‘Lord Of The Rings’ TV Series, ‘Mission: Impossible 7,’ And ‘The Batman’ Slowly Resume Productions In The U.K. And New Zealand
By Hoai-Tran Bui/July 6, 2020 10:30 am EST
This week is the week that major tentpoles on both the big and small screen are starting to resume production in the U.K. and New Zealand. Mission: Impossible 7 and The Batman are among several Hollywood blockbusters to resume filming in the U.K., strictly following quarantine rules, The Wrap reports.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden revealed in a press conference Sunday that he personally spoke with Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise about providing an exemption for the production, after shooting for the latest entry in the franchise was suspended in England due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Crew members will now be allowed to return to England to finish filming at the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden lot in Hertfordshire, as the British government grants several film and TV productions exemptions from following quarantine rules. Other blockbusters that received these exemptions and are due to resume filming in the U.K. are Warner Bros.’ The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3, Universal’s Jurassic World: Dominion, Sony’s live-action musical Cinderella, and Disney’s The Little Mermaid remake.
But these exemptions come with strict conditions: filming must only take place England, and crew members will be restricted to a “bubble” environment where they can only live in close proximity to the production area, and not leave the surrounding community. While coronavirus cases in the U.K. continue to surge (though the country managed to bring daily new cases to below 1,000 over the past week), Dowden says that the exemptions are being granted to help safely revive the British film industry.
The New Zealand media website Stuff, reports that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has revealed that international crews for seven projects have been allowed to enter the country, which has strictly banned any entry into the country amid the pandemic. Cameron was able to maneuver his way in, though not without quarantining his crew for two weeks. With the incoming productions, around 206 cast and crew members, as well as 35 of their family members, will be allowed entry into the country over the course of 6 months — bringing 3,000 jobs and an additional 400 million to New Zealand’s economy, MBIE says.
The Lord of the Rings TV series will resume filming after production was halted in Auckland, while Cowboy Bebop will begin filming for the first time in New Zealand after the TV series was hit with a delay due to star John Cho’s injury early in production.
