March 18, 2020 1:46PM PT Movie theater owners are calling on Congress and President Donald Trump to take emergency measures to provide financial relief for an industry that’s been hit hard by the impact of coronavirus. Cinemas have shuttered and new releases have been delayed as the world grapples with an unprecedented global health crisis.
Movies
Even under the best circumstances, Hollywood studios and exhibitors were concerned about how the 2020 box office would stack up in a year with decidedly less sure-fire hits. But now that movie theaters across the country have begun dimming their marquee lights for an indefinite period of time to help contain the spread of coronavirus,
There’s never a bad time to be reminded of and introduced to great cinematic works and their authors and filmmakers, but 2020 is turning out to be a particularly necessary time for cultural enrichment and artistic nourishment. At home. So the timing couldn’t be better for Stephen Farber and Michael McClellan’s new tome, “Cinema ’62,”
Australian filmmaker P.J. Hogan has come full circle with his award-winning international hit comedy “Muriel’s Wedding.” Not only is Hogan observing the 25th anniversary of the release in the U.S. this March, he was in New York in prepping pre-production on “Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical” before the coronavirus restrictions hit. The stage version scored a
To put it simply — and, yes, gratefully — “Phoenix, Oregon” is the sort of movie a lot of us need right now. It’s an undemandingly enjoyable and reassuringly predictable dramedy in which nothing, not even the sourball attitudes of its comically unpleasant malcontents, ever is allowed to get out of hand or unduly strain
An initiative led by Hollywood talent agency CAA to set up a virtual film market that would replace the Cannes Marché du Film in the event of its cancellation due to coronavirus is being welcomed by some European sales agents, and has prompted Cannes to announce its own virtual market. Sources have confirmed that a
Sister has invested in AWA (Artists, Writers & Artisans) Studios, a new comic book and digital media publisher, Variety has learned. The company is unique in that it is owned and operated by the creators. It was founded by Marvel alumni Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso, along with Jon Miller, the former CEO of News
In the wake of a spate of short film festival cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, several programmers have joined hands to launch a fundraising festival. “My Darling Quarantine,” an online short film festival set up by programmers from the Tallin Black Nights festival, Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno, went live on the Talking Shorts
Now that the gravity of a growing coronavirus pandemic has settled in and people are looking to safeguard their health and their livelihoods, the entertainment industry is grappling with three essential questions: How painful will the toll of shutdowns be on the industry’s lowest-paid workers? How high will the financial losses climb? And how will
Research by Chinese ticketing agency Maoyan appears to show that Chinese people have not lost their taste for feature films during the recent coronavirus-enforced closure of cinemas. Nearly all (97%) of the people surveyed have been watching movies at home. After being cooped up for weeks, more than half (54%) are more keen than they
March 17, 2020 9:35PM PT The Sydney Film Festival, set to have taken place in June in Australia’s most populous city, has been canceled. Festival organizers called the move a “responsible decision – albeit a devastating one.” The festival had been planned to take place June 3-14, 2020. But upheaval became inevitable after the state of
Lionsgate has joined the parade of releases pulled from theatrical release due to the coronavirus pandemic, pulling the Chris Rock-Samuel L. Jackson “Saw” reboot, Janelle Monae’s “Antebellum” and Sarah Paulson’s “Run.” Lionsgate made the moves on Tuesday, in the wake of Disney-Marvel pulling its Scarlett Johansson superhero adventure “Black Widow,” from its May 1 slot,
In today’s film news roundup, Jamie Foxx signs on to direct “When We Pray,” the Garden State Film Festival is going to stream all 240 of its films rather than holding physical events and Courtney B. Vance pitches for the new COVID-19 fund for SAG-AFTRA members. FINANCING Jamie Foxx has come on board to direct
A day after Idris Elba announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus, the actor returned to Twitter on Tuesday to update his followers and fans on his condition, explain how he was able to get tested, and shed some more light on how he likely contracted COVID-19. Most notably, Elba and offer a sharp
Cinemark, the nation’s third largest movie theater chain, has joined AMC and Regal in closing down operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Based in Plano, Texas, Cinemark has 345 North American locations. In addition to Cinemark, the circuit operates Century Theatres, Tinseltown, CinéArts and Rave circuits. It’s unclear when they will reopen. “Through these absolutely
