HOL LY WO OD
Lights, Camera, Safety! How the CCP virus has changed the way Hollywood acts
By Jennifer Dornbush
36 I N S I G H T November 12 – 18, 2021
Most Hollywood productions remain strict on social distancing and mask wearing guidelines.
10% 20%
safety is now 10 to 20 percent of all production budgets.
other COVID-19 safety officers across a 24-hour schedule. “On set, there are about five COVID-19 safety officers,” he said. HE DOESN’T IMAGINE COVID-19 SAFETY in
Hollywood going away anytime soon with the CCP variants and flu season about to start. “Even a cold, or flu, can shut a production down if your No. 1 actor gets sick,” he said. MacKenzie and Katianna Lee, daughters of TV writers, saw COVID-19 safety jobs as a way to gain entry-level jobs in the industry while relieving the isolation and loneliness of being at home. Katianna Lee was studying cinema and TV arts at Cal State Northridge when the lockdowns began. “Two months later, I graduated into the pandemic,” said Katianna Lee, a COVID-19 health
ALL PHOTOS BY RODIN ECKENROTH/GETTY IMAGES
t t h e on se t of c ov i d -1 9, the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, all Hollywood productions shut down overnight. By mid-summer 2020, a handful of productions ramped up again, emerging with a brand-new production budget line item—COVID-19 safety. Nick Greco was one of the first COVID-19 safety monitors to be trained and hired in July 2020. He has been an actor in Los Angeles since 2005, taking crew jobs on network and cable TV shows to pay the bills along the way. “I became unemployed when the pandemic started and then, a few months later, this job was offered to me. I’ve been thankful for having a job during a pandemic,” Greco said. “A year and a half ago, this was not a job. Now it’s one of the more essential jobs in TV and film.” Sometimes titled COVID-19 compliance officer, COVID-19 compliance manager, or COVID-19 production assistant, Greco’s role includes making sure people wear masks, wash their hands, and maintain social distancing. He orders all the PPE and sanitizing equipment and oversees the cleaning. Greco also supervises the COVID-19 testing days. “Every crew and cast member gets tested once a week. And then there are others on set who get tested more than once a week,” Greco said. “I don’t get any push back. But sometimes it does feel like being a hall monitor.” Greco, who is unable to divulge the name of the production for which he’s employed due to a nondisclosure agreement, works with two
On the set of the indie feature film “The Star City Murders” in Los Angeles on July 1. In 2020, Hollywood productions maintained strict social distancing guidelines, creating new enforcer jobs for young people eager to get into the industry.
