With the mainline series of Star Wars films apparently completed, we are now learning a lot more about behind-the-scenes. For many, this film was a mixed reception film that has people from both camps wrestling with how to feel about it. Some people like the way that the film turned out because it gives some finality to the series. Others think that it is just a cop out and wasn’t worthy of being called the last movie in the series. In other words, many people feel opinionated about the film and the trilogy it is a part of as a whole.
‘The Rise of Skywalker’ follows the end of the story of Rey and her rise as a Jedi against the First Order. The story for the film makes sense in the context of the universe we are presented with. There are plenty of moments throughout the film that show just how much effort actually went into the creation of the movie. That being said, we can’t always get everything we want from a film. It is up to the director and the editors for the film to decide what should make it into the film.
For most films we often times learn how a lot of footage ends up getting cut in the final cut of the film. Among the cut portions of footage, we usually end up with action sequences which have also been cut. Very recently, the stunt coordinator for the ‘Rise of Skywalker’ revealed that only about 10% of the action sequences were cut. So 90% of the action sequences filmed for the movie actually made it in. This itself is a surprising bit of news, but one we are glad for.
The action scenes in a Star Wars production are mostly the reason as to why the films can be so entertaining. Of course the other reason they are so entertaining is because of the lore of the universe it takes place in. However, the lore is what most people fight over when it comes to how the recent films were received critically. The action sequences are similar to an art form most of the time because of how duels are portrayed in the series. So its nice to know that the movie hardly cut any of what makes it interesting and that everything was good enough that they decided to keep it in the film.
There are many musicals that exist in the world, with some obviously being more popular than others. Many musicals even end up getting film adaptations if they do well enough. Some of these adaptations end up doing very well, while others slip into obscurity. Often times, when an adaptation is announced, people sit by with bated breath to see whether it turns out like they think it will. Usually these adaptations turn out well due to the translation from musical stage performance to musical film being within the same medium.
Some film adaptations for musicals have become all-time classics that are simply beloved. Included on that list are the 1982 version of Annie, Grease, Hello, Dolly!, West Side Story and more. These films become classics and this eventually makes them viable for new generation adaptations for the films. We know that a new adaptation for West Side Story is currently in development, and now we are getting a brand new adaptation for a different production. Now, we are getting an adaptation for the production Wicked.
‘Wicked’ tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and her journey into villainhood. Before the events of The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s arrival, the world was a different place. By viewing things before she came to the world, we can see what made her journey what it was. The musical was widely regarded as one of the best of the decade and that made it perfect for a film adaptation.
‘Wicked’ is being directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) and produced by Marc Platt (Into the Woods, Bridge of Spies). The screenplay is by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life), who also wrote the book for the three-time Tony-winning stage musical. The musical is based on the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire. The music and lyrics for the film are being done by three-time Oscar®-winning composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz. As of now, the movie is slated for release in December of 2021.
Director Judd Apatow is known for his somewhat true to life comedy/drama films depicting possible real life events. What I mean by possible real life events is that the events portrayed in the films are events that could actually happen to people in everyday life. While the films have more exaggerated comedic storytelling, they also show what could actually be real comedic moments in life. Apatow has done an excellent job at portraying comedic realities over the years with films such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and This Is 40. Now he is working to make another film reality.
Also working on the film with Apatow is stand-up comedian Pete Davidson. Davidson is mostly known for his work on Saturday Night Live, or SNL, as well as his appearances on MTV. On MTV he has appeared on shows such as Guy Code, Wild n’ Out, and Failosophy. He has appeared to perform stand-up on shows like Adam DeVine’s House Party, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Comedy Underground with Dave Attell. Now he is working with Apatow to make a semi-autobiographical film about his own life.
‘The King of Staten Island’ is a semi-autobiographical film which tells the story of the early life of comedian Pete Davidson. The film also includes the loss of his father in the 9/11 attacks and getting into the world of stand-up comedy. The premise of the film follows main character Scott, played by Davidson, as he tries to find his way in life having not truly grown up after his father’s death when he was seven. Normally he spends all day smoking weed, hanging out with his friends, and hooking up with his best friend. This changes when his mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter and this forces him to try and move past his trauma to move forward in life.
