"Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ [sic] will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires." Warner Bros, the studio making Luhrmann's Presley biopic in Queensland, issued a statement on the matter, without naming Hanks. "We have been made aware that a company member from our Elvis feature film, which is currently in pre-production in The Gold Coast, Australia, has tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus)," the studio said. "We are working closely with the appropriate Australian health agencies to identify and contact anyone who may have come in direct contact with the individual. The health and safety of our company members is always our top priority, and we are taking precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world. "The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is currently receiving treatment."

The implications of Hanks testing positive are potentially huge. It is possible, indeed likely, that the entire production will be forced into shutdown for up to two weeks. That could add significantly to the movie's already massive cost. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told Parliament last May the film was expected to employ 900 people from the state in set construction, catering and costume design roles, while injecting $105 million into the state economy. Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Australia, after experiencing colds, fevers, muscle aches and chills. Credit:AP The film – in which Hanks will play Colonel Tom Parker, manager of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler, who played Tex in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, will play the rock'n'roll pioneer) – is still in pre-production but was due to begin principal photography next Monday. It is the only production currently underway at the Gold Coast facility. On Thursday, a number of crew members confirmed that all production personnel had been sent home and were awaiting further instructions.

Typically at this stage of pre-production, a film of this scale might be expected to have a couple of hundred people on set, including heads of department (costume, hair, make-up, cinematography, production design and so on) and especially set construction workers. Key cast will almost certainly have been in frequent contact with the heads of department as they udnertake fittings, screen tests and the like. Shooting on the film, which is scheduled for release in October 2021, was expected to continue into the second half of the year, according to a well-placed industry source, suggesting at least four months of production. While a delay at this stage will be less costly than it would be during actual production, it could still add many millions of dollars to the bottom line. Speaking in Sydney on Thursday afternoon, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk said health authorities were now working with Hanks and Wilson, and with director Baz Luhrmann and "all the cast and crew" of the production.

She said "those people who have been in ... close proximity" with Hanks or Wilson would be expected to self-isolate. Ms Palaszczuk said she had not met with Hanks and could not confirm if the pair had been isolated together due to "privacy issues", but assured they would be "getting the best treatment in our hospitals, just as we provide to everybody else." "Eight people with the coronavirus were admitted to this hospital and were released," she said. "We wish them all the very best for a speedy recovery." Meanwhile, Wilson's diagnosis has created its own set of ripple effects in a different sector of the entertainment industry. In support of her recently released fourth album, Halfway to Home, Wilson performed concerts at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane on March 5 and at the Sydney Opera House on March 7.

The Emporium is in the process of contacting ticket buyers for the Brisbane show, which was attended by around 220 people. Tom Hanks, who was present, reportedly sat alone at a table at the rear of the room and did not engage widely with guests. In Sydney, Wilson performed in the Utzon Room to "an audience of 207 people, including her husband Tom Hanks", according to a statement released late Thursday by Opera House management. "Anyone, including patrons and staff, who may have been in contact with the couple while at the Opera House" would be contacted, the statement continued. That will presumably include Richard Wilkins, veteran entertainment reporter for Nine (publisher of this masthead), who greeted Wilson before the Opera House show and visited her backstage after it. On Monday, Wilson appeared on Nine's Today Extra, where she sat at a desk with hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell and posed afterwards for a photo with the pair. Wilkins also dropped in to say hello.

Campbell on Thursday called in to Deborah Knight's afternoon radio program on Sydney station 2GB to reveal that in the wake of the contact with Wilson he and Russell would be tested for the virus. "I interviewed her on Monday… she actually made a joke coming into the studio saying we shouldn't shake hands, we should bump elbows – so we bumped elbows," he said. The meeting took place a few days before Wilson and Hanks returned their positive test results. "So, now Belinda Russell and I will get tested, we will make sure we're clear," said Campbell, who added that he felt "perfectly fine, I feel 100 percent at the moment". Nine management, however, is taking no risks, with both Campbell and Russell being sent into self-isolation for at least 14 days.