Shutdown list grows

Palm Beach, Home & Away.

Screen Producers Australia has released an update on the impact of Coronavirus from its Screen Production survey.

The number of affected productions has now skyrocketed to 119.

These are the confirmed Film & TV productions impacted (others are undisclosed):

AAR Productions – Mason Stone
Aiyai Pty Ltd – Aiyai: Wrathful Soul
Aquarius Films – Poor Boy & The Usual Suspects
Aster Caplan – Super Cars
Avoca Blue – MSO Live Recordings
Bazmark – Untitled Elvis Presley Project
Brindle Films – MaveriX
Bus Stop Films – See Me – Vivid 2020
Cascade Films – Pollyannas Wish
Closer Productions – Yes, Chef
Endemol Shine Australia – RFDS & Australian Survivor
Everyone We Know – The Greenhouse
FG Film Productions (Australia) – Never Too Late
films & casting TEMPLE – Bollywood Downunder
Frankendipity Enterprises – Back to Nature
Fremantle Australia – Australia’s Got Talent, Neighbours & Wentworth
Fremantle Australia & Eureka Productions – Holey Moley
Hoodlum Entertainment – Five Bedrooms S5 & Harrow S3
Inov8 Entertainment – Crooks
Jonathan M Shiff Productions – The Bureau of Magical Things s 2
Jungle Entertainment – Wakefield
Krystle Kleyr Kutting – House of Wellness
Liz Doran Productions – The Tailings
Marvel Studios – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Matchbox Pictures – Real Housewives of Melbourne s 5 & Clickbait
Ned Lander Media – Little J & Big Cuz s 2
Nine Network – The Block
People Productions – Untitled Documentary
Periscope Pictures – Virtual Whadjuk
Piper Films – 7 Dates
Pooches at Play – Pooches at Play
ScreenLaunch – Encircled
Screentime: SAS: Who Dares Win
See-Saw Films – The Unknown Man
Seven Studios – Home and Away
Slim Film – Around the World in 80 Days
SLR Productions – Space Nova
Taste Creative – Perspective Shift s 2
Uncovered Films – Too Many Lawyers
Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia – The Bachelor Australia

The reported budgetary figure on the line has now risen to almost half a billion dollars (comprised of $232 million in actuals and $239 million in estimates). Recent responses to the SPA survey also captured an additional $20 million in lost export revenue, bringing the total reported loss to just shy of $100 million.

When adding in estimated budgets for the Hollywood blockbusters filming in Australia pre-COVID (Marvel Studio’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Baz Luhrmann’s Untitled Elvis Presley Project), as well as flow on effects of business failures caused by the pandemic in production, distribution and exhibition, SPA maintains that damage to sector will likely be greater than $2 billion, affecting over 30,000 working employees, freelancers and contractors.

This week the Federal Government announced a temporary suspension of local content sub-quotas, but CEO Matthew Deaner says, “While we welcome the many initiatives that various Governments have announced to provide targeted assistance to businesses, there is an immediate crisis unfolding in the production sector and the temporary suspension of content quotas has the very real potential of crippling an industry already on its knees.

“As I have already stated, bold and decisive Government intervention is critical not only for our economic and cultural recovery but also to protect our national sovereignty, which is why SPA has issued a call to the Government to implement a $1 billion content fund and to instigate platform neutral content regulation by immediately extending quotas to cover SVOD services.

“SPA is continuing to work to protect the future of Australian stories, including our recent partnership with the Australian Made campaign to help build the export potential of our sector, and we will engage with our membership over the coming weeks to craft our response to the Options Paper released yesterday.”

However some work continues to be made across varied genres such as children’s animation, light entertainment, documentaries and potentially drama in the weeks ahead. There are also many hours of content already produced and awaiting release on broadcasters and distributor’s shelves.