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We have to write off 2020.
Were not going to make any money because there are no revenues with TV and movies not getting made.
Anyone who says that everything is not totally fucked is lying.
Everything has changed in what we do.
The received wisdom: When the deal-makers go dark, the soundstage lights in Tinseltown follow.
They envision outcomes that cohere into three distinct groups.
The first, and most decidedly optimistic, scenario sees the first half of 2020 as a temporary apocalypse.
I know people who are like, September or July well be back to normal.
We feel a bit more optimistic than the average person does.
The second potential outcome is more of a mixed bag.
Moreover, a sudden reopening of the entertainment industry in June feelsfarther fetched by the day.
Evolutionary change happened because of big natural events.
How Did We Get Here?
Soon, shifts in the agency world would put future projects on hold, too.
On March 27, APA similarly informed its branch offices of impending pay cuts with possible furloughs and suspensions.
Expense accounts at most of the major talent firms have been temporarily frozen.
Floating assistants have been laid off.
For some agents WMEs Richard Weitz notable among them Zoom has become an indispensable tool in the lean times.
Of course, its hardly enough.
Can the Theatrical Movies Survive?
Thats not to say new projects arent in the works.
Screenwriters are, by several agents accounts, the only people who can get paid these days.
Younger writers especially have been generally more open to Zoom meetings and FaceTime conversations concerning movies in early stages.
Some older directors and producers, however, are showing a certain aversion to such digital discussions.
The older you are, the harder it is to understand, an agent tells Vulture.
For 50-, 60-year-old directors taking a general or pitch meeting, there isnt the comfort level.
Certain clients wont do it.
Some people are open for business and some people are not.
Yesterday, one of our clients renewed his deal with Apple.
And Amazon is continuing to do things, another agent says.
We just did a YouTube deal.
So, yeah, there are deals being done.
But Im not seeing updates on, like, Paramount movies.
All actors have stopped working; there are no productions to go to.
You cant set foot on a movie set, so that takes directors out of the game.
If a new TV show is delayed, it might not ever come back.
Were losing all revenue for the quarter.
But really, this is years and years of work going out the window.
The lawyer adds: The worry is that things may never go back to normal.
And such a paradigm shift would entail dwindling paydays across the cinematic ecosystem.
Sure, theres a chance theaters might not be able to sell tickets beyond asummer devoid of blockbusters.
By our nature, agents are optimists, says another agent at a top firm.
Were always creating new opportunities that didnt exist.
Were still looking for the new, better deal.
