Films
This is how coronavirus has changed the film and TV industry
As countries begin to ease lockdown measures put in place to flatten the COVID-19 curve, film and TV..
As countries begin to ease lockdown measures put in place to flatten the COVID-19 curve, film and TV studios are working out how to get back to the business of show.
- Australian soap Neighbours restarts production, with social distancing to protect cast and crew.
- Cinemas closed around the world; revenues could fall by $17 billion by May.
- Netflix and the straight-to-digital release of Trolls: World Tour have benefited.
- When cinemas open, social distancing and hygiene measures will be needed.
In Australia, production is resuming on long-running soap opera Neighbours
– with the cast social distancing on set and special camera angles to make characters appear closer together.
The new normal will include having no more than 100 people in any area of filming per day; no intimate scenes; the male actors wont wear make-up, and there will be a nurse on set, Chris Oliver-Taylor, the chief executive of the shows production company Fremantle Australia, told ABC News.
Films
‘Antebellum’ has a ‘Get Out’ vibe, but doesn’t live up to its twist
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definite..
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definitely shouldn’t be spoiled even a little. Once that revelation is absorbed, however, the movie becomes less distinctive and inspired, reflecting an attempt to tap into the zeitgeist that made “Get Out” a breakthrough, without the same ability to pay off the premise.
Originally destined for a theatrical run, the movie hits digital platforms trumpeting a “Get Out” pedigree in its marketing campaign, since there’s an overlap among the producing teams.
More directly, the film marks the directing debut of Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz, who have championed social-justice issues through their advertising work. The opening script features a quote from author William Faulkner, whose intent will eventually become clearer: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
If that sounds like a timely means of drawing a line from the horrors of slavery to the racism of today, you’ve come to the right place.
The story begins on a plantation, where the brutal overseers carry out grisly punishments against those tilling the fields. A few have just tried to escape, led by Veronica (Janelle Monae), and they pay a heavy price for their resistance, which does nothing to curb her defiance.
Also written by Bush + Renz, the script take too long before revealing what makes “Antebellum” different, but the middle portion — a “The Twilight Zone”-like phase when it’s hard to be sure exactly what’s going on — is actually the film’s strongest. (Even the trailer arguably gives away too much, so the less one knows, the better.)
The final stretch, by contrast, veers into more familiar thriller territory, and feels especially rushed toward the end, leaving behind a host of nagging, unanswered questions. That provides food for thought, but it’s also what separates the movie from something like “Get Out,” which deftly fleshed out its horror underpinnings.
