By George Robbins
Disney has managed to cement its streaming service during this pandemic by getting people to flock to their site with content for them to keep busy watching. Not long after the pandemic began Disney had no choice but to shut down their amusement parks which are massive money makers for them. As a result of having to shut down the parks, it was estimated that they would be losing out on billions of dollars in revenue, but this isn’t their only form of revenue. Not long after theaters shut down and all movies in there were forced out, they made announcements about bringing movies to digital earlier than anticipated to keep people busy.
Since then, they have been making sure that their streaming service keeps up to date in order to keep their viewership numbers up during the pandemic. While the service may not be their only source of revenue, it is one of the constant sources they have currently available to them. They are still trying to keep their biggest theatrical releases in theaters by simply delaying them, but they need some new content here and there to keep crowds busy. This is why they recently announced things like the ‘Frozen 2’ making of documentary which will premiere on Disney+ on June 26th. This is also complimented by other releases in the near future such as ‘Hamilton.’
The ‘Hamilton’ movie is the film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name which goes through the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton. The musical is inspired by the 2004 biography of the founding father and the show’s music has a combination of hip-hop, R&B, pop, and soul. It was met almost immediately by critical success and was then moved to Broadway within a few months after its initial performance where it won 11 Tony Awards and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Now, an edited form of the musical will be appearing on Disney+ as a film for people to watch on July 3rd instead of its intended theatrical release in October 2021.
By George Robbins
Kevin Smith is known for a number of indie films that have become cult favorites over the years. Among those films from the 90’s when he began his directing career was the movie ‘Mallrats.’ The plot of the movie followed two slackers one day while they are in a mall after their girlfriends break up with them. What follows is a day they will never forget involving a sailboat painting, a scheming store manager, Stan Lee, and a game show. This movie has a diverse cast of characters that all have their own problems and issues, and while some of the stuff in the movie seems out of the ordinary, it really is just a day at the mall. This is what makes the movie memorable in the minds of a lot of the people who’ve seen it.
When the pandemic began, no one could really leave their houses for anything other than the absolutely essential items. So with that in mind people had to find things to do in order to keep themselves from losing their minds in isolation. This, of course, includes writers who were out of work at the time due to film productions being shut down to prevent spread of the virus. Smith found himself stuck without much else to do but work on other projects that he had by the wayside up to this point including a sequel to the cult movie ‘Mallrats.’ So he started working on getting the movie ready for production by working on the script for the sequel.
Nowadays, movie productions are starting back up again with a lot of restrictions in place to keep people from getting the virus. This means that productions that were in the middle of filming can continue working while new productions can begin. Maybe soon Smith will begin the production process for his new sequel and we will get the movie in the, hopefully, not too distant future. Not much is currently known about the plot for the film, but Smith has made it known that he intends to make it reflect the climate that we have had to deal with. He believes that this is a time period that will not be forgotten and believes it will find its way into art from this point onward.
The sequel, called ‘Twilight of the Mallrats’ by Smith, will be a piece of media that will show the world how it currently is to anybody who watches it. If this is true, then the film will be something of a time capsule in the same way the first film depicts society in the 90’s. With a new spike in cases nationwide as a result of people being able to go out more than they were before, there is no telling when filming will start, but Smith already has his cast lined up. He has most of the original cast coming back to the film and while he may not yet have Ben Affleck signed on to reprise his role from the first ‘Mallrats’ he is hopeful that he will. After playing a main antagonist in the first film for one of the main characters it would only make sense if he returned, even for a small part. At this point it is up to Affleck to reprise the role even just momentarily.
By George Robbins
Amusement parks, like many other public places, have been shut down since the middle of March to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Now that non-essential businesses are slowly starting to open back up, it is time that parks begin reopening procedures as well. This has been a topic of discussion ever since the plans were announced, but the question is whether it is safe enough to reopen parks at all. Disney is thinking that it is definitely time for them to open up the gates to allow guests back into their parks. The only issue is the fact that there is a new surge of coronavirus cases all over the nation and especially in California where the Disneyland park is located. This is why parks, like many other businesses, have had to come up with plans to keep the general public safe while in their parks.
