George Clooney calls on the federal government to help subsidize the movie industry

The movie industry will bounce back after the coronavirus pandemic says one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.  

George Clooney opened up about where he sees the future of film in a post COVID-19 world and believes ‘there’s always going to be a great space for cinema’ in an essay penned for Variety on Wednesday. 

The 59-year-old actor is calling on the federal government to provide aid to the struggling industry to keep it ‘afloat’ as it is ‘one of the largest exporters of original product in the United States.’   

There is a growing number of concerns over whether or not the film industry, particularly in regard to movie theaters, will ever return to what they were before being shut down by the coronavirus. 

Clooney, however, sees the resiliency in his chosen career field and assures readers that people will tire of being home, of watching TV and, ultimately, they will return to theaters.

‘The truth of the matter is there’s always going to be a great space for cinema. People have to get out of the house,’ he wrote. ‘I can’t keep saying to my wife, “Let’s watch TV tonight.”‘ 

The Oscar-winner pointed out that there have been several times in the past when Hollywood panicked over the possible end to the silver screen – whether it was the advent of television or DVDs – but movies remained steadfast. 

‘The movie industry is going to continue to carry on,’ Clooney said. 

He added that, despite the months and months of stay at home orders and closures, things will return to normal. 

‘But you know the film industry survives these things; it always does,’ he said. ‘And part of it is because we need a collective experience and it’s still a great date night. Dinner and a movie is still pretty great.’

Dinner and a movie is a luxury that has been stripped away from many since March when cases of COVID-19 began rising. 

Across the world, movie theaters have been shuttered because of the pandemic. In October, Cineworld, the second-biggest cinema operator, closed all 546 of its screens.

The following month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was in talks with investors to secure a lifeline of financing to help to avoid filing for protection from creditors in insolvency proceedings.

Then, in early December, Warner Bros. dealt what was viewed by many as a death blow to the movie theater industry by announcing that the studio would be releasing all of it’s 2021 slate of films via streaming simultaneously with theatrical releases.   

Clooney’s own film, The Midnight Sky, was released in a small number of theaters earlier in December but will debut wide via streaming later this month due to the pandemic. 

The road back will not be an easy one and the ER star is calling on the federal government to step in to help bridge the gap. 

‘We should be giving federal aid to the theaters. The movie industry, Hollywood, which everybody loves to crap all over, is one of the largest exporters of original product in the United States,’ he wrote in a particularly powerful bit of his essay.

‘I would make the argument that they should be subsidizing the theaters and keeping everybody afloat,’ Clooney added.