FiRM to advise on risk mgmt., COVID protocols.

A new risk management company will specialise in safety requirements for production, including around COVID-19.

Film Industry Risk Management (FiRM) will offer financiers and producers in film, TV & commercial Risk Assessments, Safety Reports, On-set Safety Management, Staffing and Training, and is based in Los Angeles & Sydney.

Safety consultant Jon Heaney (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Great Gatsby) will serve as president of the company, teaming up with veteran producer Lucas Foster (Ford V Ferrari, Mr and Mrs Smith), producer Mathieu Bonzon and first assistant director Sean Harner.

“Over the years I have analysed hundreds of productions, written endless amounts of safety reports and risk assessments but nothing like these most recent ones, which changed so frequently and unexpectedly. The rapidly evolving government regulations were a constant during this shoot,” said Heaney. “Film Industry Risk Management has been built to be at the forefront of the global entertainment industry push to re-start the motion picture, television and commercials industry with the emphasis on having stand-alone safety departments with formalised on set safety procedures going forward into the future.

“The key to our new company’s successful On Set Health & Safety Management System are the protocols and procedures that we developed in the field. We have tried and tested them, and we have optimized them over our recent prep and shoot, and they work. A great deal of time, effort, experience and resources have gone into creating them, and we believe they are industry leading and the best.”

After their combined experience made it possible for the safe and successful completion of principal photography on Children of the Corn, in New South Wales (NSW), Australia during and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Heaney and his team are uniquely positioned to assist others in the screen industry to get productions back off the ground and manage them during what now looks likely to be an extended period of pandemic and evolving rule changes for our industry.

Heaney will serve as President of the company. With more than 30 years’ experience as a film and TV safety consultant and as the world’s first Covid-19 on set safety coordinator, Heaney is at the forefront of Australia’s emphasis on having stand-alone safety departments.

Said Lucas Foster, producer of Children of the Corn and numerous other major feature films: “Thanks to Jon Heaney and his team, we were able to keep going when most others had to stop their productions. He gave us the confidence and the tools to make the critical decisions that led us to complete our main mission – shooting the film. He made it possible to be able to continue to make our movie and keep everyone physically safe and emotionally strong, while doing our jobs.”

Foster added, “Jon helped us navigate the ever-changing regulations, abnormal stresses, the psychology of fear and panic, and of course, a total re-engineering of how to make a movie (during a crisis). And with Jon’s calm guidance and skillset, we carried on during what became a huge, worldwide work stoppage. Now, we want to help other producers and enterprises to get their productions back on track, safely and confidently.”