By George Robbins
These past few months have been a sort of hell for movie studios and the productions they were working on before this pandemic hit and it just doesn’t seem to end. Movie productions have started to slowly restart amid a climate where the number of virus cases hasn’t gone away and has instead spiked in some cases. This has resulted in a large number of rules being put in place for the pandemic which must be followed in order to allow productions the opportunity to start at all. This has created nothing but issues in regards to actually getting films done in a proper amount of time because new ways of filming must be looked at to adhere to the rules. On top of that, there is the situation involving when films with big production crews will even be able to properly get back to work because they need all hands on deck in order to get their movies done.
Theaters are fairing much worse due to the pandemic because they can’t even really open their doors right now lest they risk the high chance that they will just be throwing money away. Without any new films to show audiences, and with severely reduced capacity, theaters have to stay closed until they have sufficient reason to believe that they will make money if they open up. Many movies have been delayed to either late this year or some time next year and it has forced theaters to re-think their plans as to when they will actually open up their doors. Thus it appears that it will be awhile before they can make their announcement of a grand reopening and with films only just starting to go back into development, they might be seeing a period in the future with less releases.
Of the films that are just starting to resume production, the ones that had literally just started before the pandemic hit have a lot of work ahead of them as time goes on. Some movies are so big that it is difficult for studios to even start back up right away due to the amount of crew and equipment needed. There are films that are doing their best in response to being able to go back to work, but it may be awhile before we see them make their move. One of those films might just end up being the ‘Uncharted’ film which is supposed to star Tom Holland as a young Nathan Drake. The production of the film, which is based on the video game of the same name, was delayed indefinitely due to the pandemic because they were just about to begin when everything kicked off.
Although the film might be delayed for an unspecified amount of time, there is still hope that they will soon be working on getting the film done because it has not been canceled. This gives hope to those wishing for the movie to become a reality, but it is also a cause of worry for some. For instance, there has (almost) never been a good movie based on a video game and this is because it isn’t adapted well and doesn’t tell a proper story. The best way to describe why they never usually work out is because games are a medium that people spend countless hours interacting with directly while a movie is something we have no direct interaction with. The one thing that could make a difference with this movie is that the games themselves play out like action movies. This is something Nolan North, the voice of the main protagonist, has made a point of by saying that they shouldn’t rip directly from the games and should instead stick with what they are doing with a wholly original tale.
By George Robbins
The past few months have been an interesting period of time for the DCEU as a whole and it seems as though that will not be stopping any time soon. Especially in regards to things that will be happening in the future and how Warner Bros. priorities have had to change in order to adapt to the new climate. For them, they have had no choice but to delay their film releases in order to adapt to the fact that theaters will not be opened properly for a long time. On top of this, all of their current film productions have had to be temporarily halted and there is no telling when they will be able to properly resume filming. On the lighter side of the news though, there has been a lot going on in the streaming service side of things and many DC related titles are gaining renewed vigor.
Outside of the newly launched HBO Max, there has been a lot more news recently about future titles that Warner Bros. will be working on in order to expand the DCEU. Among those things that have been announced, one of the more unique things is the reprisal by Michael Keaton in regards to his role as Batman for the upcoming movie ‘The Flash.’ On top of this, there is also news in regards to the upcoming movie ‘The Batman.’ Although the movie is still stuck in production with a lot of issues moving forward due to it being such a big production, it has been getting a spotlight due to what the actors have been saying about the film. After what has been said about the upcoming solo film it would be interesting if it actually turned as well as they say it will and we get an exceptional film for the DCEU.
Moving back into the streaming side of things, there is a lot going on in regards to the upcoming releases that we will be seeing on Warner’s HBO Max service. The biggest recent announcement that many people have heard at this point already is that the Snyder Cut of ‘Justice League’ will finally see the light of day some time in 2021 on the service. This is the version of the film that Snyder wanted to make before unfortunately having to step away from the director’s chair due to a personal family issue. Thus we will end up getting the film that was intended for audiences when the time comes and it might just be what many waited for. In order to help get people hyped for the upcoming release, Snyder also released information which confirms that the Ultimate Edition of ‘Batman v Superman’ is what will soon end up on HBO Max.
