coronavirus

11 Nov

Hugh Grant Caught Coronavirus, Made Dolls Kiss, Sniffed Garbage

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Hugh Grant has confirmed that he caught coronavirus at the start of 2020, describing his various symptoms as both embarrassing and panic-inducing as they developed. The actor, who is currently doing the rounds promoting his new psychological thriller miniseries The Undoing, where he stars opposite Nicole Kidman, didn’t paint a particularly fun picture of his COVID-19 experience when he popped up on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week. Grant apparently caught coronavirus all the way back in February when he was in London with his wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein. He didn’t get tested (it was virtually impossible in…

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13 Jul

Tenet Delay Imminent as Coronavirus Spreads, Analyst Predicts

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Like a magician’s best illusion, the hopes predicated on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet resuscitating the moviegoing experience are vanishing all around us. And adding suspense to this grim trick is a new report from Eric Handler, a leading exhibition industry analyst with MKM Partners. According to Handler, there is a “low likelihood” that Tenet keeps its scheduled Aug. 12 release date, particularly in the wake of rising rates of infection in states across the U.S., including Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona. “The near-term outlook for exhibition related stocks remains extremely clouded,” Handler wrote. “It would be surprising to see theaters able…

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08 Jul

Halloween Kills Moves to 2021 Due to Coronavirus Concerns

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Halloween Kills will have to wait a full year to fulfill its titular declaration. That’s because the film, a direct sequel to 2018’s Halloween revival movie, is quickly approaching an October 2020-scheduled release date that’s looking increasingly unfeasible in the face of a possible second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Universal Pictures, who’s handling distribution for the Blumhouse co-production, has moved Halloween Kills to October 15 2021—exactly one full year from its previous October 15, 2020 date. Consequently, the shift will directly affect the film’s would-be successor, trilogy-completing offering Halloween Ends, which will similarly shift back from its October 15,…

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06 May

Disney Looks at a Future Beyond Coronavirus and Possibly Theaters?

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The movie industry is a little bit edgy these days. That’s understandable since theaters throughout North America and Europe remain closed during the coronavirus pandemic, which shows no serious signs of abating. Yet the current tension boiling over has existed for years. As movie audiences continue to embrace streaming and direct-to-consumer content, movie studios and exhibitors have sometimes been at odds on how to respond. And if Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s earnings call this week is anything to go by, that tension is only going to heighten. “We very much believe in the value of the theatrical experience,” Chapek told…

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20 Apr

The Sopranos Prequel Movie Delayed Due to Coronavirus Concerns

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It appears that the fall release date of The Many Saints of Newark, HBO’s long-anticipated prequel TV movie to its transformative peak television smash, The Sopranos, was born under a bad sign, taking shape during an era in which the film and television industry—and everything else in the civilized world—has been derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the movie has just met the nowadays-inevitable fate of having its release date shifted back. The Many Saints of Newark is now scheduled to premiere on HBO on Friday, March 12, 2021. The move represents a nearly six-month shift from its previously scheduled…

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17 Apr

San Diego Comic-Con 2020 Cancelled Due to Coronavirus Concerns

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San Diego Comic-Con has been officially canceled. The unsurprising news broke after numerous other pop culture events have been removed from the entertainment calendar over the last few weeks as the coronavirus pandemic continues to run virtually unchecked around the world. This marks the first time in SDCC’s 50 year history that it has been canceled. “Recognizing that countless attendees save and plan for its conventions each year, and how many exhibitors and stakeholders rely upon its events for a major portion of their livelihood, they had hoped to delay this decision in anticipation that COVID-19 concerns might lessen by…

