Tag: Coronavirus

Posted on in Film News

‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Pauses Production Due To Positive COVID-19 Test

Early this morning, it was announced by Warner Bros. via The Hollywood Reporter that they’ve paused filming on Fantastic Beasts 3 due to COVID-19, production was taking place at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England. An undisclosed person working on the film has tested positive (likely because of the extra contagiousness of the UK variant) and are halting production for the time being. Their timeline for the small shutdown wasn’t given but we’ve seen similar shoots in the UK pause for two weeks (14-days) after positive tests.

“A team member from Fantastic Beasts 3 has tested positive for COVID-19,” Warner Bros. told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, without confirming the team member’s identity. “The diagnosis was confirmed as a result of required and ongoing testing that all production employees receive, and the team member is currently in isolation. Out of an abundance of caution, Fantastic Beasts 3 paused production and will be back up in accordance with safety guidelines.”

Using the term “team member” is likely to prevent people from knowing if the person in question is part of the cast or on the crew.

The UK government has decided that while the new contagious strain of the virus is dangerous it’s apparently still a good idea to keep having large groups of people working on film and television sets. I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if we end up seeing more of these pauses in the coming months and into the summer.

Production on Fantastic Beasts 3 started in September after the pandemic delayed it’s early 2020 shoot, they also replaced Johnny Depp with Mads Mikkelsen as the franchise’s villain, Gallert Grindelwald. Last year, during the shoot for The Batman, Robert Pattinson tested positive for COVID-19 leading to that production being paused until it was safe for the actor to return to work. Jurassic World: Dominion also had to pause filming as well.

Two more Fantastic Beasts sequels are in development stages.

The studio recently bumped the release date to July 15th, 2022 allowing them some wiggle-room for future production delays like this.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’: George Miller’s Follow-Up To ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Finally Shooting – Adds ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ Production Designer

After actor Idris Elba caught COVID-19 earlier this year while getting ready to shoot the George Miller film Three Thousand Years of Longing, production on the film halted and Elba returned to the United States to film another project while the project was given time to pause.

According to Deadline, filming has resumed on the secretive project in Sydney, New South Wales Australia and they plan of having the film ready for release by September 2021. The production team for the film budgeted at $60 million includes cinematographer John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road), production designer Roger Ford (Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), and composer Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL (Deadpool, Mad Max: Fury Road).

Ford previously working with Miller on the two Babe movies.

The Sydney-based production, which is observing numerous on-set Covid safety protocols, is in fact 20 days into its 62-day shoot. The team will break up over Christmas and reconvene early next year before wrapping in the early spring for a planned September 2021 delivery. Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba are starring in Miller’s latest, whose plot details are being kept under wraps. The visionary filmmaker previously described the project to us as an “anti-Mad Max” with plenty of interiors and dialogue but also punctuated with action scenes.

George Miller is also prepping a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road focusing on a younger version of Charlize Theron’s Furiosa with a cast that is said to include Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The Mad Max sequel likely won’t begin until either the fall of 2021 or sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ Debut Officially Delayed To January 15th On Disney+

The mystery of WandaVision’s release date has been finally solved!

While there was an expectation back in August that they would be able to begin airing episodes before the end of 2020, that isn’t the case. Disney has officially announced on social media that the series will begin airing on Disney+ starting on January 15th.

Many fans had tried to convince themselves that WandaVision could be ready before December but that obviously wasn’t realistic given that production delays due to COVID-19 has seemingly impacted multiple Marvel Studios even the film slate.

Back in August, in The Ronin’s report on the delay of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier to sometime in 2021 there had been an expectation that WandaVision was much further along in the production/post-production process and could have been ready in late 2020.

Fans will really need to dig deep down to find their patience because targeted release dates are written in sand and not stone. We’ll likely see many more delays and shifts throughout 2021 as situations are influx leading to date changes/production pauses.

This news would confirm that 2020 will be the first year without new MCU projects in a long time.

Other live-action series officially on the way include Loki, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Hawkeye.

WANDAVISION – Marvel Studios’ WandaVision blends the style of classic sitcoms with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany)—two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Television News

Netflix Halts UK Filming On ‘The Witcher’ Series Due To Four Positive COVID-19 Tests From Today

Despite a lockdown in the United Kingdom, film and television productions were allowed to keep going without much hindrance from the British government.

There is now a report from Deadline that filming has paused by Netflix after four people working on the fantasy series had tested positive for COVID-19 today. Filming on the Henry Cavill show had been taking place at Arborfield Studios which is near London, England.

Netflix has halted production in the UK on The Witcher following multiple positive COVID-19 cases, we can reveal. The four positive cases are from today, we have confirmed, and Netflix will carry out an isolated round of testing of everyone involved in the show. Those impacted have been isolated and are not among lead cast, we hear.

