it honestly and truthfully. When you’re pretending to be a preacher, the Bible is going to be a part of it. That’s unavoidable. This idea struck me early on: If you didn’t know what you were doing, you would do the bare minimum to get by. You would do everything you could to not expose yourself as a fraud. As soon as you opened your mouth with your own opinion, if you’re pretending to be something you’re not; you’re going to expose yourself. So he just does the one thing that guarantees him not to be fraudulent, which is just to read the words on the page [of the Bible].
If that is transformative or revelatory for somebody, the reader or the congregation, that’s interesting to me. Might it be also a commentary on evangelicalism in America? Perhaps. Maybe not. The cult of personality? Maybe. That’s a little bonus for me, if nothing else. But I feel like it’s authentic to the story and the world and the characters.
Alissa Wilkinson
There’s a great moment where the “preacher” reads a totally random, apocalyptic passage at a graveside and Michael Shannon’s character says, “That’s a weird fuckin’ verse.” And I mean, yeah! How many times have you wanted to say that in church?
Scott Teems
I know. That’s the beauty of it. That’s the Bible. The Bible is deep and beautiful and weird as hell, and it’s okay to embrace all those elements of it, because you have to wrestle with verses like the one he reads at the funeral. That’s in there. You have to deal with it. We have to deal with it if we’re going to engage the Bible at all, and there’s nothing to be afraid of.
So I’m just trying to call a spade and spade and say, “That’s weird. What does that mean?” It interests me. This book has stood the test of time. It’s certainly not going to be afraid of my inquiries or my attacks against it. They’re not even attacks; I’m just trying to punch holes in it and see if it stands up, because that’s my interest as a person who’s constantly trying to examine and reexamine my own relationship to it. How I feel about it today is different than how I felt about it yesterday. I’m just very, very fortunate that I’m able to do that on this scale.
I feel so grateful that this movie exists, because if I step back and look at those little details, it’s kind of a miracle that this got made.
Alissa Wilkinson
Speaking of that: This movie was supposed to premiere at South by Southwest, which was canceled. How do you feel about that? How have your hopes for the film shifted or morphed from what you were thinking a few months ago?
Scott Teems
Certainly, it’s a disappointment. I love the film festival community. I love the culture. I love the opportunity to celebrate the movie with all the people that worked on the movie. There’s such great value in the festival experience and that community. And we lost that, and we mourn for that.
But I really believe there’s an opportunity now, with this crisis that we’re in, to offer the world a strange and suspenseful and thoughtful diversion to occupy their time. The irony is that more people will probably see this movie now than would have if we had the planned, small theatrical release, going up against a lot of bigger movies. Now those things have cleared away. We have a bit more of a path, and people at home to see it. My hope is that more people will see it. I’ve made peace with that. But it’s never going to be great that we didn’t get to show the movie at South by Southwest.
I was thinking the other day about something you once said to me, when you saw [my 2014 documentary] Holbrook/Twain. You said, “This is a film that grows.” When you said that, I said, “That’s what I want my movies to do.” What I took that to mean is that the movie started out a certain way and then it evolved. It went in places you didn’t expect it to, and it got bigger on a thematic level as it went along, in a surprising way. That’s what I was trying to do with The Quarry, and all my movies — to start out toward a goal that you think we’re going toward, and then thematically it turns and becomes something hopefully deeper and richer. If I can accomplish that, then that’s real victory.
The Quarry is available from a variety of on-demand services, including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu.


vox--2020-04-20--How the coronavirus outbreak is roiling the film and entertainment industries

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic , which was first identified in China in December , has had sweeping effects in the public health , business , and travel sectors , among others .
And while the repercussions for the entertainment industry may seem to pale in comparison to the clear threat the virus poses to human life , the ripple effects do have implications for the people around the world who make a living producing and distributing movies , music , and more .
The immense and lucrative Chinese film industry was hit almost immediately as movie theaters across the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hollywood soon began to feel the effects , too , and as time passes , the impact of the coronavirus on the global film and entertainment industries will certainly grow .
Consequences of the pandemic on these industries could range from lowered attendance at film festivals and disruptions in film distribution to delayed or canceled movie releases and concert dates to curtailed on-location film shoots .
Financial ramifications will likely be felt by studios , filmmakers , theater owners , and more for months or even years .
Here are the biggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry in response to the pandemic .
Most recently , Warner Bros. announced new release dates for several upcoming movies , including The Batman , and San Diego Comic-Con was canceled .
K-pop concerts canceled , including BTS shows : On February 28 , the hugely popular K-pop group BTS canceled a series of concerts in Seoul .
The shows were scheduled for April 11 and 12 and April 18 and 19 at Seoul ’ s Olympic Stadium .
The group ’ s management agency said the decision was made due to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak in South Korea come April and cited the health and safety of the musicians themselves , workers , and concertgoers .
Two hundred thousand fans were expected to attend .
Days earlier , BTS had asked fans to avoid a series of TV appearances scheduled to promote their newest album , Map Of The Soul : 7 , which had originally been planned to include studio audiences .
The group also appealed to fans via a streamed press conference .
“ Health is always on our minds these days , and our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loving yourself are ultimately only possible when you ’ re healthy , especially since it is very risky outside these days , ” one of the singers , Jimin , said .
” I hope you take care of yourself.
” The entire Korean entertainment sector has been affected by the outbreak , and K-pop has been hit particularly hard , with groups including GOT7 , Winner , Sechs Kies , ( G ) I-DLE , and others canceling scheduled tour dates .
Variety reported that box office revenue in South Korea was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 compared to previous years .
SXSW canceled : On March 6 , the city of Austin , Texas , declared a state of disaster , requiring the cancellation of public gatherings and events for the near future .
The most notable of those is the cancellation of South by Southwest , the annual music , film , TV , and technology festival that serves as a significant financial powerhouse for the city .
The announcement came after a week full of major companies — including Netflix , Apple , Amazon , WarnerMedia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mashable , Intel , and more — dropping out of the well-attended event , canceling panels , premieres , and other appearances .
Days later , SXSW organizers announced that they had laid off one-third of the festival ’ s employees in what they called “ a necessary , but heartbreaking , step.
” Emerald City Comic Con delayed : The organizing body behind Emerald City Comic Con , the largest convention of its kind in Seattle , Washington , announced on March 6 that it will postpone the event until sometime this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run from March 12 to 16 .