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03 Apr

AMC Theatres Credit Rating Downgraded Amid Coronavirus Crisis

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In what is most unwelcome news for folks who love going to the movies, the biggest movie theater chain in North America, AMC Theatres, has been given a bad credit rating and forecast by S&P Global. In lieu of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, which appears to be only accelerating in North America and most of Europe, the financial corporation has reevaluated its credit score for AMC Entertainment, downgrading it from a B to a CCC-. This moves the company’s prospects from “highly speculative” to “default imminent, with little prospect for recovery.” AMC Theatres, which was among the first national movie…

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02 Apr

HBO to Stream Dozens of Free TV Series and Movies Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

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During the coronavirus pandemic, everyone has to do their duty by staying inside and watching a ludicrous amount of television and movies. Now HBO has provided the quarantined with an important tool in this mission.  Today HBO announced that it is making nearly 500 hours of original programming and some WarnerMedia-branded movies available for free to all for a limited time. Subscriptions to HBO via cable with HBO Go or via streaming with HBO Now usually cost $15 per month. But starting Friday, April 3, anyone with Internet access will be able to access nine original HBO series and a…

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27 Mar

Contagion Cast Offers PSAs Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

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It’s okay if you feel a bit anxious about the news. Yesterday the U.S. passed China for the most confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in the world, and social distancing has quickly become a fact of life. It’s understandable then that folks have turned to entertainment to contextualize their anxiety, if not fully distract from it. Indeed, Steven Soderbergh and Scott Z. Burns’ Contagion has become one of the most digitally rented and streamed films of the last several months. In February alone, it shot up from Warner Brothers’ 270th most rented movie to their second most. A cold and…

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25 Mar

Wonder Woman 1984 Delayed Due to Coronavirus

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Wonder Woman’s immense Amazonian ferocity would, on any given day, stop the machinations of just about any supervillain, but it appears that her highly-anticipated DC Extended Universe sequel movie will capitulate—temporarily, anyway—to the global pandemic that has impacted civilization as we know it. In a move that was expected as the overwhelming outbreak of the coronavirus exponentially increases and theaters remain widely shuttered, Warner Bros. has officially delayed the release of sequel Wonder Woman 1984 from its June 5 release date in North America, shifting back to a new release date, August 14. As Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chairman…

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20 Mar

Shaun of the Dead Gets Coronavirus Remix from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

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Over 15 years since Simon Pegg and Nick Frost discovered a shortcut to the Winchester in Shaun of the Dead, the pair are reprising their zombie killers from the beloved cult classic. And for good reason. While in the Edgar Wright movie, Shaun (Pegg) and Ed (Frost) dealt with a very different type of viral outbreak—something to do with the dreaded Z-word—their experience is a great case study in what not to do right now. Both in terms of zombies and the novel coronavirus. In the below public service announcement video, the two riff on one of Shaun of the…

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19 Mar

China’s Movie Theaters Prepare to Open as Coronavirus Crisis Slows

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There is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, and it may shine on big screens. While the box offices in North America and Europe are shutting down in containment efforts, China’s theaters could reopen by the end of the month, according to Variety. The People’s Republic of China closed its theaters nationwide on Jan. 23. The state-owned China Film Group, which oversees theaters, schedules film openings and produces movies, may reopen its Beijing offices as early as next week. The plan should see the country’s theaters begin opening doors by mid-to-late April. “Our cinema is preparing to…

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17 Mar

AMC and Alamo Drafthouse Close Theaters Amid Coronavirus Concerns

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AMC, the largest movie theater chain in the U.S., is shutting down for six to 12 weeks, starting today, March 17, according to Variety. Alamo Drafthouse and Regal Theaters, the second-largest movie theater chain in America, also announced they will be closing theaters. “All AMC theatres are temporarily closed in accordance with local, state and federal guidelines,” the chain said a statement top of its official website. “They will re-open when those guidelines allow.” AMC tweeted a reminder that their “AMC Stubs A-List memberships will be paused automatically during the time AMC theatres are closed.” The closures come after theaters…

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17 Mar

The Matrix 4 Filming Delayed Due to Coronavirus Concerns

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The Matrix 4 has temporarily shut down production due to the coronavirus pandemic that’s put much of the movie industry on hold in the past few weeks. The movie, a surprise sequel to the trilogy of cyberpunk action movies starring Keanu Reeves, was shooting in Berlin when Warner Bros. decided to postpone production. According to Deadline, no one in the cast or crew has tested positive for the infection, so this is just a precautionary measure by the studio, which has also closed down production for The Batman, Fantastic Beasts 3, King Richard, and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley movie. WB…

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16 Mar

Will Disney Delay Black Widow Release Over Coronavirus Fears?