This would be the second time that filming has been disrupted by positive COVID-19 tests.

Given the increase of COVID cases in the UK and the lockdown, it seems odd that productions are being allowed to keep going and this just another example that even being extremely careful the amount of people on set just makes it easier for people to get exposed to an airborne virus.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Neon Distributing Ben Wheatley Horror Flick ‘In The Earth’ – Secretly Shot During The Pandemic

Neon, best known for the domestic release of Oscar-winner Parasite will be distributing a new horror film titled In The Earth directed by Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, Rebecca, A Field In England) secretly during the pandemic according to Deadline via the American Film Market.

As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness, the forest coming to life around them.

In The Earth is said to be aiming for release sometime next year and I’ll be keeping my fingers-crossed that this pandemic project will a bit more tasteful than the Michael Bay-produced Songbird (feels super exploitative from the trailer).

It’s cast consists of Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, and Reece Shearsmith.

The director is no stranger to horror tackling films such as Kill List and Sightseers, the latter skewing more in the realm of satire.

Ben Wheatley is attached to direct Tomb Raider 2 and The Meg sequel for Warner Bros. but when those will shoot is a little unclear.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

UK Heading Into Second National Lockdown This Week – Will Not Impact Film Productions For The Moment

The British government has announced via Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s national address over the weekend that after weeks of dire COVID-19 predictions for the region they’re finally moving back into a second national lockdown starting on November 5th and lifting it on December 2nd (could be extended if necessary).

JOHNSON: “Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day”

For comparison, UK COVID-19 cases have topped 1,000,000 including 47,717 deaths while the United States still hasn’t instituted a national lockdown with 9,280,000 million cases and over 231,000 COVID-19 deaths.

While dine-in bars/restaurants (can do takeout), cinemas, and other non-essentially businesses are closing film productions are expected to chug along like nothing is happening. I’m curious how long that will last if more productions publicly deal with new positive cases after both Jurassic World: Dominion and The Batman dealt with their own recently, the latter seeing star Robert Pattinson test positive for COVID-19.

This was later backed-up by Oliver Dowden, the government’s Culture Secretary on Twitter.

Things like schools, universities, construction sites and manufacturing businesses will stay open. However, that could change if they don’t see a decrease in numbers which might also lead to stricter measures and might lead to everything non-essentially getting closed including film shoots (filming in a bubble or not).

As previously stated, The Batman and Jurassic World: Dominion are filming in the United Kingdom alongside Fantastic Beasts 3. There is an expectation that the Moon Knight series, Ant-Man 3, Captain Marvel 2, and The Flash are prepping to shoot as well in the new year. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness was supposed to film at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, however, trades have suggested that lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch is set to shoot his scenes in Atlanta for Spider-Man 3 before filming starts on the Strange sequel.

A lot can happen in a month and it doesn’t seem they’re going all-in with this new lockdown, which might return to bite them in the ass as did the slow response to rising new cases and delayed second lockdown when the government knew months ago that this was only getting worse in the UK. I’m worried these half-steps just won’t be enough and they’ll essentially announce a more rigorous lockdown in a couple weeks or in December, extending it throughout the holidays.

Posted on in Film News

‘The Batman’ Release Officially Delayed To March 4th, 2022 – Other DC Films Also Shuffle Dates

Tonight, Warner Bros. has confirmed Colldier’s scoop that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune will indeed be taking The Batman’s current release date of October 1st, 2021 as the DC comics movie has been officially moved to March 4th, 2022.

There was some shuffling of the other DC Comics films too.

They’ve also pulled Black Adam from the schedule entirely as it had been set for release on December 22nd, 2021, moved The Flash to November 4th, 2022, and the Shazam! sequel heads to June 3rd, 2023.

Wonder Woman 1984 is still seemingly set for Christmas Day, but that will likely get delayed as well in the coming days.

From Warner Bros. Pictures comes “The Batman,” with director Matt Reeves (the “Planet of the Apes” films) at the helm and with Robert Pattinson (“Tenet,” “The Lighthouse,” “Good Time”) starring as Gotham City’s vigilante detective, Batman, and billionaire Bruce Wayne.

Also in the star-studded ensemble as Gotham’s famous and infamous cast of characters are Zoë Kravitz (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”) as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano (“Love & Mercy,” “12 Years a Slave”) as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright (the “Hunger Games” films) as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro (the “Transformers” films) as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard (“The Magnificent Seven,” “Black Mass”) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Barry Keoghan (“Dunkirk”) as Officer Stanley Merkel; Jayme Lawson (“Farewell Amor”) as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis (the “Planet of the Apes” films, “Black Panther”) as Alfred; and Colin Farrell (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Dumbo”) as Oswald Cobblepot.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

Posted on in Film News

‘Dune’ Reportedly Delayed To 2021 – Takes Over ‘The Batman’ Release Date On October 1st

According to a report from Collider, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movie will be released on Oct 1st, 2021 after been previously set for a date of December 18th by Warner Bros./Legendary.