“ We did everything that we could to run the event as planned , but ultimately , we are following the guidance of the local public health officials indicating that conventions should now be postponed , ” convention organizers Reedpop said in a statement published on the Emerald City Comic Con website .
Cannes Film Festival delayed : The 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival , arguably the most prestigious film festival in the world , is still in question following an announcement from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the gathering could be delayed until “ late June or early July , ” or another time .
( The festival had been slated to take place May 12 to 23 and draws thousands of industries and press from around the globe each year . )
The festival first issued a statement on February 28 after the first case of coronavirus in nearby Nice , France , was confirmed by the city ’ s mayor , saying that organizers were monitoring the situation but planned for the festival to go forward .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ located on the French Riviera , about 30 km from Nice . )
Coachella delayed : Goldenvoice , the organizers of Coachella , one of the largest annual music festivals in the US , announced on March 10 that the festival would be postponed due to concerns about Covid-19 .
Another Goldenvoice festival , the country music-oriented Stagecoach , has also been postponed .
The Indio , California-based event was originally set to run for two weekends , April 10-12 and April 17-19 , with the same talent lineups performing both weekends .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and October 16-18 .
Stagecoach 2020 has been pushed back from April to October 23-25 .
Electronics Entertainment Expo ( E3 ) canceled : The 2020 Electronic Entertainment Expo ( E3 ) — the single biggest trade show in the video game industry — has been canceled .
The Entertainment Software Association , which organizes the event , announced that it would not go forward with the annual event due to coronavirus fears in California , where E3 takes place .
The event was scheduled for June 9 to 11 .
The organization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about receiving full refunds for passes , and that it is considering ways to “ coordinate an online experience ” in lieu of the in-person event .
It also maintains that E3 will return next year as planned .
The NBA suspended basketball games indefinitely : A player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus on March 11 , leading NBA officials to call off that night ’ s Jazz game just before tip-off .
As a further precautionary measure , the league issued a statement that it would suspend the basketball @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to putting an early pause on the rest of the season , the NBA made other efforts to protect players and fans .
The league barred media from locker rooms , and publicly considered having teams play to empty arenas , before ultimately stopping play altogether .
2020 Tokyo Olympics delayed : On March 24 , following pressure from athletes and multiple nations ’ Olympic committees , the International Olympic Committee and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be postponed , possibly until 2021 ; on March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July 23-August 8 , 2021 .
San Diego Comic-Con 2020 canceled : On April 17 , the organizers of San Diego Comic-Con announced that the yearly fan convention will not go on as planned in 2020 .
The event will resume once again in July 2021 at the San Diego Convention Center .
The cancellation marks the first time in Comic-Con ’ s 50-year history that the event , the largest convention of its kind in the US , will not take place .
Warner Bros. changes release plans : On April 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slate .
The Batman , starring Robert Pattinson , shifted from a release date of June 25 , 2021 , to October 1 , 2021 .
The Many Saints of Newark , a prequel to The Sopranos , was delayed from September 25 , 2020 , to March 12 , 2021 .
King Richard , a biopic about Venus and Serena Williams ’ father starring Will Smith , shifted from November 25 , 2020 , to November 19 , 2021 .
An untitled Elvis movie moved from October 1 , 2021 to November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also shifted dates : Shazam !
2 is delayed from April 1 , 2022 to November 4 , 2022 , and The Flash moved from July 1 , 2022 , to June 3 , 2022 .
So far , the studio ’ s release dates for Christopher Nolan ’ s Tenet ( July 17 , 2020 ) and Wonder Woman 1984 ( August 14 , 2020 ) remain unchanged .
( Wonder Woman 1984 previously shifted from June to August . )
Newest Pixar film delayed : On April 13 , Disney announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soul , would open on November 20 , 2020 .
The film was previously set to open on June 19 .
Disney makes sweeping changes to release calendar : On April 3 , Disney made huge changes to its release calendar , setting dates for movies it had previously pulled without a date and moving others .
Mulan is now set to open on July 24 , 2020 , while Jungle Cruise , which had been set to release that day , moved to July 30 , 2021 .
An untitled Indiana Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to July 29 , 2022 .
Changes in the MCU calendar set off a domino effect .
Black Widow is newly set for November 6 , 2020 , while the previous release on that date , Shang-Chi , shifted to May 7 , 2021 .
Originally , Doctor Strange 2 was set to release on that date ; it ’ s now set to open November 5 , 2021 , displacing Thor : Love and Thunder until February 28 , 2022 .
Black Panther 2 is still currently set for May 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moved from July 22 to July 8 , 2022 .
Disney also owns 20th Century Films and Searchlight Films , which had a number of changes .
The Ryan Reynolds film Free Guy moved from July 3 to December 11 , 2020 .
West Side Story is still set for December 18 and Ridley Scott ’ s The Last Duel for Christmas Day .
Wes Anderson ’ s newest film , The French Dispatch , moved from July 24 to October 16 , 2020 .
Artemis Fowl , which has seen its release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be released on Disney+ .
Release dates for The New Mutants and The Woman in the Window ( originally slated for April 3 and May 15 , respectively ) have not been set yet .
Sony delays nearly all its movies until 2021 : On March 30 , Sony announced that nearly all of its summer tentpole films would be delayed until late 2020 or early 2021 .
Delayed movies include Kevin Hart ’ s Fatherhood , Jared Leto ’ s Morbius , Ghostbusters : Afterlife , Uncharted , and the previously delayed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The only film that appeared unaffected was the Spider-Man : Far From Home sequel , which is still set for theatrical release on July 16 , 2020 .
Wonder Woman 1984 and In the Heights releases delayed : On March 24 , Warner Bros. announced that it would delay the release of Wonder Woman 1984 from June 5 to August 14 .
The studio also pulled three films from its release schedule : In the Heights , an adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical originally scheduled for a June 26 release ; Scoob @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for May 15 ; and Malignant , a thriller from Aquaman director James Wan that had originally been scheduled for August 14 .
( Malignant ’ s move is designed to make room for Wonder Woman 1984 ’ s release . )
NBCUniversal to release major films digitally : In an unprecedented move , NBCUniversal announced on March 16 that it would make some movies available digitally the same day they are released in movie theaters that remain open , including Trolls World Tour , which is set to hit theaters on April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will also be available on-demand , including The Hunt , The Invisible Man , and Emma .