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On May 1, Disney and Marvel Studios intend to release Black Widow, the 24th film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first in the MCU in nearly 10 months (the last was July’s Spider-Man: Far from Home). The film stars Scarlett Johansson as the eponymous Russian superspy and Avengers charter member, who she’s played since 2010’s Iron Man 2. The picture is also a first for the Marvel film franchise—it’s a prequel. Set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, the film is finally going to explore Nat’s backstory and is expected to truly kickoff Marvel’s “Phase…

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13 Mar

Disney Suspends All Film Production, Closes Theme Parks, Amid Coronavirus Crisis

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The Walt Disney Company has opted to suspend production on all films, be they shooting across the Atlantic Ocean or are simply in pre-production in California. The delay follows on the heels of international upheaval in the film industry during the escalating coronavirus pandemic. Among the biggest delays is director Rob Marshall’s highly anticipated remake of The Little Mermaid. The film, which was apparently nine days away from filming, stars Halle Bailey as one of Disney’s most popular princesses, the aquatic Ariel, as well as Melissa McCarthy as the dastardly Ursula the Sea Witch. The movie was set to begin…

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13 Mar

Marvel’s Shang-Chi Suspends Production Over Coronavirus Precautions

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The impact of the global coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the film world. A series of last minute release date delays and changes has swept across the entertainment calendar this week, with A Quiet Place Part II and Fast & Furious 9 disappearing from the 2020 calendar, Disney temporarily pulling Mulan, New Mutants, and Antlers from the schedule, the wrestling world moving to in-studio shows instead of live events, and even Tom Hanks announcing that he has tested positive for Covid-19, not to mention the cancellation of huge entertainment events like WonderCon and E3. And now Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the…

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13 Mar

Coronavirus Scare Delays Mulan, New Mutants, and Antlers

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Poor, poor The New Mutants. The last 20th Century Fox-produced superhero movie was scheduled to finally have its release date and day in the sun on April 3. After the movie became a production football trapped in limbo during Disney’s acquisition of Fox—there are going to be reshoots, actually there won’t be reshoots, maybe it never needed reshoots?—it was a curious sign of confidence when Disney elected to give it an April 2020 release date. That’s over now, as are the nearby release dates for the Mulan remake and Antlers. The delays were first broken by Deadline Thursday night and…

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12 Mar

F9 Delayed a Year Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

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The Fast and Furious movies like to say they’re all about “family,” which might be why it’s a prudent move for Universal Pictures to protect its family of fans during a global crisis. Hence Universal made the extraordinary step Thursday to delay Fast & Furious 9, or F9, almost a full 11 months past its original May 22 global launch. The film is now slated to open on April 2, 2021 in both the U.S. and UK. The move follows in the footsteps of multiple high-profile blockbuster films that have been delayed, one indefinitely. The first indication that Hollywood would…

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12 Mar

A Quiet Place 2 Release Date Delayed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

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A Quiet Place was a massive success story at the box office in 2018. The movie was directed by John Krasinski, who also co-wrote it with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. So it is with great fanfare that Krasinski returned as both the writer and director for the sequel, aptly titled A Quiet Place Part II.  A lot of elements in A Quiet Place remain unexplored, like the origin of the creatures, how much of the rest of the Earth is affected by them, and how even our central family managed to escape to a farm. All of which could, and even appears…

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