Disney plans to reopen both the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland in California next month. The current plan is to have Disney World open on July 11th and to have Disneyland open up on July 17th. Disneyland is the one that seems to have a rougher road ahead of it with the massive spike in virus cases in California with some visitors even petitioning to delay the time until the parks reopens to the public. This is not deterring Disney from their plans and they have expressed their countermeasures against the spread of the virus a lot lately. They are doing all they can to make sure they are up to code and that they will be able to reopen their parks on time.
One of the efforts being made to prevent the virus from spreading and to keep people safe is that Disney World is opening only Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom first. A few days later they will also be adding EPCOT and Hollywood Studios to the list of reopen parks. They will also be temporarily stopping parades, character meet and greets, and similar attractions for the foreseeable future, leaving just a few different types of attractions open for guests. They will also be canceling their Halloween event, which usually draws in massive crowds, in order to prevent crowds from gathering. The online Disney Park Pass system being implemented will allow guests to reserve days to visit the parks.
In order to limit attendance in the parks they are implementing the Park Pass system which helps limit the number of people that can go into a park per day. Also, guests will only be able to visit one park per day with reservations for park visitation being limited in number and subject to availability. The specifics such as availability per park or whether the number of guests allowed will increase over time are unknown. There is no telling if people will end up having issues with the system, but it is the best one in place for the time being under the current guidelines. As of now it will help the parks reopen in the safest way possible and will allow visitors the opportunity to enjoy the parks again.
By George Robbins
It has been over three months now that theaters have unfortunately been shut down for and we are constantly hearing about the effects this has had on theaters. What is also mentioned is the fact that studios have had to shut down movie productions and postpone any theatrical releases that they had scheduled. One studio that has taken the opportunity to test out a release format they have been waiting to try is Universal when they released ‘Trolls World Tour’ on PVOD, or Premium Video On Demand. Apparently they have been meaning to see if it would work out if they released their films straight to digital and the pandemic gave them the perfect chance.
Universal made a statement that the movie did better than the first film financially and that it was a success. Not too long after they made that announcement did they say they were releasing their first live-action PVOD film, ‘The King of Brooklyn.’ They felt that the model thy had constructed was one that was strong enough to support them without them needing to wait and release films theatrically. This created a lot of tension between them and the theater chains, prominently AMC, who then said they would no longer be showing any films that were produced by Universal. Even now, AMC refuses to give way and change their minds.
Universal issued a statement almost immediately after AMC said they would no longer show their films saying that there intention was to release movies simultaneously through both platforms. Movie theaters are already going to be having a rough time moving forward and losing exclusive films doesn’t sit right by them. The exclusivity of a movie being shown in theaters is what companies count on when they want tickets sold for their movies. That is why there is currently such a symbiotic relationship between studios and theaters. This is also why theaters are the biggest part of whether a movie does well. If the movie does well in theaters, then whatever company that owns the film is going to end up making a fortune when the film is done with its theatrical run.
There is no guarantee that PVOD will even end up working out because, as it turns out, ‘Trolls World Tour’ wasn’t as much of a success as the studio reported it being. The film made a lot of money through the direct-to-VOD layout, but was it enough to cover the costs of marketing and production. Even still, unless it makes back at least over twice as much as the costs, then it probably won’t be seen as any kind of success but instead, a failure. There is no telling moving forward if it will be worth putting any more time and effort into the format unless they get enough films released this way to get better figures. On top of that, if they really want a good gauge of how well the movie will do they need to release a film that is highly anticipated. Otherwise, they are just better off doing what other studios are by delaying their movies to wait for a better climate for movie releases.
By George Robbins
For those of you who are Jim Henson fans, then you might be aware that one of the series he created ‘Fraggle Rock’ was supposed to be getting a movie. The development of this movie was something that was being worked on since 2005 and has run into countless problems ever since the inception of the original idea. The original series focused on the adventures of underworld dwelling Fraggles. This interpretation of what life would be like for Muppets but underground is what made Henson’s live-action puppeteering special. The original series ran for a grand total of five seasons and then they had cameos which extended to a large number of different productions.