Movies are available for a 48-hour rental period for $ 19.99 in the US and an equivalent price abroad .
Disney postpones major releases : On March 12 , Disney confirmed that three of its biggest releases of the year — Mulan ( scheduled for March 27 ) , The New Mutants ( scheduled for April 3 ) , and Antlers ( scheduled for April 17 ) — would be postponed .
Mulan is now set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Chinese and European premieres of Mulan had previously been delayed as well .
On March 17 , Disney announced the postponement of three more films : Black Widow ( originally set for May 1 ) , The Personal History of David Copperfield ( May 8 ) , and The Woman in the Window ( May 15 ) .
The delays followed movie theater shutdowns in multiple states as well as country-wide shutdowns of Regal and AMC theaters .
No Time to Die : On February 16 , MGM announced that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tour planned for the new James Bond movie , No Time To Die , which was scheduled for April .
On March 4 , the studio announced that it had delayed the film ’ s release until late November , making the film the first major tentpole release to be delayed worldwide .
Sonic the Hedgehog : On February 24 , Paramount Pictures announced that it would delay the release of Sonic the Hedgehog in China , with a new release date to be determined .
Peter Rabbit 2 : On March 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the global release of Peter Rabbit 2 : The Runaway from late March/early April to August .
A Quiet Place Part II : On March 12 , A Quiet Place Part II director John Krasinski announced via Twitter that the movie ’ s March 19 release date would be delayed .
“ One of the things I ’ m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together .
Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what ’ s going on in the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the right time to do that , ” he wrote .
“ As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie ...
I ’ m gon na wait to release the film till we CAN see it all together !
So here ’ s to our group movie date !
See you soon !
” Fast and Furious 9 : On March 12 , Universal Pictures announced that it would delay the release date of the ninth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise by 11 months , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2021 .
Chinese movies scrapped theatrical release and premiere online : The biggest films of China ’ s year are usually scheduled to release during the Lunar New Year holiday , near the end of January , but mounting fears of the coronavirus and public reticence to be in crowded spaces caused distributors to voluntarily cancel or postpone several film releases .
Huanxi , distributor of the Chinese blockbuster Lost in Russia , announced on January 22 that the film would premiere online for free .
Promotional materials encouraged audiences to “ stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia with your mom.
” On January 31 , Enter the Fat Dragon became the second major Chinese film to premiere online , as theaters are closed by order of the government .
Film and TV productions halted , altered , or shut down Saturday Night Live aired remotely produced content : On April 9 , the producers of Saturday Night Live , which had been on hiatus since mid-March , announced that new , remotely produced material would air on NBC in the show ’ s usual Saturday night slot , 11:30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Weekend Update ” segment .
The coronavirus has touched Saturday Night Live in at least two ways .
The show ’ s long-time music supervisor , Hal Willner , passed away on April 7 at the age of 64 ; he was not formally diagnosed with the virus but had consistent symptoms .
And Michael Che , one of the show ’ s co-head writers and co-anchor with Colin Jost of “ Weekend Update , ” announced via social media on April 6 that his grandmother had passed away from coronavirus complications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows , such as NBC ’ s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers , CBS ’ s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , ABC ’ s Jimmy Kimmel Live !
, Comedy Central ’ s The Daily Show , in creating comedy content remotely .
Eurovision canceled : On March 18 , the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest announced via Twitter that the 2020 edition of the event was canceled .
The event had been planned for May .
TV shows suspend production : Hundreds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including Apple ’ s The Morning Show and Little America ; Netflix shows including Russian Doll ; the CW ’ s Riverdale ; NBC shows including the Chicago dramas and The Kelly Clarkson Show ; CBS shows including the NCIS dramas , The Amazing Race , and Survivor ; and many more .
Saturday Night Live also announced on March 16 that it would suspend its next three shows , the first of which was scheduled for March 28 , with John Krasinski hosting .
( Krasinski ’ s film A Quiet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release on March 19 , was also delayed . )
Late-night shows suspend production or tape without a studio audience : Originally , on March 11 , producers of shows including NBC ’ s The Tonight Show ( hosted by Jimmy Fallon ) and Late Night With Seth Meyers , CBS ’ s Late Show With Stephen Colbert , TBS ’ s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee , and Comedy Central ’ s Daily Show ( hosted by Trevor Noah ) all announced they would begin taping without a live studio audience on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBC announced that The Tonight Show and Late Night would suspend production beginning the week of March 16 ; Stephen Colbert also announced that the Late Show would suspend production .
All three shows were already scheduled to go into hiatus on March 23 .
On March 13 , Jimmy Kimmel Live also suspended production .
Disney suspends live-action production : On March 13 , Disney announced that production on its live-action movies would suspend production .
Affected films include The Little Mermaid , a Home Alone reboot , and Peter Pan .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marvel ’ s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings had been suspended due to director Destin Daniel Cretton ’ s decision to self-isolate upon advice of a doctor .
( Marvel is owned by Disney . )
Jia Zhangke project delayed : At the Berlin Film Festival in February , famed Chinese director Jia Zhangke ( Ash Is Purest White , A Touch of Sin ) told Indiewire that production on his new film , which was slated to begin in April , was delayed indefinitely .
Jia spoke with Indiewire at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documentary Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue premiered .
But he said that before he left , he ’ d feared his flight to Berlin would be canceled , and that some of his collaborators chose not to make the trip .
Regarding his next film , he said : Mission : Impossible production paused : On February 26 , Paramount Pictures announced that it had halted a planned three-week shoot in Venice for the seventh installment in the Mission : Impossible franchise .
“ Out of an abundance of caution for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and crew , and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus , we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice , the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission : Impossible 7 , ” a Paramount spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter .
“ During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts .
We will continue to monitor this situation , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it evolves.
” Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune tape without a studio audience : Though Sony declined to comment , sources told the Hollywood Reporter on March 9 that scheduled tapings of the shows would go forward without a live studio audience .
The measure was taken partly as a precaution for the health of Jeopardy host Alex Trebek , who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer .
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announce they ’ ve contracted the virus : One of Hollywood ’ s biggest stars , Tom Hanks , announced that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contracted the coronavirus while shooting Baz Luhrmann ’ s untitled Elvis Presley film in Australia : In a message posted publicly on March 11 , Hanks was his typical upbeat self : All Disney parks shut down : On January 25 , Disney shut down its Shanghai Disneyland park over fears of the coronavirus .
The park is a major revenue generator , with 11.8 million guests in 2018 , 50 percent from outside the Shanghai region , and an estimated $ 1 billion in annual revenue and $ 50 million in operating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s closure , Hong Kong Disneyland shut down .
Both Disney parks in Japan closed on February 29 and Disney announced on March 11 that they will remain closed through at least the end of April .
Late in the day on March 12 , Disneyland in California announced it would close the following day ; by that evening , the company announced that all of its parks would close , including those in Florida and Disneyland Paris ( where three staff had previously tested positive for coronavirus ) .
North American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distancing ” measures : On March 13 , a number of theaters and theater chains , including AMC Theatres , and the Canadian chain Cineplex , announced that they would be reducing the number of tickets sold to screenings by as much as 50 percent in order to enable patrons to sit further apart as part of “ social distancing ” measures .
On March 15 , theaters in New York and Los Angeles were shut down by order of their respective mayors .
On March 16 , Regal announced it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theaters indefinitely ; later in the day , AMC followed suit .
New York City cultural sites closed : On March 12 , major cultural sites in New York City began to close , including the Metropolitan Museum of Art .
Other institutions canceled programming for the month of March , such as the New York Public Library and Carnegie Hall .
Within days , the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it anticipated staying closed through July and laying off much of its staff .
On March 19 , the Metropolitan Opera @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including musicians and chorus .
Broadway shows closed : On March 12 , New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo announced that beginning at 5:00 pm , Broadway would be closed , part of a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people .
On April 8 , the Broadway League announced that theaters would remain closed through June , and probably longer .
West End closes : On March 16 , London ’ s West End shut down , following Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’ s speech urging Britons to avoid public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Royal Opera House , will stay closed indefinitely .
Italian cultural sites closed : In February , a number of major museums in Venice , Milan , Turin , and other northern Italian cities were closed as part of the government ’ s aggressive attempt to contain the virus , and annual Carnivale celebrations stopped early .
By early March , with the country under complete lockdown , cultural sites across Italy were closed , including the Colosseum and Pompeii .
Chinese movie theaters shut down for months , tentatively begin to reopen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus outbreak , on January 23 the Chinese government temporarily shut down movie theaters throughout the country until further notice .
A total film production shutdown soon followed .
Loss of revenue over the Lunar New Year holiday in late January , during which movie theaters typically see an uptick in ticket sales , amounted to a staggering $ 1 billion , according to analysts .
By March 23 , about 500 cinemas had reopened in China , roughly 5 percent of the cinemas in the country that were open before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earnings remained minimal .
But by March 27 , they were closed again .
Chinese cultural attractions closed : Other cultural attractions and institutions in China that have been closed to the public include Tiananmen Square ’ s National Museum of China , the Forbidden City , and a section of the Great Wall of China located near Beijing .
We will continue to update this article as the story develops .

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, which was first identified in China in December, has had sweeping effects in the public health, business, and travel sectors, among others. And while the repercussions for the entertainment industry may seem to pale in comparison to the clear threat the virus poses to human life, the ripple effects do have implications for the people around the world who make a living producing and distributing movies, music, and more.
The immense and lucrative Chinese film industry was hit almost immediately as movie theaters across the country were closed and major releases were delayed. Hollywood soon began to feel the effects, too, and as time passes, the impacts of the coronavirus on the global film and entertainment industries continue to be vast.
Consequences of the pandemic on these industries could range from lowered attendance at film festivals and disruptions in film distribution to delayed or canceled movie releases and concert dates to curtailed on-location film shoots. Financial ramifications will likely be felt by studios, filmmakers, theater owners, and more for months or even years.
Here are the biggest and most significant developments in the entertainment industry in response to the pandemic. Most recently, Disney announced more delays to several of its biggest films slated for 2020, including West Side Story and Black Widow.
Major entertainment festival cancellations and postponements
K-pop concerts canceled, including BTS shows: On February 28, the hugely popular K-pop group BTS canceled a series of concerts in Seoul. The shows were scheduled for April 11 and 12 and April 18 and 19 at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. The group’s management agency said the decision was made due to the impossibility of predicting the scale of the outbreak in South Korea come April and cited the health and safety of the musicians themselves, workers, and concertgoers. Two hundred thousand fans were expected to attend.
Days earlier, BTS had asked fans to avoid a series of TV appearances scheduled to promote their newest album, Map of the Soul: 7, which had originally been planned to include studio audiences. The group also appealed to fans via a streamed press conference. “Health is always on our minds these days, and our messages of facing your inner self and loving yourself are ultimately only possible when you’re healthy, especially since it is very risky outside these days,” one of the singers, Jimin, said. ”I hope you take care of yourself.”
The entire Korean entertainment sector has been affected by the outbreak, and K-pop has been hit particularly hard, with groups including GOT7, Winner, Sechs Kies, (G) I-DLE, and others canceling scheduled tour dates. Variety reported that box office revenue in South Korea was down 30 to 40 percent in January 2020 compared to previous years.
SXSW canceled: On March 6, the city of Austin, Texas, declared a state of disaster, requiring the cancellation of public gatherings and events for the near future. The most notable of those is the cancellation of South by Southwest, the annual music, film, TV, and technology festival that serves as a significant financial powerhouse for the city.
The announcement came after a week full of major companies — including Netflix, Apple, Amazon, WarnerMedia, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Mashable, Intel, and more — dropping out of the well-attended event, canceling panels, premieres, and other appearances. Days later, SXSW organizers announced that they had laid off one-third of the festival’s employees in what they called “a necessary, but heartbreaking, step.”
Emerald City Comic Con delayed: The organizing body behind Emerald City Comic Con, the largest convention of its kind in Seattle, Washington, announced on March 6 that it will postpone the event until sometime this summer. The event was scheduled to run from March 12 to 16.
“We did everything that we could to run the event as planned, but ultimately, we are following the guidance of the local public health officials indicating that conventions should now be postponed,” convention organizers Reedpop said in a statement published on the Emerald City Comic Con website.
