Struggling cinemas may not survive the impact of the pandemic
On Thursday, October 8th, Regal Cinemas— the second largest movie theater chain in America—will be shutting its doors to audiences. This occurs as British parent company Cineworld deems the market far too unstable for its theaters to continue operating through the pandemic.
Cineworld owns 536 theaters in the United States and 127 in the UK. All of them will be closed indefinitely by the end of the week. According to the New York Times, these closures will impact 40,000 employees in the U.S. and over 5,000 in Europe.
We can confirm we are considering the temporary closure of our U.K. and US cinemas, but a final decision has not yet been reached. Once a decision has been made we will update all staff and customers as soon as we can.
Many theaters have been holding on for dear life since COVID-19 arrived this year. Most were forced to shut their doors in April and have only reopened within the past couple months— notably for the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.”
While “Tenet” should have been a blockbuster hit, though, the $200 million budget film only managed to earn $300 million at the box office. Evidently, even if the theaters are open, audiences are still tepid about returning to the cinema.
Simultaneously, “Tenet’s” underperformance showed studios that they remain better off waiting to releasing their films or moving them onto other platforms. Unfortunately, this means a shortage of product for the theaters.
The dominos are falling with Bond as the last straw
Non-coincidentally then, Cineworld decided to close up just days after MGM delayed the release of its 25th James Bond movie, “No Time To Die.” This is the second time the film has been pushed back, as it was originally billed for this Spring, but was delayed until November, and now won’t see the screen until next April.
In fact, almost all of the 2020 blockbusters have seen perpetual delays. Warner Brother’s “Wonder Woman: 1984” was supposed to come out earlier this year, but is now aiming for a Christmas release. Likewise, Marvel’s “Black Widow” was meant to be a summer sensation, but now sits on the backburner until 2021. Meanwhile, Disney’s “Mulan” went straight to the company’s streaming site, for the premium price of $30 on top of the monthly subscription fee.
Clearly, “No Time To Die” was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back for Cineworld.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cineworld had already lost $1.6 billion in the first half of 2020. Now, on top of moviegoer’s concerns about COVID, there is not enough exciting content to get people into the cinema.
Perhaps people would risk going to the movies to see a new James Bond, Marvel, or DC film, but with these releases being continually postponed, staying open becomes a major and unrewarding gamble for theater owners.
Part of the struggle may also be tied to a reticence to consider theaters amongst other indoor businesses that warrant reopening. New York City and Los Angeles, for example, provide a huge portion of domestic audiences, but their respective government officials have been nervous about letting people return to the cinema. Without such hubs being operational, ticket prices will inevitably fall short of expectations.
As of right now, there is no telling when Regal Cinemas might reopen, or if other theater chains will follow in its footsteps. All of that depends heavily on how the country and its leaders deal with the coronavirus.
As additional new cases appear daily, the event will go down in infamy
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, is the latest Republican official to test positive for Covid-19, which was revealed Monday, October 5, 2020 on her Twitter page. Two of her deputies, Karolina Keavitt, assistant press secretary and Chad Gilmartin, principal assistant press secretary also tested positive.
The positive tests are mounting; to date, eleven people tied to Trump have contracted the virus, as well as three Republican Senators, for a total of fourteen cases.
The three US senators that have been diagnosed with coronavirus potentially threatens the plan for a desperately accelerated confirmation of Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett tentatively scheduled for approximately 14 days from now.
Celebrate too soon and hubris will announce your demise(?)
Ironically, it was clear to all who have seen the video of the recent celebration for Barrett, held at the Rose Garden of the White House, that arrogant people with no-masks, tightly packed together and kissing is a recipe for infection.
So, now it appears that that very event, gleefully celebrating the opportunity to shove through the right leaning jurist, might just jeopardize the nomination itself, at least until after the election. Of course, many on the list are older and the irresponsible behavior reeking of hubris may lead to a more grave outcome than the simple delay of a questionable nomination.
Senate Majority leader (Moscow) Mitch McConnell announced on Saturday, that the Senate would halt any floor action for the next two weeks, which presumably means that no votes will happen this week or next week. While any floor action will be suspended, the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to meet the week of October 12 for Barrett’s confirmation hearings, unless more are infected or the cases become more serious.
Melania Trump (First Lady)
Ronna McDaniel (Republican National Committee chairwoman)
Hope Hicks (White House communications aide)
Kellyanne Conway (Former White House counselor)
Bill Stepien (Trump campaign manager)
John Jenkins (University of Notre Dame president)
Chris Christie (Former New Jersey Gov.)
