Well, film productions don’t
have to stick with SoCal.
Iceland, with aggressive testing and mapping, small population, diverse geography and film infrastructure, could be a prime destination for filmmakers.
www.latimes.com
But your point stands. Disney’s infrastructure is a beast. They can’t pivot. Even the smallest change in stride requires a Herculean effort. It’s not like they’re singular entity. Disney is multiple film and TV production companies; multiple television networks; multiple content hubs; multiple distribution companies; multiple resorts; multiple parks; they are dozens and dozens of huge businesses that try to form like Voltron, but it’s very cumbersome at the end of the day. More than half of Disney’s employees can’t work remotely.
I feel comfortable saying that I work for a similar kind of organization (in a very dull, non-creative role, fwiw). Everyone on my team — and I assume everyone in our department, but I’m not sure — has been told that we can work from home for the rest of the year, if we want. Same goes for other teams from other departments that I am in contact with — they’ve basically been told they can work from home indefinitely. And I have a hunch that it will turn from “if you want” to “now you have to,” so the organization can save a little on having to make our offices COVID-compatible, which won’t be cheap for anyone in CA.
But our departments make up a pretty sizable chunk of the overall organization. The aspects that aren’t feasible via telecommute are smaller than Disney’s, and they’re much more seamlessly integrated; they can think more creatively because they’re pretty agile by comparison.
I have absolutely zero legitimate insight into this kinda thing, but my sense is that a lot of folks are smelling blood in the water with Disney. Sharks circling, etc.