The Pandemic Is Changing Hollywood Forever
2020-12-05
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1More than 100 years ago, the New York Times published a story titled "No New 'Movies' Till Influenza Ends."
2The story described the spread of the Spanish Flu across the United States.
3Today, as another pandemic spreads, the future of movies is again being questioned.
4But unlike 1918, many new American movies have been released during the coronavirus pandemic.
5Most of the films, however, did not arrive in theaters.
6Instead, they were released on streaming services, which permit people to watch movies on television through the internet.
7Until now, the new releases were small productions, not the big budget films Hollywood depends on to make profits. But that is changing.
8Last month, the Walt Disney Co. experimented with the $200 million movie Mulan.
9The film was released on its streaming service.
10Disney will also release the Pixar film Soul on December 25 on its streaming service.
11And WarnerMedia said last week that Wonder Woman 1984 would be released on HBO streaming and to theaters at the same time.
12Much remains unknown about how the movie business will survive the pandemic.
13But it has become increasingly clear that Hollywood will not be the same.
14Just as the Spanish Flu changed the movie business by shrinking the number of moviemakers, COVID-19 is remaking Hollywood.
15It is reorganizing an industry that has already seen major changes over the past 20 years.
16Long-time producer Peter Guber is president of Mandalay Entertainment and the former chief of Sony Pictures.
17"It will be a new studio system. Instead of MGM and Fox, they're going to be Disney and Disney+, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, HBO Max and Peacock," he said.
18All of those companies have streaming services.
19Many of the changes in 2020 are related to the pandemic, but not all.
20Several studios are creating new business deals and partnerships because of streaming.
21The conglomerate WarnerMedia owns Warner Bros., which was founded in 1923.
22It is run by Jason Kilar, who formerly ran the Hulu streaming service.
23Last month, Disney head Bob Chapek announced a reorganization of the company to strengthen its streaming operations.
24Universal Pictures is owned by the conglomerate Comcast.
25It pushed hard to change its longtime agreement with theaters that movies must be shown for three months before they can be streamed.
26Now, it is only 17 days.
27Many see the pandemic speeding up changes that have been coming for 20 years.
28Chris Aronson is head of distribution for Paramount Pictures.
29"All this stuff that's going on now in the business was going to happen, the evolution is just happening faster than it would have. What would have taken three to five years is going to be done in a year, maybe a year and a half," he said.
30Meanwhile, big media companies are fighting for popularity in the streaming market.
31Right now, the market's top players are Netflix and Amazon.
32Other streaming services - including Hulu, Disney, Apple and others - are seeking to expand their share in the highly-competitive market.
33The second-level players see the pandemic as an unusual chance to expand their growth.
34Paramount and Sony Pictures do not have their own streaming services to show their movies.
35Instead, they have sold some of their movies to Netflix or Amazon.
36Eddie Murphy's Coming to America 2 went to Amazon for a reported $125 million.
37Paramount is holding some of its big budget films until 2021.
38Director Patty Jenkins made Wonder Woman 1984 for WarnerMedia.
39The company has decided to release the movie for streaming in the United States, but for theaters in Europe and China.
40"At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else," Jenkins wrote on Twitter.
41"The way movies are made and distributed, certainly at the studio level, has been really in need of change and hopefully this will bring it on.
42But when people hear that, it's like... now theatrical is dead. I personally feel that's garbage," said Ira Deutchman.
43He is an independent film producer and a Columbia University professor.
44Deutchman believes that after a year or so of virus-related restrictions, people will be happy to leave their homes and visit a theater.
45But, the days of the billion-dollar movie, like 1997's Titanic, may be over.
46"If you're going to be in this business, no matter what you do or where it plays - whether it's streaming or in cinemas - you're going to make hits and you're going to make flops," says Mandalay's Guber. "The idea is to make more hits than flops."
47I'm Susan Shand.