‘The King of Staten Island’ was directed and written by Judd Apatow, and also written by Pete Davidson and Dave Sirus. The movie stars Pete Davidson, Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Maude Apatow, and Steve Buscemi. The movies is being distributed to the general public by Universal Pictures. While the movie is slated to be released on June 19th of this year, it is still unknown whether this will hold up due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides films releasing on digital, there are films that are being delayed for their theatrical release. While the films being released on digital are losing out on revenue because they aren’t premiering theatrically, they are still being released to the public. The films that are being delayed are causing all sorts of calendar issues. ‘F9’ was one of the few films that got lucky and managed to fill itself into a new spot the same way ‘No Time to Die’ did. Disney is one of the companies affected the strongest by these issues and is resulting in countless scheduling issues.
Where the problems stem from is the fact that movies are given time slots for their releases. Taking the films from those slots means that they now need new release slots to be put into. No one knows how long this pandemic will last for, but for now there are still movies that have set release dates. Those films have not been bumped from their spots and it saves those companies a lot of headaches. As of now, Disney is getting the brunt of these headaches which stems mostly from them owning so many subsidiaries.
Their delays are creating issues for the rest of the 2020 calendar year and are even starting to affect the 2021 calendar. By moving film release slots around, there are compromises that must be made so the films can be released. This ends up moving other films around or just pushes back films entirely. They have to try and make sure that they don’t undercut other companies while ensuring their own releases don’t get ruined.
What we end up with, in the end, is a nightmare for companies that could completely change the way movies are released for years to come. So if there is any film that people are looking forward to, they may not get to see it for awhile. With films having to be released at later dates, they could end up selling poorly by comparison. Dates are strategically chosen in order to maximize the amount of money that they will end up making from its release. So now, companies will have to work hard after the pandemic to come up with proper release dates.
There are plenty of films that are currently being affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. One of the films that has been affected the hardest by the outbreak is the ‘Trolls World Tour’ film. Of the films that have been announced to be released to digital, ‘Trolls World Tour’ was a surprising addition. The film has not yet released, but it is set to be released on streaming services.
‘Trolls World Tour’ was slated for a release to theaters like any other movie, until the Covid-19 pandemic changed those plans. While not the only film that will instead be released to digital, it is the first to have been slated for digital before its theatrical release. This decision was not an easy one to have been made by Universal since this forces them to lose out on revenue in the long run. This plan of theirs has gone on to become slightly controversial in the industry now because of how the public are seeing it.
‘Trolls World Tour’ is a continuation of the original ‘Trolls’ film that sees the main characters traveling their world to stop evil trolls from taking over. The film stars a musical ensemble cast of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, James Corden, Kunal Nayyar, Rachel Bloom, Anderson Paak, George Clinton, Mary J. Blige, Kenan Thompson, Kelly Clarkson, Gustavo Dudamel, Sam Rockwell, Walt Dohrn, Icona Pop, Ester Dean, Anthony Ramos, Ron Funches, Jamie Dornan, Charlyne Yi, Karan Soni, J Balvin, Red Velvet, and Kevin Michael Richardson. The film was directed by Walt Dohrn with co-direction by David P. Smith, produced by Gina Shay, and written by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Elizabeth Tippet, Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky, from a story by Aibel and Berger. It will be available for digital release on April 10th, 2020.
‘West Side Story’ is a classic musical production which has seen countless time on stages over the years. It was so popular in fact that it spawned a musical film of the same name. That film would go on to win ten of the eleven academy awards that it was nominated for. The original production is widely regarded as one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. ‘West Side Story’ single-handedly changed American musical theater after its release.
The ‘West Side Story’ Broadway production was conceived, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince, and it marked Sondheim’s Broadway debut. The Broadway production of the film ran for a total of 732 performances before it went on tour. It was then nominated, in 1957, for six different Tony awards in which it won a couple of them. This musical became what would essentially become a standard in the industry fro years to come and gave us a lot of excellent performances.
For those unaware, the musical is based off the story of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ by William Shakespeare. It tells the story of young protagonist Tony falling in love with Maria in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York. Tony used to be a member of the Jets, a white gang, and Maria is the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Jets’ rivals, the Sharks which is a Puerto Rican gang. With its dark themes, well-written music, and extended dance numbers, the musical became an iconic part of Broadway. The film adaptation follows the story of the musical closely, to the point that it will always remain a classic.
Even in the year 2020, ‘West Side Story’ remains a film that should be shared across generations, and we will get to see a modern adaptation of the film. The new release of the film is directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner. The movie stars Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, Rita Moreno, Mike Faist, and Curtiss Cook. The screenplay for the film is expected to adhere more closely to the Broadway script than the 1961 film adaptation. ‘West Side Story is expected to release on December 18th, 2020.
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