Hollywood boulevard sign, with palm trees in the background. Photo: Andrew Bayda, Fotolia

As millions of Americans have turned to television and movies for diversion and comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic and resulting business shutdowns, the companies that create that content are left scratching their heads about how to resume business safely when they are allowed. Davis Wright Tremaine has launched a new group in hopes of providing the answers.

The West Coast-based Am Law 100 firm has put together an interdisciplinary team whose express purpose is to facilitate the reopening of the Hollywood entertainment industry, one of several such law firm advisory groups spawned in the era of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Since mid-March, California has, like many states, been under a strict shelter-in-place order—Hollywood production teams and studios included. But the state is slowly beginning to reopen under a deliberate, four-phase plan that began May 8.

Given the new movement to reopen, Davis Wright had decided to lean on its media and entertainment reputation, putting together a team that will advise clients as the state looks to reopen. The firm has represented numerous media companies including Comedy Central, A24, HBO and Amazon Studios.

The group is composed of attorneys from Davis Wright's labor and employment, health care and entertainment practices and is co-led by entertainment partners Jon Segal and Al Wickers.

Many firms have set up dedicated COVID-19 advisory groups as they look to establish clear branding in uncertain times. But few have tailored the group to a specific industry, as Davis Wright has. Segal said there are few California firms that can offer high-quality counsel not just in media, but in other practices as well.

"We started putting this together two weeks ago as we saw the reopening of production on the horizon," Segal said. "Other firms don't have the capability of dedicated attorneys in health care and labor as well as entertainment."

As for Hollywood's future, the picture is bleak. Media and entertainment were not included in the current stage of reopening, phase two, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom has not set a date for when entertainment companies can resume production. And in Los Angeles County, local officials said Tuesday that the area's stay-at-home order will likely continue through July.

Still, the sector is a regional Goliath. The Los Angeles entertainment industry alone employs 220,860 people, with about 150,370 employed in the motion picture and sound recording industries.

And while many companies have found workarounds for preproduction by, for example, creating virtual writers' rooms, in-person production poses the same challenges facing many restaurants and retailers, the group said.

Like in restaurants, in studios it is inherently difficult to follow social distancing guidelines that require people to stay six feet apart, the attorneys said. Additionally, companies will have to negotiate with powerful unions and established detailed disinfection and employee training protocols.

With little industry-specific guidance from the state so far, the attorneys are planning for various scenarios and contingencies. Will county-by-county ordinances encourage production companies to shoot in a more relaxed county? If a company sets up a production in another state, will they have to follow California regulations?

"There are many considerations," said entertainment partner Elizabeth Zee, another member of the working group. "It won't be a one-size-fits-all solution. It will vary production by production."

Reality television shows and documentaries, for example, don't require the large crews and onerous equipment that a movie production demands. The firm has already gotten several requests from clients looking to send out their correspondents after nearly two months of shut down. Zee anticipates other changes as well.

"No more crowd scenes," Zee said. "I also suspect there will be a lot more CGI and green screens."

But for now, the group is in a wait-and-see mindset as federal, state and local governments weigh new, and often varying, guidelines.

"We want to be in a position where, when reopening happens, we're ready to go," Segal said.

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