The October date was originally meant for Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

This would mean that The Batman would be either given an earlier date or possibly delayed further. I have to imagine given how crowded 2021 has become and it hasn’t completed filming that pushing to a date in 2022 might be the right move. It’s possible it could nab the Black Adam’s release date of December 22nd, 2021 as that film is looking a delay after production was delayed due to Dwayne Johnson finishing up the Netflix film Red Notice.

I’m sure we’ll hear about a new release date very soon once Warner Bros. confirms that Dune is being bumped to 2021.

Wonder Woman 1984 moving to Christmas Day seemed to telegraph that they wanted to bump Dune to a later date, however, I wouldn’t be shocked if that film is pushed into 2021 as well.

Major American theater chain Regal has announced they will be closing their doors again, but some have speculated that the company might not reopen all (not enjoy evidence to support that). Then again, studios pulling their massive movies out of 2020 would give chains plenty of reason to close their doors again as No Time To Die, Black Widow, and now Dune haven’t left them with many options.

DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

SOURCE: COLLIDER

Posted on in Film News

‘No Time To Die’ Officially Delayed To April 2021 – Originally Planned To Release In November

The 25th James Bond film No Time To Die has been officially delayed from November 20th to April 2nd, 2021.

EON made the following statement on the franchise’s official Twitter account.

MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of NO TIME TO DIE, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2 April 2021 in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience.

We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing NO TIME TO DIE next year.

They had originally planned on releasing the film in April of this year before the Coronavirus pandemic shuttered theaters across the globe.

SOURCE: EON

Posted on in Film News

Second Round of Shutdowns In The UK and Elsewhere Could Have A Huge Impact On Hollywood’s Recovery

Movie theaters around the globe are trying to recover from the last couple of months but it looks like they could be closing again in multiple countries sooner than expected. The United Kingdom and Canada are currently seeing spikes of new cases of Coronavirus that has led to new restrictions along with promises from governments that a second national shutdown isn’t off the table if things don’t improve. 

New cases in the United Kingdom could hit as high as 50,000 per day by mid-October, which would be more than the United States is currently seeing as September 20th numbers were 34,586. The UK’s numbers on Monday were reportedly 4,368, a steady increase going the wrong way as the numbers have been doubling every seven days. The idea is to prevent 200+ deaths per day. 

Spain has already instituted restrictions on Madrid just months after European countries eased restrictions back in July. The continent is now seeing rises just like the UK with Spain seeing 31, 428 new cases since Friday. 

France also hit 13,000 new cases on Saturday and 10,569 on Sunday. 

Not the direction you want to see when there are predictions of a massive second wave in the fall and winter. 

The film industry has seemingly shrugged off the lackluster domestic returns thinking that international box office numbers will keep studios afloat. However, if places like the UK, Europe, and Canada shut down theaters again a massive movie like No Time To Die might lose a lot of money and end up hurting Hollywood’s recovery. 

The United Kingdom is also trying bounce-back concerning film production with large studio films such as The Batman, Fantastic Beasts 3, and Mission: Impossible 7-8 said to be currently filming. A shutdown could see those shoots placed on pause again if the government suddenly decides it’s not a good idea while the country is seeing significant COVID-19 spikes. Robert Pattinson had reportedly tested positive for Coronavirus despite the strict safety precautions promoted ahead of the production resuming in London. 

Other projects expected to shoot in the United Kingdom soon include Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness (Longcross Studios), Ant-Man 3 (Pinewood Studios UK), The Flash (Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden), and Marvel’s Moon Knight series. Some of these shoots could see hiccups in the pre-production/prep stages if not massive filming delays if there is a prolonged shutdown. 

Dwayne Johnson and his family tested positive for COVID-19, he’s already back on the set of Netflix’s Red Notice in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming on The Falcon & The Winter Soldier has also resumed in Atlanta as well with expectations that Loki and other shows will begin there soon. 

It seems extremely irresponsible on the part of studios to chug along like nothing is wrong given that the state of Georgia with a population of 3.7 million has more new cases of COVID-19 than the entire country of Canada that has a population of 37.4 million, the latter on the cusp of greenlighting a second shutdown that could see productions in Toronto, Montreal, and even Vancouver stop entirely again. Not to mention, pulling down theater ticket sales as Canadian box office dollars are included in the domestic cumes.  

We’ll have to see the numbers can be turned around without national shutdowns but it doesn’t seem like it can be avoided at this point.