Cannes Film Festival delayed: Initially, the 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, arguably the most prestigious film festival in the world, was left in limbo following an announcement from the festival’s organizers on March 19 that the gathering could be delayed until “late June or early July,” or another time. (The festival had been slated to take place May 12 to 23 and draws thousands of industries and press from around the globe each year.) The festival first issued a statement on February 28 after the first case of coronavirus in nearby Nice, France, was confirmed by the city’s mayor, saying that organizers were monitoring the situation but planned for the festival to go forward. (Cannes is a seaside resort town located on the French Riviera, about 30 km from Nice.)
By late spring, the organizers announced that the 2020 edition would be canceled. All films that would have played in the official and sidebar programs at the festival will bear the official Cannes seal when released in theaters or potentially at partner festivals in the fall, such as those that take place in Venice and Toronto. They announced these selections on June 3.
Coachella delayed, then canceled: Goldenvoice, the organizers of Coachella — one of the largest annual music festivals in the US — announced on March 10 that the festival would be postponed due to concerns about Covid-19. Another Goldenvoice festival, the country-music-oriented Stagecoach, was also delayed.
The Indio, California-based event was originally set to run for two weekends (April 10-12 and April 17-19), with the same talent lineup performing both weekends. The postponement moved Coachella to October 9-11 and October 16-18; Stagecoach 2020 was pushed back from April to October 23-25.
But on June 10, both events were canceled by an order from the public health officer of Riverside County, California.
Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) canceled: The 2020 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) — the single biggest trade show in the video game industry — has been canceled. The Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the event, announced that it would not go forward with the annual event due to coronavirus fears in California, where E3 takes place. The event was scheduled for June 9 to 11.
The organization said it will contact exhibitors and attendees about receiving full refunds for passes, and that it is considering ways to “coordinate an online experience” in lieu of the in-person event. It also maintains that E3 will return next year as planned.
The NBA suspended basketball games: A player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus on March 11, leading NBA officials to call off that night’s Jazz game just before tip-off. As a further precautionary measure, the league issued a statement that it would suspend the basketball season “until further notice.”
Prior to putting an early pause on the rest of the season, the NBA made other efforts to protect players and fans. The league barred media from locker rooms and publicly considered having teams play to empty arenas before ultimately stopping play altogether.
Games resumed on July 30.
2020 Tokyo Olympics delayed: On March 24, following pressure from athletes and multiple nations’ Olympic committees, the International Olympic Committee and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be postponed, possibly until 2021; on March 30, the dates were set for July 23-August 8, 2021.
San Diego Comic-Con 2020 canceled: On April 17, the organizers of San Diego Comic-Con announced that the yearly fan convention will not go on as planned in 2020. The event will resume once again in July 2021 at the San Diego Convention Center. The cancellation marks the first time in Comic-Con’s 50-year history that the event, the largest convention of its kind in the US, will not take place.
Major film release dates postponed or canceled
Warner Bros. changes release plans: On April 20, Warner Bros. announced changes to its slate. The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, shifted from a release date of June 25, 2021, to October 1, 2021. The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to The Sopranos, was delayed from September 25, 2020, to March 12, 2021. King Richard, a biopic about Venus and Serena Williams’ father starring Will Smith, shifted from November 25, 2020, to November 19, 2021. An untitled Elvis movie moved from October 1, 2021 to November 5, 2021.
Two DC titles also shifted dates: Shazam! 2 is delayed from April 1, 2022 to November 4, 2022, and The Flash moved from July 1, 2022, to June 3, 2022.
On April 21, the studio announced that the big-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, originally set for June 26, 2020, would move to June 18, 2021, because of pandemic-related post-production delays. Malignant, a thriller from Aquaman director James Wan that had originally been scheduled for August 14 was pulled from the release schedule.
On June 12, the studio announced that Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, previously slated for release on July 17, would move to July 31. Wonder Woman 1984, which was set for August 14, moved to October 2. (Wonder Woman 1984 previously shifted from June to August.)
On July 20, with case numbers rising around the US and most theaters remaining closed, Warner Bros. announced that Tenet’s release would be delayed indefinitely. A week later, the studio announced that the film would be released on a staggered schedule: on August 26 in 70 international territories and then in select US theaters beginning September 3.
On September 11, the studio announced that it had delayed Wonder Woman 1984 again, reportedly until Christmas.
Related Wonder Woman 1984 has been postponed until August 14
Newest Pixar film delayed: On April 13, Disney announced that Pixar’s latest release, Soul, would open on November 20, 2020. The film was previously set to open on June 19.
Disney makes sweeping changes to release calendar: On April 3, Disney made huge changes to its release calendar, setting dates for movies it had previously pulled without a date and moving others. Mulan was set to open on July 24, 2020, while Jungle Cruise, which had been set to release that day, moved to July 30, 2021. An untitled Indiana Jones film moved from July 9, 2021, to July 29, 2022.
Changes in the MCU calendar also set off a domino effect. Black Widow was newly set for November 6, 2020, while the previous release on that date, Shang-Chi, shifted to May 7, 2021. Originally, Doctor Strange 2 was set to release on that date; it’s now set to open November 5, 2021, displacing Thor: Love and Thunder until February 28, 2022. Black Panther 2 is still currently set for May 6, 2022, and Captain Marvel 2 moved from July 22 to July 8, 2022.
Disney also owns 20th Century Films and Searchlight Films, which had a number of changes. The Ryan Reynolds film Free Guy moved from July 3 to December 11, 2020. West Side Story is still set for December 18 and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel for Christmas Day.
On July 23, however, Disney announced a series of sweeping scheduling changes once again. Mulan was pulled off the release calendar, indefinitely delaying its debut. Disney also took Wes Anderson’s newest film, The French Dispatch, off the calendar indefinitely, after it had initially moved from July 24 to October 16, 2020. Disney moved its upcoming trio of Star Wars movies forward by one year; they’re now slated to release in 2023, 2025, and 2027. And James Cameron’s Avatar sequels were moved back by a year as well, with the first set to premiere in December 2022.
The August 28 date for Disney’s The New Mutants remains August 28, for now; it was originally slated for April 3. And a release date for The Woman in the Window (originally slated for May 15) has not been set yet.
On August 4, Disney announced that Mulan would be released on its Disney+ streaming service. Subscribers will pay an additional $29.99 to rent the movie, available September 4. In territories where Disney+ is not available, Mulan will open in theaters that same day. (Notably, Disney+ is not available in China.)