With all of this being said, the ‘Justice League’ film was generally well received, but there were still many issues that people saw with the film that could have changed the entire thing. Instead of being generally well received, it could have been very well received and it could have renewed interest in the films. There are some that liked the theatrical cut that are worried about the upcoming film not being similar to what they liked in the movie that they saw. Actor J.K. Simmons, who played Commissioner Gordon in the film, thinks that people who saw the theatrical cut will actually like the new cut of the film as well. He believes that anyone who liked the film will be very interested in seeing Snyder’s vision for the film and what the movie was originally going to look like. All we can do is wait until next year to see if his statement holds true when the movie drops on HBO Max.
By George Robbins
The DCEU, or DC Extended Universe, may be newer in terms of what movies have been made over the past decade or so that are a part of it, but DC movies are nothing new. Movies that are based on DC characters have been a thing for years even if many people haven’t exactly realized that those movies were actually based on those characters. One such character that casual fans of the comics may not realize is actually from the DC universe is the character John Constantine whose entire existence revolves around hunting demons. Like the Marvel universe, the DC universe contains demons that come from those universes’ versions of Hell and they try and interfere with the lives of those living on Earth. In the DC universe Constantine is the one who fights back against those demons, but it never really started off as anything other than necessity to try and redeem his soul.
There is a reason that the character is not really a hero in the true sense of the word and he is instead labeled an anti-hero. He only ever does things for his own self interest and if he happens to save someone’s life, then good, but he really isn’t trying to save anyone other than himself most of the time. Constantine has been nothing but unlucky from a young age due to the magic that he had learned that would go on to ruin whatever attempts he would try to make at a better life. This is what is seen in the comic book version of the character and he maintains his work as a hero-for-hire just to get by and make a living. Though, this is not the only version of the character and we see this with the movie that was aptly named ‘Constantine.’
In the movie, the titular character is played by Keanu Reeves and the plot of the film plays out differently than the comic book character he is based upon, but this doesn’t mean the root character isn’t there. In the movie he doesn’t use magic the way that the comic book version does, but he is a very skilled exorcist that knows how to send demons back to Hell. However, his motivations for doing so are much more aligned to how his character is truly portrayed when they show the reason why he wants to help people and fight demons. He believes that by fighting demons he will be able to redeem his soul which is bound to Hell when he took his own life when he was younger. Constantine was saved and brought back, but the experience had left him marked to always return.
More recent iterations have kept more in-line with how the character really is in the comics and gave him his ability to use magic as well as showed his interactions with other hero and villain characters. With this in mind, it seems to make a lot of sense that in order to show people what the character is really about, a movie could end up being made in this era based more on the comic version of the character. As of now he has had portrayals in the ArrowVerse and in the ‘Justice League Dark’ animated films, but his comic character hasn’t really been seen on the big screen. It seems that this may be destined to change as, reportedly, there is a new ‘Constantine’ movie in the works over at Warner Bros. with J.J. Abrams as the possible producer for the film. They may reboot the original film, but maybe we will get the true version of John Constantine after all.
By George Robbins
As of now, it is entirely within the realm of possibility for movies to be worked on when it comes to production, but it is much more difficult for films to actually be released at all. The biggest way that many companies have been dealing with this issue is to delay the theatrical releases of their films until it is a safer climate for them to release the films. This has been the case for many of the films that have yet to release this year, but for a select few films, there has been another method of release that has been used. Companies have been using PVOD, or premium video on demand, release strategies for some films in order to get their movies out there and possibly make back some kind of money on their films. The biggest problem is the fact that this has landed companies like Universal in a lot of trouble with theater companies and has resulted in them(AMC) saying they would no longer show their films.
This ends up becoming a problem for not only the studios, but also for the theaters some time down the line because it just ends up being a reduction in possible profits. It is becoming a longer and longer wait for theaters due to a spike in virus cases and they have had to push back their openings multiple times already. Those that have opened already have nothing to show the public that is new and must show only older films that they have available for the time being. Unless someone is just desperate to leave the house, there is really no reason for people to go out to the movies as of now and this is causing very low numbers at the box office, though it is better than the nothing they were getting.
