In video games, there are, more often then not, NPCs that populate the world you are playing in. For those unaware, NPC stands for non-player character; a simulation of a person. There are games where these characters are important to the story of a game and are responsible for moving a plot along. On the other hand, there are games where NPCs are there to simply populate the game world for depth or to add challenge. Unless they are a part of a game’s story, they don’t have many actions they can do, but some can still interact with the player. What if an NPC that isn’t suppose to interact with a player decides to and realizes that he is in a game?
The upcoming movie ‘Free Guy’ tells the story of one such NPC who finds out one day that he is a part of a video game world. Guy is the name of the character, and he discovers that the game he is in, called Free City, is soon going to be shut down. He manages to gain awareness of the world that he lives in after a new code is inserted into the game world by the game publisher Antoine. The code developed by programmers Milly and Keys who must similarly help to try and keep the game they have been working on from shutting down. With help from Guy, they just might be able to do it.
‘Free Guy’ was announced by Ryan Reynolds a little while back and it seemed like an interesting idea. It is a concept that hasn’t really ever been given life before, but it could do very well. The comedy in the film seems to be what anybody would have expected from those who have been listed working on it. The world that it is set in, from a player’s perspective, seems like it is a film industry look at what a game world is like, which doesn’t seem great. However, the way the world looks from the perspective of the NPCs is what makes it look real, and I think this is one of the points of the film.
‘Free Guy’ itself is a sci-fi action comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, who also directed Big Fat Liar, Cheaper by the Dozen, the Night at the Museum series, and Stranger Things. Acting in the film is Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi. The story, as well as screenplay, was written by Matt Lieberman with screenwriter Zak Penn (The Avengers) assisting with the screenplay. It is being produced by Reynolds, Levy, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Adam Kolbrenner. As of now, it is slated for theatrical release on July 3, 2020.
Disney, as we all know, is a multimedia empire that owns all different kinds of properties that are beloved. With that said, it is an entertainment industry. So, in order to continue to bring in revenue and innovate to increase stock or at least keep it level, they must keep selling tickets and merchandise. With Covid-19 preventing people from leaving home or gathering anywhere, Disney is having a hard time making up for the whole mess. Parks and stores are closed, productions are cancelled, and theaters are shut down.
Movie productions have all but shut down as of now and since Disney owns so many properties, they are losing time for future films. Among the movies whose productions have shut down are the Avatar sequels, the live-action Little Mermaid, Shang–Chi and the Legend of the Rings, The Last Duel, Nightmare Alley, Vacation Friends, Shrunk, Peter Pan & Wendy, and Home Alone for Disney+. With these films in development limbo, Disney has a hard time ahead of them because they, like many other companies, are losing out on a lot of revenue. They are still bringing money in with Disney+, but they are losing out with investors since everything is shut down.
To put in perspective how much Disney is losing and how much has already been lost, one month ago their stock was sitting at 141.30, but now sits at somewhere around 92. They aren’t the only company getting hit hard by the crisis, with airline companies also being gouged by everything that is going on. Things going wrong for them has just been a bit more noticeable because they are, like many businesses, still paying employees who cannot work due to the virus. Not only that, but due to health concerns, they have had to push film releases such as Black Widow, back from their original release as well. Although they originally had no plans to do so, things have taken a drastic turn.
On the brighter side, to put it lightly, with streaming services and people being able to work from home, the conglomerate hasn’t had to shut down completely. This is an issue shared by numerous, if not all companies at the moment. The question that remains is how they will try and recover when everything is said and done. Some believe that other companies can take advantage of Disney’s current misfortune, but other companies are going through similar issues or will be going through them. During quarantine or following it, we will see how they manage to react to the issue and make up for it.
Not too long ago, it was revealed that the pre-production for an Uncharted live action film had begun. Next month, shooting for the film was supposed to have started but as stated above, that is being pushed indefinitely. It is starting to become more and more apparent that everyone, including actors are becoming infected with the Coronavirus. With that in mind, the safest thing to do in order to stem infection is to cancel all productions. This isn’t the first film that has had its production halted by the virus. Other films included on that list are The Little Mermaid‘s live action edition, the Avatar sequels, Nightmare Alley, and more.
For those that don’t know what the premise of the game or its series are, I’ll go through it quickly. The games follow the story of treasure hunter Nathan Drake and his travels all over the world. His goal is to uncover all number of historical mysteries that people have never been able to figure out. In an Indiana Jones fashion, the games always have a faction of rival treasure hunters that want the same artifact the main character does. This is how the games in those series go plot-wise and keep the stories fun, yet simple.
The ‘Uncharted’ film was to be led by Tom Holland as the lead character of Nathan Drake. Also starring alongside Holland was supposed to be Mark Wahlberg as Sullivan the friend and mentor of Drake. The movie is supposed to be a prequel to the games starring Holland as a younger Drake. ‘Uncharted’ sees Drake meeting Sully for the first time and the details of them becoming friends.
