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The high cost of COVID safety measures is putting a big dent in television and film production budgets, but leading experts believe that innovations in testing could make shooting cheaper. Now, they need to convince the entertainment industry guilds and unions to sign on.

The board of Hollywood Foreign Press Association released a statement on Friday afternoon outlining its most recent moves to reform the organization.

As states continue to open up and the film industry kicks back into high gear, Gov. Gavin Newsom is attempting to lure more productions to California.

The Anita Hill-led Hollywood Commission released new data on Friday from its recent survey of entertainment industry workers showing “pervasive issues of toxic workplaces, bullying and abuse in entertainment” and highlighting “the dire situation among the industry’s assistants and production workers.”

As New York prepares for the long-awaited reopening of its performing arts sector, with several Broadway shows putting tickets on sale for the fall, it is still unclear whether the Metropolitan Opera will be able to reach the labor agreements it needs to bring up its heavy golden curtain for the gala opening night it hopes to hold in September.

A new survey conducted The Actors Fund sheds more light on COVID-19’s impact on the entertainment industry. The organization surveyed 7,163 people who sought its assistance during the pandemic. The results were announced Thursday morning.

The PRO Act is about as important a piece of labor legislation as we’ve seen in some time. It holds the potential to open the door for workers and organizers to step up and reverse 40 years of losses for organized labor. The law, whose initials stand for Protecting the Right to Organize, aims to do just that: protect workers from being harassed or fired if they try to organize a union or if they try to help their already existing union become more active in their workplace. This is seen as the number one legislative priority for organized labor. The bill’s chances of passing the Senate are regarded as slim, but that isn’t stopping the union movement from trying to get it passed.

The Entertainment Industry Foundation has launched the EIF Careers Program, an initiative designed to create a more diverse talent pipeline to careers in film and television by increasing the number of underrepresented candidates in entry-level production jobs. EIF says it also plans to expand the program to include entry-level corporate and administrative roles, as well.

Hollywood's major studios and guilds are extending their return-to-work agreement another three months.