Resuming Film Production Has No 'On/Off Switch,' Disney CFO Says

With no “on/off switch” for fully resuming film production, “it's a gradual ramp” up, Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy told a Citi virtual conference. COVID-19 is “a very unpredictable virus,” she said. That’s the “new reality” until there’s a vaccine that’s “widely available,” she said. The emphasis will be on “opening where we can,” she said. Shooting began three months ago in New Zealand on Avatar 2, “the first movie to get back up and running,” said McCarthy. “We'll continue to ramp up other productions. It's going to depend on where they are, how big the cast is, what the guilds and the unions will want to allow. I believe outside shooting is going to be easier to deal with than when you're inside a soundstage.” Fast-tracking the Sept. 4 release of Mulan on Disney+ (see 2009040049) was “not an easy decision” -- “because there were so many factors,” the CFO said Wednesday. "It would have been released were it not for theaters being closed.”