Among the movies that will not see a theatrical release is ‘Greyhound’ starring Tom Hanks which made the switch over to a streaming VOD format a little while back to get it out to the public. With the film’s new release format, one would expect it to be easy to watch the film, but this is not the case. Unlike other films that have had VOD releases thus far, this movie is only available on Apple TV+ amd wasn’t even given the chance to be shown in theaters with other films that will kick off theaters reopening. Tom Hanks is disappointed in the straight-to-streaming release because it means that the film will not be able to be watched in the way that it was intended. He wanted the film to have a theatrical release so that the sound and quality of the film itself would be at peak condition, giving a better experience overall. It is just another disappointment that is to be added to the list these days.
By George Robbins
The WarnerMedia group has always been one of the biggest groups to exist within the entertainment industry and nowadays that hasn’t really changed all that much. There is a problem with being one of the biggest companies and that is the fact that there is often times a lot of different things going on at once that need to be kept track of. Lately, they have had their hands full with trying to put out releases because theaters have not properly reopened their doors to the public yet. If things end up going the way that they want them to, one of their films, ‘Tenet,’ will be among the first films to play in theaters when they eventually do open their doors.
They have had to push back the theatrical release of ‘Tenet’ a couple of times already to accommodate for the fact that coronavirus cases have started to spike again. On top of having to delay that movie, they have had to delay pretty much every other release they have lined up through to the end of the year. The only thing that is currently working out for them is their newest service, HBO Max, which is their premiere streaming service launched at the end of May. HBO Max has been recognized for a couple of reasons, with the biggest reason being how much content is available on the service and how much will be made available in the future. There are many exclusives that are meant to be launched some time in the not too distant future and this is giving people a lot to look forward to.
Among the new content that will eventually be added to the service is exclusive content that will only be able to be seen by people that are subscribed to the service. One of the biggest announcements that was made was the fact that the Snyder cut of ‘Justice League’ will be released on the service some time in 2021. Beyond that, there is more content that will be made available such as the recently announced Ultimate Edition of ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ which will be the only version available on the service. It is because of the Ultimate Edition that people have even started seeing the original film in a better light because it gives clarity to the character motivations and cohesiveness to the story. It will certainly be a title that will be looked forward to and will definitely help people get excited for the new cut of ‘Justice League.’
By George Robbins
As of late, there has been a lot of news in regards to the movie industry for a number of different reasons that are shaping the current industry moving forward. Whether it be news about movie theaters or the production of movies themselves, there is currently a lot going on not only in the U.S., but worldwide. Is this really any kind of actual surprise given how the pandemic is affecting all different types of businesses? There is plenty of reason for things being the way that they currently are and now that the industry wants to keep moving on, it is becoming harder and harder but there are attempts being made to make things easier. However, there are still way too many things going on right now for any attempts to truly be made to smooth things out.
Movie theaters are having some of the worst trouble as of now due to the fact that theatrical releases for movies keep getting pushed back because there are spikes in virus cases. These movies get pushed further back which, in turn, gets the opening dates for most theaters pushed back as well. Without any new movies to show, theaters are left with nothing but older movies to show and it is becoming a problem because most people only want to go to the movies to see new film releases. This has created a difficult situation for many theater owners as they have no way to continue funding their businesses which causes many of them to end up closing permanently. For their sake, hopefully some movies will release sooner rather than later and they can pull some people in.
Movie productions aren’t doing nearly as badly by comparison and they have recently been able to restart productions to get movies finished that should have been nearly done already. Many countries around the world are allowing production crews and cast to re-enter their borders given a two week quarantine and also given that they follow a strict set of rules for work. This, at the very least, gives many productions an opportunity that they haven’t had in months to keep companies moving forward to work on whatever projects are next on the docket. Films that are already done and awaiting their theatrical releases are in the same boat as theaters unfortunately because they need to have a clear window for release where they know they will not be shut down. On top of that they need to be released when the companies think that people will even want to go to the movies.
All of these things have been in the news for the entertainment industry recently and included on the list is news that involves streaming services. Among those services is WarnerMedia’s HBO Max which has countless hours of content according to the company. Just before the service had its full launch, it was announced that director Zack Snyder would be releasing his director’s cut of ‘Justice League’ on the service some time in 2021. Due to personal tragedy and apparent studio interference, Snyder was not able to make the film the way he wanted it and was given the greenlight to put together a version of the film that he created himself. Some have questioned if he had to compromise on any part of the film to get this release, but as of now he has said that there is no compromise and the version he puts out to the public will be wholly his own.
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