Tyler Perry wants you to wear your mask.
After successfully completing production of his BET series “Sistas” without a single instance of COVID-19 during the two-week shoot, filming of “The Oval” is as follows, with the cast and select crew beginning to arrive. Tyler Perry Studios for their stop at “Camp Quarantine” on Thursday. And Perry says there isn’t much he plans to do differently this time around, especially when it comes to getting everyone to wear masks both on the set and on the 330-acre campus.
“I made sure that the cast and crew and everyone wore their masks when they were not on set because I know for sure that the masks help stop the spread; scientifically, I know,” says Perry. Variety. “And everyone adhered to that, even though we were all giving negative results. I just didn’t want someone incubating [COVID-19] for three to 12 days, and we don’t know. “
Perry and the “Sistas” team wore their masks for 12-14 hours while filming the 22-episode season, with an hour and a half break for lunch as an opportunity to catch their breath.
Listen, I was the police mask. Every time I saw something, I screamed about it, “says Perry. “It’s summer in Georgia, so we have to thank the crew: it’s burning here and they were still doing the right thing. So, I gave many more breaks for people to have water because we had a couple of people who got dehydrated from all the heat, and the water breaks were actually the ‘breathing break’ where you can drop your mask, drink water and drink some fresh air. “
From wearing his mask while directing the show, Perry admitted that he felt “mask drunk” from time to time due to lack of oxygen, but the team got over it. “For me, once the actors were comfortable seeing me as a man from outer space, it was fine. But you have to remember that sometimes I direct with a wig and a dress, so that was not so strange for me, ”he jokes.
To refine their method of working in the quarantine bubble, Perry’s team worked with Dr. Carlos Del Rio, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Dr. Colleen Kraft of Emory University to run a rigorous testing program with a Nasal swab test administered upon arrival at Tyler Perry Studios. and track tonsil tests every four days on-site.
“Every fourth day was so important and that’s when my anxiety increased the most, [especially] in those first two tests, because I was very worried, “he recalls.
After the first 160 actors and the team moved to Tyler Perry Studios, two people tested positive during the initial kidnapping period. When the next 200 people arrived a few days later, two more people tested positive during their first test. Those four people never worked on set and were sent for medical attention.
“I felt this wave of relief after the last test results where everyone was negative, I thought, ‘Okay, we did it,’ so I’m very proud of my team,” says Perry, celebrating his group of “underdogs” for the achievement. “I don’t know how another production, if you’re not quarantined, I don’t know how you do it, but proof is key.”
Although Perry was especially concerned with tackling COVID behind the scenes, he says his shows will not reference the pandemic in the upcoming stories.
“All of these scripts were terminated just as COVID started showing up,” explains Perry. “And also, what I know about COVID is that people are tired of listening to it, and entertainment is an escape, so I don’t think my audience wants to contribute more than what is happening in their reality. All my work has been about escapism, so I’m going to hold onto escapism. “
However, a challenge for production is to operate with a small crew size; Perry says his teams were cut by about 80-100 members, with a total of 360 people on-site for production at “Sistas.” When asked if he thinks the shows will continue with a reduced crew size after the pandemic ends, he acknowledges that there is some financial reasoning to do so.
“I think the producers and the people who control the bag chains would definitely want to keep it that way. [size]”Perry says.” But I can tell you that it was stressful for some of my team because they were depressed people. So I would make sure they had what they needed to continue this way. “
Quoting a specific example, he adds: “Extras are a problem, especially when you’re doing great scenes and you only have 10 extras. You’re changing her clothes, moving her around the room and hoping that people won’t recognize her, trying to shoot them in the head, or causing the crew to jump and become an extra. That was a challenge. Some things I think we will be good for this [to continue]but others won’t work. “
Another challenge to producing content during the pandemic is total cost, which in Perry’s case included hosting the entire cast and crew at Tyler Perry Studios and taking out-of-town players to Atlanta on private jets. Perry previously told him Variety Expecting costs to be high, he now estimates that after producing “Sistas,” “The Oval,” “Ruthless” and “Bruh” (which will skyrocket), the total could be somewhere around $ 18 million.
Michelle Sneed, president of production and development at Tyler Perry Studios, further detailed the filming logistics, explaining that the final cost of the COVID precautions was somewhat higher than originally budgeted, although most of the additional expense was inevitable.
“The most important thing is to trust people to do their job and be able to acclimate to what these COVID standards are,” says Sneed. “What COVID does for production is slow it down: it costs money and it slows it down. So ours was, will it be ridiculous for the cast to wear masks? Can a cast member really take off his mask as soon as they open their mouths to make a scene? Absolutely, they can and they did. Can our camera people really wear a face shield with a mask even if they wear glasses? Of course yes. So I think I trust these professionals and the team to do what they have to do. “
Before filming, Perry’s team added 315 one-bedroom units with private baths (which Perry likes to call “luxury mobile hotel rooms” or capsules, housing 14 people each) in addition to the 60 housing units for the cast and crew. They also added more than 70 golf carts (according to Sneed, most productions would have between 20 and 25 golf carts) to transport the cast and crew around campus and allow for greater social distancing than average production vehicles. In addition to two COVID compliance officers, Perry’s team also employed a secure officer service to monitor food. Sneed says they also ended up doubling the cleaning staff on site.
However, the most significant cost came with the different types of PPE equipment that each department would need to perform its specialty, which required “trial and error” to resolve. “We will find that we have to get the $ 15 per face protector, compared to the $ 3 we had budgeted for, for departments that rely heavily on face protectors, or get these versions of the glasses for this department, so that really adds up, “she explains.
Tyler Perry Studios Exterior
Tyler Perry Studios
Perry and his team also paid for the cast to have social fun too. “When you have 360 adults working these kinds of hours, of course, I had to have a bar, food trucks, and a movie night on the lawn and church on Sunday, so people could feel that at least not in prison” says Perry.
And in addition to working during the pandemic, Perry is also filming during the industry’s internal judgment on how the Black Lives Matter movement relates to the necessary changes in Hollywood.
“George Floyd’s death, as horrible and tragic as it was, was what was the catalyst to open people’s eyes,” says Perry. “When people saw that, eight minutes and 46 seconds, a real-time video of what really happened, I think it struck a chord in the consciousness of the United States. So, seeing so many galvanized races together to come and fight this level of injustice has moved me. I just want to make sure that message is not lost on why we are fighting. More than anything, I am grateful that all industries are waking up and saying, ‘Wait a minute, there is something we can do here, there is something wrong.’ That makes me proud only of the human spirit of our country ”.
Speaking of the record number of black actors nominated for the Emmy Awards this year, Perry says: “It says a lot about the Emmys, the governors and the voters and everything they are doing to try to at least listen, that’s what is so important. We were very happy to see that because I feel that Hollywood is a place where dreams come true for everyone, and that the Emmys recognize so many people of color, it really touched me. “
When it comes to what else he wants to see in Hollywood, Perry differs from the mindset that has led him professionally thus far.
“I come from people who had to find a way: make your own way, own your own way, build your business, build your studio. That is my mentality, so instead of asking Hollywood what they can do, I want to see more people like me, just go in and own, and take a gavel at anything that is unfair, “he explains. “Property is what really changes things in the long term, because what happens is that when there is a movement, people get excited and are with it. But when it fades, things tend to go back to where they were. If there are more people in ownership and more people in power and more people rising in rank in Hollywood, I think that is the change that is really needed to make a difference in the long term. ”
