Entertainment Industry Bands Together Against Coronavirus
According to SlashFilm that some of Hollywood’s most powerful figures like Steven Spielberg, Bob Iger, and Jeffrey Katzenberg are donating half a million dollars each to help Los Angeles fight the coronavirus pandemic. In Great Britain, actor James McAvoy donated around $340,000 to a crowd-funding campaign raising money for protective equipment for the British National Health Service (NHS). Meanwhile, costume makers for TV shows like Downton Abbey and His Dark Materials are making scrubs for British medics treating coronavirus patients. So far, their Helping Dress Medics initiative has raised more than $10,000 on GoFundMe.
The Walt Disney Company is facing massive financial losses as new releases like Mulan and Black Widow are being postponed. Because of that, Disney’s executive chairman Bob Iger will forgo his entire salary while new CEO Bob Chapek will take a 50% pay cut until the company achieves a “substantive recovery.” All vice presidents “will have their salaries reduced by 20 percent, SVPs by 25 percent and EVPs and above by 30 percent” effective April 5. All this is done in hopes of at least slowing down the rate of lay-offs among film crews.
Organizations in the USA and Great Britain are looking to ease the suddenly precarious financial situation of film crews and theatre workers. Following the example of Netflix, BBC pledged over $600,000 to the COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund. The fund was set up by the British Film Institute and the U.K.’s Film and TV Charity for workers who found themselves jobless overnight. As for the US, last week National Association of Theatre Owners created a $1 million fund for an effort to help movie theatre workers who lost their jobs. Since then, Pioneer Assistance Fund added $1.4 million to the fund, reports Variety.
The Eternals Soldiers On; Dr. Strange Sequel Begins Pre-Production
Amid news of halted productions and postponed releases, the continuation of any project sounds almost like a miracle. Marvel Studios’ much-hyped The Eternals is in that category. How appropriate for a movie about ancient deities/superheroes.
GeekTyrant says that Marvel Studios finished the principal photography on the film. Currently, Scanline VFX Studios are handling the special effects for The Eternals – presumably with its special effects artists working from home and observing social distancing. Chloé Zhao (The Rider) will direct this big-screen debut of superhero characters created by Jack Kirby in 1976. The Eternals features Kit Harington and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones); Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians), Ma Dong-seok (Train to Busan), Salma Hayek (The Hitman’s Bodyguard), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Lauren Ridloff (The Walking Dead), and Angelina Jolie (Angelina Jolie!). Currently, The Eternals is still coming out on November 6, 2020.
Marvel Studios also began (long-distance) the pre-production of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. After horror filmmaker Scott Derrickson – who helmed the first Dr. Strange film – left the production this January, Sam Raimi (first Spider-Man trilogy) took his place. Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Benedict Wong will reprise their performances as, respectively, Dr. Stephen Strange, Mordo, and Wong. Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlett Witch will also join the cast. The production is still on schedule: filming should commence this June while the official release date is May 7, 2021.
Netflix Cancels October Faction and V Wars
We’ve already reported about several shows Netflix will be bringing back. But not all were as lucky. October Faction and V Wars have been axed by the streaming service after a single season, says The Hollywood Reporter.
October Faction is a horror TV series about Viv (Aurora Burghart) and Geoff Allen (Gabriel Darku), twins who discover their parents Deloris (Tamara Taylor – Bones) and Fred (J. C. MacKenzie – Vinyl) belong to a clandestine monster-hunting organization. Showrunner Damian Kindler (Sleepy Hollow) based the series on a comic book by Steve Niles and Damien Worm. Netflix released October Faction on January 23, 2020.
As for V Wars, the show was based on a series of graphic novels by Jonathan Maberry. This science-fiction horror series tells a story of Dr. Luther Swann (Ian Somerhalder – Lost), a scientist whose best friend Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes – Elysium) becomes a vampire due after contracting terrifying disease. From then on, two friends find themselves on opposed sides in a hidden war between vampires and humanity. V Wars first aired on December 5, 2019.
Both of these shows were based on comic books initially published by IDW Publishing. The company also published comic books like 30 Days of Night and Wynonna Earp, both of which were later adapted for other media.
