While the Delta variant of the coronavirus has created new speed bumps for Hollywood productions hoping to phase out COVID safety protocols, the new changes to the entertainment industry’s Return to Work Agreement show that studios and guilds are building the framework for life after the pandemic… that is, if everyone gets vaccinated.
It took industry guilds and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers an extra three weeks after the Return-to-Work Agreement’s June 30 deadline to come to terms on a new deal, and they will meet again in late September for another round of potential revisions. Multiple individuals with knowledge of the talks told TheWrap that the guilds and studios needed the extra time to strike a balance between maintaining COVID safety and allowing studios to cut down on pandemic-related costs that have caused a surge in production budgets.