We hope you're all staying healthy and safe. While we're sheltering in place and keeping busy with home and family, we're also preparing for the future of filming once the restrictions are lifted to allow for productions to resume. Our time is being spent in conversations with local governments and stakeholders, vendors, film professionals, unions, and other film offices to get a handle on what the future could hold.
Cast and Crew Health
As everyone is aware, set life is going to look and feel different once we can resume filming. The health and safety of cast and crew, and the liability tied to it, are the big drivers in conversations and planning. We are currently setting up an expanded network of local healthcare providers to serve on set to help ensure the safety that will be necessary. These doctors, nurses, and medics will be there to help monitor health on and off set here in the Redwood Region.
Luckily, our local governments' SIP orders have helped to flatten the curve here. Our rural location and small population has served to keep our COVID-19 numbers low. Our local hospital is on the front lines, as St Joseph Hospital Eureka is the only hospital within St Joseph Health, Northern California to open as a site for clinical trials of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir. The hospital was chosen due to an established relationship with the principal investigator of the trial and was proactive in seeking accelerated approval for the trials in Humboldt.
"This is an important opportunity for future patients who present with COVID - 19 at St. Joseph Hospital and meet certain criteria, to have access to Remdesivir, a promising investigational drug," said Dr. Roberta Luskin-Hawk, Chief Executive, St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County. Luskin-Hawk, an infectious disease physician with extensive clinical research experience including working with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci during the AIDS epidemic.
Set Cleaning
Along with healthcare, we're also establishing new contacts with local cleaning companies that are specializing in COVID-19 cleaning, as the expectation of this service being a necessary part of filming resuming. Our legwork will allow productions to immediately hire these vendors to handle the cleaning of sets after daily wrap to ensure the safety of cast and crew.
Permitting and Incentives
We are currently working with local governments on streamlining permitting applications and removing permitting fees (county location fees will still apply). We are also in the beginning stages of creating our own local incentives for productions filming in our region. We are excited to share details in the near future.
Accommodations
As a tourist center, we have a wide selection of accommodations available to productions. We will be prepping the owners and managers for the influx of cast and crew and what the productions needs and expectations will be. With talk of booking entire hotels for crew safety, we will be here to connect productions with film-friendly accommodations.
Locations
As travel to other states and countries may be limited once filming resumes, we know we can help you find locations here in California's Redwood Region to fit your productions' needs. Our region stretches over two large counties, with Humboldt County alone being larger than Rhode Island. The myriad of looks available are evidenced by our filmography. You know we have Smalltown, USA or primeval forest, but you may not know what else we have. Contact us and let us know what your needs are and rest assured that we are here for you. We can show you that this beautiful region of the Golden State is as film-friendly as it gets.
One last thing...
Film people are some of the most driven and capable people in the world. We can tackle insane challenges on-set and pull off miracles, but remember that during these unprecedented times, self-care is of the utmost importance. The stress of lost income, isolation, home-schooling, and all the other challenges presented by our situation, it's easy to forget to take care of yourself. Here's some
suggestions...
Take care and we look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you back on set soon!
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