Posted on 04/30/2020 2:27:22 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Jason Blum doesn’t think Hollywood tentpoles with currently suspended productions will resume filming until 2021. Every major studio movie that was in production went on hiatus in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, from Disney’s “Shang-Chi” to Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” and “The Matrix 4.” Blum told the Los Angeles Times things might be different for small-scale productions, but he maintained that getting studio productions up and running will be near impossible without widespread coronavirus testing.
“I do think smaller productions will start sooner, but I don’t think we’re going to see Marvel movies shooting, or big expensive movies, until 2021,” Blum said. “The real answer to your question is that it’s all about when testing will be in this country as good it is in other places, which it isn’t yet.”
Also interviewed by the Times, Simu Liu is making his studio acting debut as the lead of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” the upcoming Marvel movie that was in the early days of principal photography when production was suspended. The actor said the priority in Hollywood should remain in supporting essential workers during the pandemic over rushing to get back to filming.
“As badly as I want to get back to work and start making things again, I think our collective priority should be supporting our essential workers until either a vaccine is created or this disease is brought under control,” Liu said. “Neither of those things have happened, so I’m focused on staying home, keeping busy and giving what I can to ensure that people working on the front lines have the protective equipment they need.”
Another burning question in Hollywood is what will happen to movie theaters. Universal and AMC are currently feuding over a potential future where theatrical releases will have to compete with premium VOD releases. Blum told the Times he doesn’t see exhibition going back to the pre-coronavirus norm. The producer said, “As much as theaters are clearly suffering now, I think the choice that people have in theaters may change, the amount of time that movies stay in theaters may change, but I don’t think theatergoing is going away. It’s going to change, but I don’t think it’s going away.”
Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile” is one of Disney’s major fall tentpoles with a current release date set for October. Whether the release will be delayed remains to be seen, but Branagh backs up Blum in saying viewers and theaters are going to “have to adapt” to the new world.
“I’m fundamentally an optimist, but these are challenging times and they challenge anyone’s optimism,” Branagh said. “There’s no question these are dark days. We’re living in this period of momentous change, but I believe that things that are important to us will return… I do think that a desire for the communal experience is who we are, and I hope that we have the privilege of being able to return to it sometime soon.”
Head over to the Los Angeles Times’ website to hear thoughts from more filmmakers, actors, producers, and craft workers on the future of productions and movie theaters.
Works for me! I’ve been watching a ton of indie and foreign films since the internment began. Felt like a superhero movie so watched “All Superheroes Must Die” (indie, free, and pretty good outside-the-box story); family watched “Guardians” (Russian, free, hot Russian babes all over the place, might have had a plot, but I got distracted).
Hollywood? I hardly knew ye.
The adult children, living in their parents basement, will be devastated by this news ... wailing and rending of garments will commence soon!
You won’t shoot any film until late 2021 or 2022
Gavin screwed you, your neighbors, the door dash guy.
Hell, the guy that makes cocktail napkins will lose his job for lack of demand...because BARS are NOT OPEN!!!
Things are moving MUCH faster than predictions even a month ago.
Case in point: Disney said the parks won’t open until 2021. Now they are getting “the rules” for opening in May.
Hey guys
We got a couple Freepers who work in Hollywood on this board but, Hollywood misfortune affects:
No more Nutcracker.
No more Romeo and Juliet
No more Book of Mormon
No more Children’s Musical Theater
No more Concerts
No more Movies
No more Pixar
No more Lucas Films
(I did the LAN for both those and they have an awful lot of people working together- NOT essential)
Cub Scouts
Girl Scouts
Elks
Scottish Rite
Masons
Rotary
Sports from Grammar School to Professional
Rodeo
FFA
State and County Fair
Amusement Parks
Water Parks
Gyms
Miniture Golf/Arcades
Museums
Aquariums
Zoos
Petting Zoos
Boating events
Home and Garden events
Boat Racing
Etc, Etc, Etc....
Bartenders, waitresses/waiters, bus boys, the guy that washes the dishes, the company that cleans the rugs, the company who collects fats and oils which are recycled
Hell the guy who makes cocktail napkins will be losing his job because restaurants currently near zero customer, will have less customer and who knows when bars will reopen.
The guy who gets paid to put “For Sale” for realtors won’t be working much.
All those jobs and more represent one person in some respect but, those people may very well have responsiblity for the care and support of another loved one or family and this is the one thing they have that makes it possible for them to survive.
Even the costumed clowns at Hollywood and Vine won’t have work because there are not tourists.
Same for Universal Studio’s Theme Park, City walk which is attached, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Magic Mountain, and every hotel/motel worker who changes the bedding every time a new guest arrives.
It affects more than a few mouthy liberals and we shouldn’t wish for their demise, which is no different than the reaction to CCP-19
Not wishing for their demise; just don’t care. Mainstream Hollywood doesn’t offer me what I, as a consumer want. Other outlets — which should probably be noted are just as liberal, if not more so, that the aforementioned Hollywood — entertain me much more satisfactorily. I’d rather my money go to those that get the job done. And it does.
Kinda cut-and-dried, that.
Production is mostly shut down, but have you heard rumblings about releases of films in post production? There are some tough decisions to make about delaying until theaters reopen or going straight to streaming. The market is evolving in the latter direction as it is, and the current situation will probably accelerate the trend. It's a high risk situation but also an opportunity for anyone who guesses right. With the production pipeline shut down, new content is valuable. I would think film makers would be hustling on post production films, at least those that don't require any reshooting.
Won’t be seeing any of tbem anyways.
More gay, transgender, women of power, racial inequality sh## they will be puking in our direction
The arc that I was interested in is finished.
I keep seeing that word “tentpole” in articles when referring to Hollywood movies. I have no idea what it means.
Take away the dead-but-still-twitching SF and comic book “franchises” and is there anything left in Hollywood?
A few good TV shows. That’s about it.
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