A 40,000 square foot warehouse in southeast Los Angeles has been hosting concerts throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The stage was created by the same company who built Coachella’s main stage in 2019, the lighting and LED wall are a similar festival quality, and the sound is huge.

Most entertainment workers who found themselves out of work practically overnight in mid-March due to COVID-19 related cancellations across all sectors of the industry are still waiting to safely return to work.

Some people were naturally upset — a number of locals worked behind the scenes, performed background work for various episodes and had a steady flow of income for the multiple months the series made Savannah its home base. Others veered more negative, lamenting their opinion of the poor quality of the show as reason enough to ignore its departure from the NBC lineup.

Home to Tyler Perry’s sprawling film studio, Pinewood’s Atlanta outpost and other production facilities, the Peach State is establishing itself as a pioneer in the industry’s quest to get back to work.

The Executive Director of Los Angeles-based Women in Film – Kirsten Schaffer – was an LGBTQ activist from her early youth. Programming film festivals was a way to channel her energies since she quickly realized that “stories have the power to change hearts and minds, and that cultural change precedes political change”.

NBC has canceled Savannah-filmed “Council of Dads,” with two episodes left in the first season, according to writer and executive producer Joan Rater.

The upcoming esports reality show, GAMEMASTER has announced a partnership with  MakerForce, a grassroots emergency response organization, to expand its efforts in the fight against coronavirus. The partnership will allow both organizations to expand their reach and provide PPE supplies to an even larger network of medical providers in need.

Campus Recreation and Intramurals (CRI) is hosting a virtual intramural esports tournament during Summer Term B for Georgia Southern students and faculty.

The Hollywood Reporter catches up with the onetime Georgia minority leader to talk about her census activism, why being counted matters so much and how her partnership with bold-faced names is helping to increase awareness. Stacey Abrams is on a mission on behalf of the U.S. Census. 

In the coming months, the project will evaluate the entire industry to determine systemic racial inequalities and provide recommendations to address the issues and change the system.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a disappointing decision in SAG-AFTRA’s fight against age discrimination in the entertainment industry.  The Court affirmed a trial court’s earlier decision preventing enforcement of Assembly Bill 1687 (“AB 1687”) as unconstitutional. 

“We’re getting a lot of inquires. In the last month it’s really picked up a lot, and we have had one actual in-person scout come in last week looking to shoot probably toward the end of the summer,” said Beth Nelson, executive director of the Savannah Regional Film Commission. “It was really fun to have somebody here on the ground, looking at our locations.”

Even at the high school level, governing bodies more traditionally focused on sports are testing the waters with e-sports. In Georgia, where I am, the Georgia High School Association has begun their overreach into e-sports.

DreamHack, the premier gaming lifestyle festival, announces the launch of a new tournament series featuring Fortnite.  The series — entitled DreamHack Open Featuring Fortnite — will kick off in July and consists of monthly online tournaments for the EU, NA East, and NA West Fortnite servers through all of 2020, and will be broadcast live on Twitch. 

Kids have had a lot more time on their hands lately, which probably means a number of them have turned to video games to help pass some of it. Their popularity is growing even more, and now, you may start seeing more video games in schools.

After more than 40 years as an actor, Sheri Mann Stewart had finally taken the plunge to launch her own production company. A week after she wrapped shooting her first film for Mann Woman Productions, Atlanta went on pandemic lockdown.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Department of Public Health made the announcement on Wednesday, with L.A. Department of Public Health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer adding that the County Department of Public Health would also release safety guidelines on Thursday for film productions. Gyms, movie theaters, campgrounds, hotels and museums will also receive guidelines and be allowed to open. 

CNN Films has acquired the North American broadcast rights to Mary Wharton’s Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President, a feature rockumentary about the U.S. president’s passion for music, which helped propel him from Georgia to the White House.

Accel Entertainment, Inc., a leading distributed gaming operator, announced that it has agreed to acquire Tom’s Amusement Company, Inc., a Southeastern US amusement operator and Master Licensee in the state of Georgia led by Emily Dunn.

Thanks to their tireless work during this unprecedented pandemic, our industry now has a roadmap that will make it safe for hundreds of thousands of production workers throughout the United States to begin returning to work.

A united music community including top artists, managers, major and independent record companies, songwriters and publishers, and affiliated organizations publicly released a letter supporting the long running campaign to repeal section 50-A of New York’s Civil Rights Law.

We are currently living in an unprecedented era around music creation and touring. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all business has been forced to become remote, making it difficult for artists to maintain their usual level of activity.

When I was in high school, the best way I could describe myself was as a parent’s worst nightmare: I didn’t care about my education, didn’t do homework, and was known to sleep in class. My SAT score was so bad that I still don’t know how I did! My very frustrated mom threw that letter in the trash.

The Motion Picture Association strongly commends the United States Copyright Office for its very thorough report on section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The president of Pinewood Atlanta Studios – one of the largest studio complex outside of Hollywood – told WABE’s “Morning Edition” it’s time to get back to work and resume production. The studio is based in Fayetteville and sits on 700 acres.

Women directors’ fortunes continue to be on the rise, not just in TV but also on film. Despite the shutdown, several have found homes for their work on streaming services. Most of those, including several high budget productions that had a 2020 release date, have been pushed forward to next year. 