On September 23, Disney announced more sweeping changes to its release schedule. Black Widow, originally set for November 6, is now slated to open on May 7, 2021. That delay shifted release dates for several other movies in the MCU, including Eternals (from February 12, 2021, to November 5, 2021) and Shang-Chi (from May 7, 2021, to July 9, 2021).
West Side Story, which had been set to release in the prime awards-season slot of December 18, 2020, will now open a full year later on December 10, 2021. The King’s Man — which had initially been set to open in September 2020, then delayed into 2021 — now has a release date of February 16, 2021. And Deep Water, starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, moved from November 13, 2020, to August 13, 2021.
A number of Disney’s films — among them Soul, the latest from Pixar — are still set for 2020 release. Soul has retained its November 20 date, at least for now. Death on the Nile shifted from October 23 to December 18. And the horror film The Empty Man is now set to open on October 23 rather than December 4.
Sony delays nearly all its movies until 2021: On March 30, Sony announced that nearly all of its summer tentpole films would be delayed until late 2020 or early 2021. Delayed movies include Kevin Hart’s Fatherhood, Jared Leto’s Morbius, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Uncharted, and the previously delayed Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. The only film that appeared unaffected was the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel, which is still set for theatrical release on July 16, 2020.
NBCUniversal to release major films digitally: In an unprecedented move, NBCUniversal announced on March 16 that it would make some movies available digitally the same day they are released in movie theaters that remain open, including Trolls World Tour, which is set to hit theaters on April 10. Movies currently in theatrical release will also be available on-demand, including The Hunt, The Invisible Man, and Emma. Movies are available for a 48-hour rental period for $19.99 in the US and an equivalent price abroad.
No Time to Die: On February 16, MGM announced that it would cancel the Chinese premiere and publicity tour planned for the new James Bond movie, No Time To Die, which was scheduled for April. On March 4, the studio announced that it had delayed the film’s release until November 25, making the film the first major tentpole release to be delayed worldwide. The film’s release date moved again on June 12, from November 25 to November 20.
Paramount changes release dates: On March 12, John Krasinski, director of Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II, announced via Twitter that the movie’s March 19 release date would be delayed. “One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together. Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that,” he wrote. “As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie ... I’m gonna wait to release the film till we CAN see it all together! So here’s to our group movie date! See you soon!”
On July 23, Paramount announced that the Quiet Place sequel would be pushed to April 23, 2021. Top Gun Maverick was also delayed from December 23, 2020 to July 2, 2021. And that bumped Jackass, previously scheduled for July 2, 2021, to September 3, 2021.
Fast and Furious 9: On March 12, Universal Pictures announced that it would delay the release date of the ninth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise by 11 months, from May 22 to April 2, 2021.
Chinese movies scrapped theatrical release and premiere online: The biggest films of China’s year are usually scheduled to release during the Lunar New Year holiday, near the end of January, but mounting fears of the coronavirus and public reticence to be in crowded spaces caused distributors to voluntarily cancel or postpone several film releases. Huanxi, distributor of the Chinese blockbuster Lost in Russia, announced on January 22 that the film would premiere online for free. Promotional materials encouraged audiences to “stay safely at home and watch Lost in Russia with your mom.” On January 31, Enter the Fat Dragon became the second major Chinese film to premiere online, as theaters are closed by order of the government.
Film and TV productions halted, altered, or shut down
Saturday Night Live aired remotely produced content: On April 9, the producers of Saturday Night Live, which had been on hiatus since mid-March, announced that new, remotely produced material would air on NBC in the show’s usual Saturday night slot, 11:30 pm on April 11, including a “Weekend Update” segment.
The coronavirus has touched Saturday Night Live in at least two ways. The show’s long-time music supervisor, Hal Willner, passed away on April 7 at the age of 64; he was not formally diagnosed with the virus but had consistent symptoms. And Michael Che, one of the show’s co-head writers and co-anchor with Colin Jost of “Weekend Update,” announced via social media on April 6 that his grandmother had passed away from coronavirus complications.
The show joined other late-night comedy shows, such as NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, in creating comedy content remotely.
Eurovision canceled: On March 18, the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest announced via Twitter that the 2020 edition of the event was canceled. The event had been planned for May.
TV shows suspend production: Hundreds of shows have delayed or suspended production, including Apple’s The Morning Show and Little America; Netflix shows including Russian Doll; the CW’s Riverdale; NBC shows including the Chicago dramas and The Kelly Clarkson Show; CBS shows including the NCIS dramas, The Amazing Race, and Survivor; and many more.
Late-night shows suspend production or tape without a studio audience: Originally, on March 11, producers of shows including NBC’s The Tonight Show (hosted by Jimmy Fallon) and Late Night With Seth Meyers, CBS’s Late Show With Stephen Colbert, TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and Comedy Central’s Daily Show (hosted by Trevor Noah) all announced they would begin taping without a live studio audience on March 16.
A day later, NBC announced that The Tonight Show and Late Night would suspend production beginning the week of March 16; Stephen Colbert also announced that the Late Show would suspend production. All three shows were already scheduled to go into hiatus on March 23. On March 13, Jimmy Kimmel Live also suspended production. Most shows eventually began producing remotely, often with hosts and guests working from home studios.
Disney suspends live-action production: On March 13, Disney announced that production on its live-action movies would suspend production. Affected films include The Little Mermaid, a Home Alone reboot, and Peter Pan. Earlier in the day, production on Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings had been suspended due to director Destin Daniel Cretton’s decision to self-isolate upon advice of a doctor. (Marvel is owned by Disney.)
Jia Zhangke project delayed: At the Berlin Film Festival in February, famed Chinese director Jia Zhangke (Ash Is Purest White, A Touch of Sin) told Indiewire that production on his new film, which was slated to begin in April, was delayed indefinitely. Jia spoke with Indiewire at the Berlin Film Festival, where his documentary Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue premiered. But he said that before he left, he’d feared his flight to Berlin would be canceled, and that some of his collaborators chose not to make the trip. Regarding his next film, he said:
For some film companies and studios involved in pre-production, a lot of costs are going down the drain, and those that already started production have to be somehow cut short or suspended. Some of them are already in the process of distributing films and they’ve paid for a lot of promotion and PR costs. The economy is now taking a huge hit, and I think the investment side will be hugely impacted as well.