Other actors that were set to premiere within the film were Antonio Banderas, Tati Gabrielle, and Sophia Ali. Ruben Fleischer, the director behind Zombieland: Double Tap and Venom, is the director for the film and the current version of the script is written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. They are still on board with the film at this time, but with Sony’s announcement, we haven’t received any word on whether the release date will be pushed. As of now, the movie is set to be released on March 5th, 2021, but this will likely change in the near future. We will find out in the near future when, or if, they will continue their plan to film in Berlin, but for now it may be a few months.
Amazon Prime has been dropping all sorts of new shows and movies lately through their own production studio. The shows that they pump out are full episode series that manage to keep people entertained and are regularly given decent to good reviews. The shows themselves vary wildly, but the variety does well for the shows and Amazon itself. Prime Video is a place that offers a lot of different streaming opportunities for different kinds of people. One such example is the upcoming title ‘Upload’ mentioned above.
‘Upload’ is an upcoming Amazon Prime Video sci-fi comedy satire series. The premise of the show is that when people are near-death, they can inject their consciousness into a virtual afterlife. The series is set in an advanced future where hologram phones, 3D food printers and automated grocery stores are normal. In this world, people must decide on a whim if they want to live in a virtual realm for the remainder of eternity.
This series follows young app developer Nathan Brown after he gets into a self-driving car accident. In the hospital, following the accident, he must make the decision that will forever decide his fate. After a very quick discussion with his girlfriend, he is transported to her family’s luxurious virtual afterlife, the Horizen company’s “Lakeview.” Nathan meets his customer service “Angel” Nora Anthony once uploaded who becomes his guide and friend in the afterlife.
‘Upload’ is a series which stars starring Robbie Amell (Code 8), Andy Allo (Pitch Perfect 3), Kevin Bigley (Undone), Allegra Edwards (New Girl), and Zainab Johnson (American Koko). The series was created by Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation) who also serves as executive producer along with Howard Klein (The Office). The series is an upcoming satirical comedy which shows us a world that can give us everything we think we want. It will release on Amazon Prime Video for the public on May 1st, 2020.
Lionsgate is responsible for the production and distribution of numerous films of various genres. Many of their films are action based films, but they have a number of mystery films as well. Most recently, Lionsgate released ‘Knives Out,’ a mystery thriller from Rian Johnson that tells a whodunit kind of story. Now, coming soon, is another mystery thriller film called ‘The Quarry’ which tells the story of a town sheriff and a drifter.
‘The Quarry’ tells the story of a drifter who was responsible for the murdering of a traveling preacher. He then travels to a small town and poses as the man he killed. The congregation that he ends up amassing in the town love his sermons about forgiveness, but not everyone trusts him. The local police chief doesn’t trust the words of the mysterious drifter and definitely thinks there is more to him. Soon, a discovery at the local quarry forces the drifter to fight for freedom.
The stars of ‘The Quarry’ are Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Bobby Soto, and Bruno Bichir. The movie was written and directed by director Scott Teems. It was also written by Andrew Brontzman based on The Quarry by Damon Galgut. The film was produced by Laura D. Smith and Kristin Mann. It will release in select theaters and On Demand on April 17th, 2020.
As of now, on March 16th, it has been announced that movie theaters will be closing in New York City and Los Angeles due to Covid-19 concerns. They are being forced to close due to the fact they are massive, densely populated cities. However, they will not be the only ones closed for long since the number of cases is rising. Talks of theaters closing all over the country are happening just like how there are talks of all public gathering places being shut down. Given how quickly and easily this virus spreads, that is definitely the best option on the table at the moment. Luckily, this isn’t really much of an issue.
Covid-19 is a virus that can be deadly in the same way other viruses can be deadly; it can lead to more and more complications. Steps are already in place to keep more people from getting infected and the closing of public venues is part of it. Theaters are among a number of places which are obviously dangerous when it comes to the spreading of disease. People need to be safe and this is the best way of doing so; by forcing people not to gather in large groups, the risk of infection spreading lowers which ostensibly lowers the risk of high risk people dying.
People can keep safe by washing their hands and avoiding direct contact with others. A vaccine is currently being developed and tested in clinical trials, and hopefully with results soon to follow. Although the number of cases will only increase as time goes on, people shouldn’t panic as much as they have been. Sure, it isn’t easy to not be anxious about it because we think of it as being this horrific disease. Don’t let that make you decide on stupid or panicky decisions.
For instance, try to avoid public places like the government wants you to do and if you have to go out, then be careful. Take the theaters and other public places closing as a safety warning and take steps to avoid spread of the disease. The upcoming increase in isolation can be taxing, but it is necessary and we can take that time to focus on other things in our personal lives while we’re at it. People should take the opportunity to take advantage of the isolation and don’t worry because eventually everything will open back up again.
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