Amid widespread closures of movie theaters in the U.S., the National Association of Theatre Owners, the exhibition industry’s trade organization, is predicting that customers will return after the coronavirus pandemic has abated. “No one can precisely predict when public life will return to normal, but it will return,” NATO said Tuesday in a statement.. “The
Disney’s “Black Widow” is the latest tentpole to shift its release date because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Marvel superhero adventure, starring Scarlett Johansson, was slated to hit theaters May 1. The studio also pulled “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” from its Searchlight banner, and “The Woman in the Window,” a 20th Century title,
It’s been nearly two years since TV bid farewell to Fox’s “New Girl” and for actor-comedian Lamorne Morris, who played Winston Bishop in the Zooey Deschanel series, he’s ready for his next big moment. This year, Morris stars with Vin Diesel in Sony’s action-thriller “Bloodshot,” which opened Friday, appears in a Netflix movie (“Desperado”), has
March 17, 2020 8:15AM PT Jared Leto said he first learned about the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, after emerging from a 12-day meditation retreat in the desert. “Wow. We were totally isolated. No phone, no communication etc. We had no idea what was happening outside the facility,” Leto wrote on Instagram. “Walked out yesterday into a
Thailand on Tuesday ordered the closure of cinemas and other entertainment facilities as part of a raft of measures intended to control the spread of the lethal coronavirus outbreak. It also said that the country’s biggest public holiday Songkran will not take place in April. The cabinet of the national government approved the closure of
March 17, 2020 3:41AM PT Leading U.K. cinemas chains have announced they are closing theaters in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Cineworld and Picturehouse announced that they are shuttering all cinemas across the U.K. from Wednesday. Their cinemas in Ireland will be closed from Tuesday. The Odeon cinema chain is closing its theaters today until
March 17, 2020 3:24AM PT U.K. theater chain Odeon has said all its cinemas in the country are to close. In a statement on its website, Odeon said that the cinemas would be closed until further notice. “Following government guidelines, Odeon Cinemas are closed until further notice. If you have pre-booked tickets online, these will
Warner Bros. has suspended its Harry Potter studio tour outside London for the foreseeable future. The studio has said there have been no reported cases of Covid-19 out of the tour complexes, but “out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of the health and well-being of our visitors, employees and community partners”
The British Film Institute is convening its Screen Sector Taskforce to help deal with what it has called the “unprecedented challenge” presented to the film industry by coronavirus. In a letter to the industry, BFI chief executive Ben Roberts said the organization was “keenly aware that the wide-ranging and damaging impact of the virus is
Production of three “Avatar” sequels in New Zealand has been put on hold as a precaution against the coronavirus outbreak. Sources at the New Zealand Film Commission confirmed a postponement “until further notice” after local reports emerged Tuesday that crew members had received emails from the producers announcing an immediate suspension of production. The film’s
AMC Theatres announced on Monday that it will close all theaters nationwide for six to 12 weeks in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision came as governors of a dozen states announced closures of movie theaters on Sunday and Monday, and as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued strict guidelines limiting public
A rideshare with a giggly geek driver who may be a serial killer. The staggering-through-the-ink-black-woods-with-nothing-but-a-flashlight look and mood of “The Blair Witch Project.” A mystic schlock demon like Candyman, the Slender Man, or the spectral figures from “The Strangers.” A Victrola in the middle of the road, cranking an ancient warbly ditty à la “The
Warner Bros. will make “Birds of Prey,” a spinoff of 2017’s “Suicide Squad,” available for digital purchase on March 24, earlier than its anticipated video-on-demand release. The film is expected to cost $19.99 to buy on platforms such as Amazon and iTunes, and will be available for rental in April, the studio confirmed to Variety.
In today’s film news roundup, a disaster fund for SAG-AFTRA members is launched, the Doc10 festival is postponed and the Miami Film Festival plans to present awards, even though the event was called off in the middle of the festival with 27 films still to screen. DISASTER RELIEF The SAG-AFTRA Foundation and the SAG-AFTRA Motion
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have announced that they’ve donated $1 million to two hunger relief organizations on the frontlines helping some of the most vulnerable populations during the coronavirus pandemic. “I think we can all agree, Covid-19 is an a–hole,” Reynolds wrote on his Twitter feed. “If you can help, visit, http://FeedingAmerica.org and/or http://FoodBanksCanada.ca.”