Mission: Impossible production paused: On February 26, Paramount Pictures announced that it had halted a planned three-week shoot in Venice for the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise. “Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission: Impossible 7,” a Paramount spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter. “During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves.”
Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune tape without a studio audience: Though Sony declined to comment, sources told the Hollywood Reporter on March 9 that scheduled tapings of the shows would go forward without a live studio audience. The measure was taken partly as a precaution for the health of Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announce they’ve contracted the virus: One of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Tom Hanks, announced that he and his wife Rita Wilson had contracted the coronavirus while shooting Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley film in Australia:
In a message posted publicly on March 11, Hanks was his typical upbeat self:
Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? We’ll keep the world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves!
Entertainment venues and attractions shut down
All Disney parks shut down: On January 25, Disney shut down its Shanghai Disneyland park over fears of the coronavirus. The park is a major revenue generator, with 11.8 million guests in 2018, 50 percent from outside the Shanghai region, and an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue and $50 million in operating profit. A day after Shanghai Disneyland’s closure, Hong Kong Disneyland shut down. Both Disney parks in Japan closed on February 29 and Disney announced on March 11 that they will remain closed through at least the end of April.
Late in the day on March 12, Disneyland in California announced it would close the following day; by that evening, the company announced that all of its parks would close, including those in Florida and Disneyland Paris (where three staff had previously tested positive for coronavirus).
In July, Disney World reopened amid a spike in Florida coronavirus cases.
North American movie theaters shut down: On March 13, a number of theaters and theater chains, including AMC Theatres, and the Canadian chain Cineplex, announced that they would be reducing the number of tickets sold to screenings by as much as 50 percent in order to enable patrons to sit further apart as part of “social distancing” measures.
On March 15, theaters in New York and Los Angeles were shut down by order of their respective mayors. On March 16, Regal announced it would shut down all of its 543 US theaters indefinitely; later in the day, AMC followed suit.
New York City cultural sites closed: On March 12, major cultural sites in New York City began to close, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Other institutions canceled programming for the month of March, such as the New York Public Library and Carnegie Hall.
Within days, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it anticipated staying closed through July and laying off much of its staff. On March 19, the Metropolitan Opera laid off all of its union employees, including musicians and chorus.
Broadway shows closed: On March 12, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that beginning at 5:00 pm, Broadway would be closed, part of a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people. On April 8, the Broadway League announced that theaters would remain closed through June, and probably longer. On June 29, the League extended the shutdown through January 3, 2021.
West End closes: On March 16, London’s West End shut down, following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech urging Britons to avoid public spaces. The theaters, including the Royal Opera House, will stay closed indefinitely. As of June, the West End closures remained in effect through at least August 2.
Italian cultural sites closed: In February, a number of major museums in Venice, Milan, Turin, and other northern Italian cities were closed as part of the government’s aggressive attempt to contain the virus, and annual Carnivale celebrations stopped early. By early March, with the country under complete lockdown, cultural sites across Italy were closed, including the Colosseum and Pompeii.
Chinese movie theaters shut down for months, tentatively begin to reopen, then re-close: Hoping to contain the coronavirus outbreak, on January 23 the Chinese government temporarily shut down movie theaters throughout the country until further notice. A total film production shutdown soon followed. Loss of revenue over the Lunar New Year holiday in late January, during which movie theaters typically see an uptick in ticket sales, amounted to a staggering $1 billion, according to analysts.
By March 23, about 500 cinemas had reopened in China, roughly 5 percent of the cinemas in the country that were open before the outbreak. Variety reported that box office earnings remained minimal. But by March 27, they were closed again. Some Chinese movie theaters began to open in late July.
We will continue to update this article as the story develops.


vox--2020-04-20--Congress is close to a deal on a roughly $450 billion small-business funding bill

After a critical small-business loans program ran out of money last Thursday , the pressure has been on for Congress — and Democrats in particular — to end a weeks-long impasse and approve more funding for it .
In the coming days , lawmakers may be set to do just that .
Democrats and Republicans this weekend indicated that they were close to a deal on what they ’ re calling an “ interim ” spending bill that ’ s intended to give small-business loan programs — including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ common ground , ” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during an appearance on ABC ’ s This Week .
“ I think we ’ re very close to agreement.
” The latest legislation , which follows the $ 2 trillion CARES Act stimulus that lawmakers approved in March , is focused primarily on small businesses , many of which have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic ’ s economic fallout .
Although the stimulus included in the CARES Act already allocated $ 360 billion for new small-business loans , that money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
While more than 1.6 million small businesses have obtained PPP loans so far , hundreds of thousands of others have seen their applications sit in limbo simply because the programs are out of money .
Congress ’ s latest bill is poised to include roughly $ 450 billion in funding , including about $ 350 billion to replenish the small-business loan programs , $ 75 billion for hospitals , and $ 25 billion for testing , according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin .
The exact figures for the deal are still being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the funding for testing would be doled out , CNN reports — so there could be some characteristic delays in actually getting it passed .
If lawmakers can reach an agreement soon , the House and Senate are set to pass it swiftly this week — though procedural opposition in the lower chamber could mean that at least half of the House ’ s members would have to return for an in-person vote .
( If just one Congress member opposes the deal , that person can call for a quorum and roll-call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the House to be present . )
This interim package is expected to precede another massive stimulus bill , which Congress is slated to work on in the coming months .
The interim spending package reflects a compromise between Democrats and Republicans , who ’ ve been at an impasse over this bill for more than two weeks .
While the two parties broadly agree on the need to allocate more funding for small businesses , Democrats have focused on using the leverage they have to push Republicans to consider a more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that hospitals , states , and cities are experiencing as well .
This tactic has been successful , in part .
The anticipated spending deal is more expansive than the original Republican proposal ; that was limited to $ 250 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program , which provides forgivable grants to businesses and nonprofits .
The newer version also includes about $ 50 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program , which has emergency grants that can expedite relief for these organizations .
Additionally , the deal contains $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been overwhelmed by the simultaneous costs of preparing for the coronavirus and the revenue declines that have resulted as elective procedures are postponed .
Another $ 25 billion is intended to help ramp up the country ’ s testing capacity , a development that experts view as vital to determining when to reopen the economy more fully .