The Fraggles haven’t seen the spotlight since their appearances in other media, and with the exception of loyal fans, they were forgotten by most. By the year 2005, there was enough interest still in the characters for studios to start looking at making a movie based on the original characters and a new adventure. However, it seems like this plan was really not meant to last since they couldn’t find a screenwriter that they wanted to hire for the film initially before it was handed off. When it was brought to another company 6 years after the initial development was supposed to begin there was hope it would be finished not too long afterward. This was, unfortunately not meant to pass.
The following year, 2012, was when they announced that they found new writers to work on the movie since they could never come up with a script that worked. Two years later, it took Brian Henson saying that the movie was “still in development” to get people to realize the movie was still being made. Within a year of that he mentioned that they were still making a script, but people were enthusiastic about working on it. So with what has been said, and done, by people so far indicates that they had no idea how to make the movie work. That year though, there was hope in the fact that actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt attached himself to the project as a producer and star.
Hope would unfortunately turn to despair because three years after Joseph Gordon-Levitt was attached to the project, there was still no word on whether it was being made. Then there was a statement that he had made about them having a meeting for the film to get it done properly. The ‘Fraggle Rock’ movie would not come to pass as it has now been announced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt himself that the movie is canceled. Instead of there being a movie, they have instead decided to take the Fraggles and put them back on television. The Fraggles will make a return through their new series that will premiere on Apple TV+.
By George Robbins
Recently there seems to just be an influx of good news for DC fans amidst the terrible atmosphere the world is currently experiencing. First, fans found out that there would, in fact, be a Zack Snyder director’s cut of the ‘Justice League’ movie coming out in 2021 to HBO Max. Then we found out more details from ‘Suicide Squad’ director David Ayer about what happened during the filming of his movie and why it ended up the way that it did. Most recently announced is the fact there DC is going to be having a convention entirely online called the DC FanDome which will be a 24 hour event taking place August 22. One of the talked about- but to a lesser extent- projects that is coming up is the movie ‘The Batman.’
Not much is actually known about the film other than who will be acting in the film and what the Batsuit will look like on the big screen. The titular hero is played by Robert Pattinson and the dark knight’s occasional antagonist/sidekick/love interest, Catwoman will be played by Zoë Kravitz. Also starring in the movie is Paul Dano as The Riddler, Jefferey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, and Peter Sarsgaard as District Attorney Gil Colson. As of now, the actors haven’t really revealed any plot details for the movie, but have talked about how great the script for the film was. Paul Dano teased fans by saying that the script of the film was a powerful script and now it seems Zoë Kravitz is backing that up.
As mentioned, Kravitz will be playing the role of Selina Kyle A.K.A. Catwoman and it has already been stated that she had to go through a lot of physical training to prepare for the role. She has been excited to play the role of Catwoman ever since she was cast for the role and has talked at length about the costume fittings she had to do to get into the role of Catwoman. No one is quite sure how she will look on the big screen, but a glimpse of it can be seen online in set photos that were taken. According to Kravitz, Pattinson is the right man for the job to take up the role of “The Bat” after seeing some of what has already been shot and she believes that the script for the film is “phenomenal.” With multiple actors working on the film saying the script is good, we can only hope the end result will be as great as they say it could.
The production for ‘The Batman’ was in the middle of being filmed when the pandemic hit and all productions worldwide had to stop. Going back about a month ago, it was announced that the UK would lift restrictions enough for filming to recommence. Not too long after that, however, there was an announcement that ‘The Batman’ wasn’t ready to resume filming due to the size of the production crew and the difficulty of the entire project. Now that there are a new set of regulations in place, plans have to be made to change the way film productions are done. This movies was meant to be done and released to theaters by October 2021, but with the way things are moving forward, there is no way of knowing when it will release for sure.
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