Illustration by Victoria Borges
There’s an entertainment business axiom akin to one of the theater world’s favorite cliches — “the show must go on” — that’s not as catchy but more revealing: Prepare for the worst. Last March, TV and film producers in Virginia may not have been ready as a global pandemic shut down business as usual, but they adapted — and fast. Andy Edmunds, director of the Virginia Film Office, was not surprised.
“I knew that our industry would come up with a plan, because film production at its core is basically disaster management anyway,” he says. “So producers are always used to having to adapt, innovate, to solve problems. I mean, making a movie is a big problem-solving exercise. So I knew that they would look at the situation and talk to experts and determine the best way to proceed in the creation of this content that would address the risks.”
Some of the changes to sets have included robust COVID-19 testing and contact tracing; creating “bubbles,” where groups of people are separated to reduce risks; and the end of communal dining. These changes aim to make productions safer, though they have also made them more expensive and slower. But that hasn’t stopped producers from shooting in Virginia. Presently, three major productions are underway in the Richmond region. One of them is “Dopesick,” featuring the actors Michael Keaton and Rosario Dawson in a Hulu series about opioid addiction based on a book by Virginia author Beth Macy. Reports say filming has occurred at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, in Church Hill and at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“Dopesick” filmed scenes at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Scott House in January. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Another major production being shot locally is “Swagger,” a coming-of-age series for Apple TV about the early years of NBA superstar and Washington, D.C., native Kevin Durant. The Brooklyn Nets forward is also a producer. The streaming series features O’Shea Jackson (“Straight Outta Compton”) and a young cast that includes Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (“Annie,” Beasts of the Southern Wild”). “Swagger” has filmed scenes at City Park in Hopewell, Gilpin Court and the downtown YMCA. Meanwhile, production of “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” a spinoff of AMC’s popular series “The Walking Dead,” is scheduled to resume early this year.
“These three shows alone are putting north of $120 million into Virginia’s economy in just nine months,” Edmunds says.
Smaller productions, such as commercials and independent films, also contribute to the economy and are ongoing as well. Alexandria Krost is an executive producer with The Branching, a production company she owns with her husband, Lukas, that has produced several commercials during the pandemic. She’s also trained in COVID-19 compliance guidelines.
“As a producer, I wanted to know that I’m making sure my sets are the safest possible,” she says, “because ultimately, that’s the most important thing — that people are safe and they feel comfortable.”
Making a set safer involves many of the things one might expect: masking, testing, contact tracing and wiping down equipment. It doesn’t, however, mandate smaller film crews.
“If you have too few people, ... more people are wearing more hats, and therefore you’re more likely to rush because you’re doing more things, and then mistakes can happen,” Krost says. “You’ve got to have the right number of people for the right shoot on what you’re doing.”
The pandemic shut down the film and TV business in Virginia in early 2020, but only for a while, giving time for people who are among the best at planning for the worst to find new ways of getting the job done. Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed by Gov. Ralph Northam, who lauded their results in a recent press release: “Virginia continues to be a premier production hub for filmmakers seeking an authentic, film-friendly environment and a home away from home,” he stated.