The main Democratic demand that has been omitted from this deal is the additional funding that lawmakers would like to see go to cities and states — many of which are facing incredible financial strain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surge in costs to combat the coronavirus .
Mnuchin signaled that this issue would be addressed as part of negotiations for the next funding bill .
“ The president has heard from the governors and he ’ s prepared to discuss that in the next bill , ” Mnuchin said during an appearance on CNN ’ s State of the Union .
Trump ’ s reluctance to consider state funding in the current bill is the result of a couple of factors , according to Politico .
Among them : The administration is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the states regarding when they reopen their economies if they had more funding to help them weather this period .
This bill is not anticipated to address an expansion in SNAP ( food stamp ) benefits and hazard pay for front-line workers , either .
Lawmakers are continuing negotiations on the specifics of this “ interim ” spending deal , with the goal of announcing the final version later on Monday or Tuesday .
Once they do , both the Senate and the House intend to take it up in rapid succession @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chambers are working remotely and not physically present at the Capitol , which could pose a procedural challenge later this week .
When votes were taking place on the CARES package in March , for example , Rep. Thomas Massie ( R-KY ) demanded a quorum — or a majority of the House — be present for the vote .
It is possible that Massie or another member might make the same request again , meaning some members would have to travel back to the Capitol .
Pelosi has also said that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting for future bills , if members continue to work remotely during the pandemic .
Were members to move forward with this approach , the House would have to vote on a rule to approve proxy voting .
Like the name suggests , proxy voting enables members to allow someone who ’ s physically present in the House chamber to vote on their behalf , so not everyone would have to travel back to Washington .
Given the scale of the economic impact that workers and businesses have seen so far , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CARES Act in cost and size .
Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for the consideration of more ambitious proposals , including for the government to cover a portion of payrolls for companies that have been affected by the economic crisis .
“ This is a time for all of us to be creative , ” Sen. Mark Warner ( D-VA ) recently told Vox .

After a critical small-business loans program ran out of money last Thursday, the pressure has been on for Congress — and Democrats in particular — to end a weeks-long impasse and approve more funding for it. In the coming days, lawmakers may be set to do just that.
Democrats and Republicans this weekend indicated that they were close to a deal on what they’re calling an “interim” spending bill that’s intended to give small-business loan programs — including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program — a major boost.
“We have common ground,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during an appearance on ABC’s This Week. “I think we’re very close to agreement.”
The latest legislation, which follows the $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus that lawmakers approved in March, is focused primarily on small businesses, many of which have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic’s economic fallout.
Although the stimulus included in the CARES Act already allocated $360 billion for new small-business loans, that money was depleted in a matter of weeks. While more than 1.6 million small businesses have obtained PPP loans so far, hundreds of thousands of others have seen their applications sit in limbo simply because the programs are out of money.
Congress’s latest bill is poised to include roughly $450 billion in funding, including about $350 billion to replenish the small-business loan programs, $75 billion for hospitals, and $25 billion for testing, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The exact figures for the deal are still being negotiated along with the specifics regarding how the funding for testing would be doled out, CNN reports — so there could be some characteristic delays in actually getting it passed.
If lawmakers can reach an agreement soon, the House and Senate are set to pass it swiftly this week — though procedural opposition in the lower chamber could mean that at least half of the House’s members would have to return for an in-person vote. (If just one Congress member opposes the deal, that person can call for a quorum and roll-call vote, which would require the majority of the House to be present.)
This interim package is expected to precede another massive stimulus bill, which Congress is slated to work on in the coming months.
What the “interim” spending package includes
The interim spending package reflects a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, who’ve been at an impasse over this bill for more than two weeks.
While the two parties broadly agree on the need to allocate more funding for small businesses, Democrats have focused on using the leverage they have to push Republicans to consider a more generous spending package that would address shortfalls that hospitals, states, and cities are experiencing as well.
This tactic has been successful, in part. The anticipated spending deal is more expansive than the original Republican proposal; that was limited to $250 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable grants to businesses and nonprofits. The newer version also includes about $50 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which has emergency grants that can expedite relief for these organizations.
Additionally, the deal contains $75 billion for hospitals, which have been overwhelmed by the simultaneous costs of preparing for the coronavirus and the revenue declines that have resulted as elective procedures are postponed. Another $25 billion is intended to help ramp up the country’s testing capacity, a development that experts view as vital to determining when to reopen the economy more fully.
The main Democratic demand that has been omitted from this deal is the additional funding that lawmakers would like to see go to cities and states — many of which are facing incredible financial strain given reductions in tax revenue and a surge in costs to combat the coronavirus. Mnuchin signaled that this issue would be addressed as part of negotiations for the next funding bill.
“The president has heard from the governors and he’s prepared to discuss that in the next bill,” Mnuchin said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union.
Trump’s reluctance to consider state funding in the current bill is the result of a couple of factors, according to Politico. Among them: The administration is concerned that it would have less leverage over the states regarding when they reopen their economies if they had more funding to help them weather this period.
This bill is not anticipated to address an expansion in SNAP (food stamp) benefits and hazard pay for front-line workers, either.
What’s next
Lawmakers are continuing negotiations on the specifics of this “interim” spending deal, with the goal of announcing the final version later on Monday or Tuesday. Once they do, both the Senate and the House intend to take it up in rapid succession.
The majority of members in both chambers are working remotely and not physically present at the Capitol, which could pose a procedural challenge later this week.
When votes were taking place on the CARES package in March, for example, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) demanded a quorum — or a majority of the House — be present for the vote. It is possible that Massie or another member might make the same request again, meaning some members would have to travel back to the Capitol.
Pelosi has also said that the House could consider the use of proxy voting for future bills, if members continue to work remotely during the pandemic. Were members to move forward with this approach, the House would have to vote on a rule to approve proxy voting. Like the name suggests, proxy voting enables members to allow someone who’s physically present in the House chamber to vote on their behalf, so not everyone would have to travel back to Washington.
Given the scale of the economic impact that workers and businesses have seen so far, the next package could potentially surpass the first CARES Act in cost and size. Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for the consideration of more ambitious proposals, including for the government to cover a portion of payrolls for companies that have been affected by the economic crisis.
“This is a time for all of us to be creative,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) recently told Vox.