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Former Talent Agent Now Doing COVID Testing for Hollywood

As a former talent agent for CAA who had also worked with Lawrence Bender and ICM, he was familiar with how the business worked – and people were comfortable with him testing them.
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December 9, 2021
Natan Bogin

When the pandemic struck, it shut down Hollywood productions and sent everyone indoors. But as the business started getting back up and running again, executives and producers realized they needed to quickly mobilize to make their sets as safe as possible. And Natan Bogin was ready to step in and help.

Bogin learned that film studios and production companies were sending unvetted people to celebrities’ homes to do COVID-19 tests, which became quite the liability. As a former talent agent for CAA who had also worked with Lawrence Bender and ICM, he was familiar with how the business worked – and people were comfortable with him testing them.

“We understand how they work. We are set up to fully adapt to the speed and geographical challenges of productions.” — Natan Bogin

“Having worked in and [being] part of the Hollywood community for so long, there is a personal connection and trust with the streaming platforms, production companies and various entities hiring us,” he said. “We understand how they work. We are set up to fully adapt to the speed and geographical challenges of productions.”

Bogin, who represented Francis Ford Coppola when he was at CAA, works under Safety First Collective, the COVID-19 testing company he founded this past summer. After taking an intensive course, he became a certified COVID Compliance Officer (CCO) and hired staff members to help him test cast and crewmembers for productions at studios such as Netflix and Paramount. In his experience, Hollywood is taking COVID very seriously. 

“Productions have been exemplary and have endured through incredibly adverse conditions,” he said. “[They’re doing everything from] testing to social distancing to making sure sets are filled with sanitizer, masks and other safety protocols.”

Since starting Safety First Collective, Bogin, a Paris native, has been so busy that he’s expanded globally. His company now serves people on sets all around the world, including different parts of the United States, London, Mexico and Spain. 

“[It’s been] absolutely crazy busy, all over the United States and internationally, with no sign of slowing down,” he said. “Our team works 24/7 and makes sure all our clients’ testing needs are fulfilled.”

When he and his team come in to assist with testing, they attempt to get in and out as fast as possible so that producers can focus on making the content. 

“A film or TV shoot is chaotic and stressful by nature, and the pandemic has added extra layers of safety and protocols, making it very complicated for productions to operate as effectively and quickly as usual,” he said. “We operate extremely quickly, efficiently and get things done. Productions can therefore fully concentrate on making the shoot happen and trust that all testing will be done flawlessly.”

In doing this type of work, Bogin is guided by the Talmudic saying, “whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” 

“It has been an absolute honor and privilege to keep hardworking men, women and children safe during these trying times,” he said. “The Hollywood community as a whole has come together in such beautiful and inspiring times. Being part of this has been an incredible professional, personal and human experience.”

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