1More than 100 years ago, the New York Times published a story titled "No New 'Movies' Till Influenza Ends." The story described the spread of the Spanish Flu across the United States. 2Today, as another pandemic spreads, the future of movies is again being questioned. But unlike 1918, many new American movies have been released during the coronavirus pandemic. 3Most of the films, however, did not arrive in theaters. Instead, they were released on streaming services, which permit people to watch movies on television through the internet. 4Until now, the new releases were small productions, not the big budget films Hollywood depends on to make profits. But that is changing. 5Last month, the Walt Disney Co. experimented with the $200 million movie Mulan. The film was released on its streaming service. Disney will also release the Pixar film Soul on December 25 on its streaming service. And WarnerMedia said last week that Wonder Woman 1984 would be released on HBO streaming and to theaters at the same time. 6Much remains unknown about how the movie business will survive the pandemic. But it has become increasingly clear that Hollywood will not be the same. Just as the Spanish Flu changed the movie business by shrinking the number of moviemakers, COVID-19 is remaking Hollywood. It is reorganizing an industry that has already seen major changes over the past 20 years. 7Long-time producer Peter Guber is president of Mandalay Entertainment and the former chief of Sony Pictures. "It will be a new studio system. Instead of MGM and Fox, they're going to be Disney and Disney+, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, HBO Max and Peacock," he said. All of those companies have streaming services. 8Many of the changes in 2020 are related to the pandemic, but not all. Several studios are creating new business deals and partnerships because of streaming. 9The conglomerate WarnerMedia owns Warner Bros., which was founded in 1923. It is run by Jason Kilar, who formerly ran the Hulu streaming service. Last month, Disney head Bob Chapek announced a reorganization of the company to strengthen its streaming operations. 10Universal Pictures is owned by the conglomerate Comcast. It pushed hard to change its longtime agreement with theaters that movies must be shown for three months before they can be streamed. Now, it is only 17 days. 11Many see the pandemic speeding up changes that have been coming for 20 years. 12Chris Aronson is head of distribution for Paramount Pictures. 13"All this stuff that's going on now in the business was going to happen, the evolution is just happening faster than it would have. What would have taken three to five years is going to be done in a year, maybe a year and a half," he said. 14Meanwhile, big media companies are fighting for popularity in the streaming market. Right now, the market's top players are Netflix and Amazon. Other streaming services - including Hulu, Disney, Apple and others - are seeking to expand their share in the highly-competitive market. 15The second-level players see the pandemic as an unusual chance to expand their growth. 16Paramount and Sony Pictures do not have their own streaming services to show their movies. Instead, they have sold some of their movies to Netflix or Amazon. Eddie Murphy's Coming to America 2 went to Amazon for a reported $125 million. Paramount is holding some of its big budget films until 2021. 17Director Patty Jenkins made Wonder Woman 1984 for WarnerMedia. The company has decided to release the movie for streaming in the United States, but for theaters in Europe and China. 18"At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else," Jenkins wrote on Twitter. 19"The way movies are made and distributed, certainly at the studio level, has been really in need of change and hopefully this will bring it on. But when people hear that, it's like... now theatrical is dead. I personally feel that's garbage," said Ira Deutchman. He is an independent film producer and a Columbia University professor. 20Deutchman believes that after a year or so of virus-related restrictions, people will be happy to leave their homes and visit a theater. But, the days of the billion-dollar movie, like 1997's Titanic, may be over. 21"If you're going to be in this business, no matter what you do or where it plays - whether it's streaming or in cinemas - you're going to make hits and you're going to make flops," says Mandalay's Guber. "The idea is to make more hits than flops." 22I'm Susan Shand. 23The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 24________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26conglomerate - n. a large company with many different areas of financial interest 27distribution - n. the act of sending something to a business or organization 28evolution - n. the slow movement of things 29joy - n. great happiness 30garbage - n. things that are thrown away, or a stupid idea 31flop - n. a book, play or movie that is considered a financial failure