Small businesses have always pivoted and always will. For us, at this time, it wasn’t just pivoting, it was twirling, whirling, back-flipping, but we’re ready for you! We appreciate that touring the way we have will take a little longer to get back to, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep you entertained and excited for all the #GeorgiaFilm that has been and will certainly return.

Since mid-March active film and television productions working in the Savannah region were suspended in response to the health and safety orders surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.  As we slowly work to reopen the region to production, our highest priority is the safety of our crew members, talent, vendors, location owners, and others involved in film and television production.

This week we continue our COVID-19 update virtual meetings,  starting with a roundtable discussion focused on Georgia’s travel and tourism industry on Wednesday, May 27.  On Thursday, May 28, join us to hear from Dr. Toomey, Commissioner of Georgia Department of Public Health, who will share updates and future plans from the public health sector. 

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released its Notorious Markets report, which identifies markets around the world that engage in and facilitate online piracy. USTR also today released its Special 301 Report, which is an annual review of the state of intellectual property rights protection and enforcement globally.

No premieres. No red carpets. No press junkets at the Four Seasons and other hotels. No promotional tours around the globe to open a movie. Major films having to push their release deep into the Fall or even 2021. What’s a publicist to do with clients sitting at home?

“MomoCon is about building community, and while we will miss interacting with fans IRL, we’re excited to announce this official MomoCon online community where fans can interact over Memorial Day Weekend and throughout the year,” said MomoCon founder Jessica Merriman.

Award-winning comic book and game writer Paul Jenkins keynotes CIMFest with “Creating a Successful Game Franchise”. Join him to look at what goes into creating not just a successful game, but a successful IP that can exist in many media forms.

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, two young professionals from Atlanta, GA created a product to help businesses return to work safer and smarter. Andy Halpern and Adam Harris Engelhard were childhood best friends who both saw their respective businesses come to a halt when the economy shut down in mid-March.

Filmmaker Taylor Ri’chard of 3rd Fathom Films announced that Gravitas Ventures will release his latest horror thriller, “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” nationwide on Video on Demand, DVD, cable, and video streaming platforms on June 2, 2020. 

We are still months away from cameras rolling — studios’ most optimistic projections are for July-August production restarts, and the more realistic ones are aiming to be up and running by September. California is still under a stay-at-home order, which currently expires on May 15.

As part of the partnership, Twitch will become a centralised hub for streaming ESL and DreamHack competitions. The company will work directly with ESL and DreamHack to coordinate broadcast integrations and maximise sponsorships of some of the biggest esports tournaments going forward.

CIMFest 2020 is still on – online and free! Even with the current pandemic, we still want people to experience CIMFest this summer. The CIMFest officials and sponsors met to discuss how to make CIMFest 2020 Virtual.

President Gabrielle Carteris gives an update on SAG-AFTRA’s COVID-19 Dues Program, which provides a dues payment extension and lets members request an installment plan during this global pandemic.

The website will help people make real-world sense of the bill and showcase solutions and opportunities for those in need, along with downloadable forms and other resources.

“What I’m hoping is that by paying for the groceries for these people who are just like my mother, my aunt, come from where I come from, so I’m hoping that other people will join in.”

Georgia has seen a 20 to 30% rise in e-sports, or competitive online gaming, since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Leo Buchieri, the director of gaming analytics and data reporting for Repable. That’s tens of thousands more people taking to the internet for entertainment.

The Bulldogs’ football coach pitched it recently to members of UGA’s marketing and promotions team. They liked the idea, and the whole thing came together in about a week.

William Goldman’s adage that “nobody knows anything” when it comes to what will work in a motion picture to make it a success, could just as well be applied today to what will become of the now-shuttered industry after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.

On Monday, April 13, Embrace the Mess, a podcast and workshop series produced by reimagine/ATL will be released as a free resource for educators and anyone working with youth. The podcast is designed to break down the fears and boundaries that prohibit vulnerability and creativity between educators and students.

DreamHack announced that, due to the ongoing health and safety concerns in the world, and the interest of the safety and health of our players and staff, DreamHack Masters has been rescheduled and will move to an online format to fulfill our promise of bringing the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) community the world’s best CS:GO action.

The beginning of the Georgia Livestreaming Network has seen some amazing successes, including 7,500 views of the Georgia State University esports tournament we helped organize and promote.

Acclaimed FIFA streamer Castro joined with fundraising platform Softgiving to raise more than $200k in a 28-hour, online charity streaming event for three charities.

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis is a threat to the entire global economy, including creative industries. In the United States alone, the film, television, and streaming industry supports 2.5 million jobs and 93,000 small businesses – 87 percent of which employ fewer than 10 people.

In Georgia, about 51,000 people are employed in the film industry, according to Marie Hodge Gordon, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Mitch Glazier, Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), released the following statement on House passage of the CARES Act, the stimulus package passed by the Senate earlier this week to address the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The men – Tyler Mercer, 24, and Chris Caldwell, 23 – call themselves Killer Instinct for online video gaming purposes, and they were at Newnan Esports on March 21 playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Six teams were competing, though the other teams were playing from homes nearby.

Hollywood has already lost $7 billion, according to most estimates. It could lose another $10 billion over the next few months if theaters stay closed.

In total, Netflix, Warner Bros. Television Group, Disney TV Studios and Apple have collectively halted production on nearly 100 series, movies, and pilots.