Nick Luna (Director of Oval Office operations)
Karoline Leavitt (White house assistant press secretary)
A word with no direct English translation trends as ‘joy at the misfortune of another’ follows Trump’s coronavirus infection
Twitter and social media have been ablaze with ‘schadenfreude’ since approximately 1am EDT on Friday when both POTUS & FLOTUS tweeted that they had contracted covid-19. Dictionary and google searches for the german term for this base human feeling is going off the charts.
While the initial reaction could be said to go far beyond “joy” into the level a bloodlust for this reviled figure to suffer, it is, at the same time an inevitable outcome as a reaction to his own crude, cruel and pro-violence tendencies. Not to mention the blame he is, for the most part rightly, receiving for the more than 200,000 deaths so far from the coronavirus pandemic.
While it is dangerous, and in many ways disappointing, to see the so-called left who are virulently opposed to Trump, failing the test of being above base human instincts. By the same token, many argue that the things that Trump has done, or often refused to do, such as implementing a serious nationwide plan to minimize the spread of covid-19, are far worse than mere schadenfreude or happydancing to his misfortunes.
Yet, with his staunch support and refusal to denounce the right-wing extremist hate group The Proud Boys only days ago at the Presidential debates, and his refusal to commit to accepting independently certified election results at that same venue, it is easy to understand why so many millions on social media would be proclaiming a lack of sympathy for his misfortunes.
While The Trump spreads digital disinformation the public wants to vent and protest, without restrictions
The venting of strong options on social media is a paradox of sorts, Twitter threatened to ban all accounts that tweet a wish or hope that Trump would lose his battle with the coronavirus and die. However, after a backlash from public figures, such as AOC and the so called “squad”, who have received almost constant death-threat tweets from Trumps supporters while Twitter did nothing, Twitter backed off and announced that they would shutter some accounts but take a look at the data and behavior on a case by case basis.
The other side of the paradox is that social media venting may be preferable to violence in the streets. Unless, of course, the constant tweeting of schadenfreude and worse actually does lead to increased physical actions from either the far right or left.
The contentious explosion of Social Media political free speech across all platforms
In some ways Tik-Tok is turning into a more entertaining version of twitter’s political war zone. With prepackaged music backgrounds available to spice up your post – including anti-Trump anthems such as ‘f$ck Donald Trump’ (2 versions) it’s easy to create meaningful yet highly entertaining protest posts and share them with over 1 billion members.
No wonder Trump wants to ban the service. And the right wing have their own ‘hell on earth’ Parler to put up endless posts congratulating themselves on all the wonderful accomplishments of the wannabe fascists and super-spreaders.
And to add to the confusion, the potential that Trump will be inactive for a period of time has put the Tik Tok deadlines for a US merger in doubt. From casual observation Tik Tok becoming more political, once known as a site for amateur dance-offs and silly challenges, older and more like a short-clip educational and DIY destination.
Indeed by recent count 38% of US users are above 30 years of age, and with a set of advanced software tools to craft short clips, a maturation of the content appears to be happening at a very rapid pace.
Made in secrecy during the past 6 months with interviews from administration insiders
Just when it seemed like 2020 could not get any stranger, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter on October 2nd that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. In what some would see as a ‘karmic’ coincidence, within twenty-four hours of this breaking news, Neon media dropped a trailer for the new documentary “Totally Under Control,” which focuses on the President and his administration’s unsuccessful response to the coronavirus.
“Totally Under Control” is the second Trump-focused project from documentarian Alex Gibney. Earlier this year, the director released “Agents Of Chaos,” an HBO mini-series centered on Russian involvement in the 2016 election. Gibney is also responsible for the 2010 Oscar nominated doc, “Client 9: The Rise And Fall Of Eliot Spitzer” and the 2007 Oscar winner, “Taxi To The Dark Side.” Most of his films take on timely topics through an investigative lens. “Totally Under Control” will be no different.
Unsurprisingly, Gibney latest movie condemns the Trump administration, as it chronicles how the President handled the coronavirus across the first half of 2020. Its synopsis states:
“On January 20th, 2020 the US and South Korea both discovered their first cases of COVID-19. However, nine months later, the novel Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 200,000 Americans and caused staggering economic damage, while in South Korea, there were no significant lockdowns and, in an urbanized population of 51 million, only 344 lives have been lost. Where did we go wrong?”
The film aims to answer this question and shed light on America’s complicated, corrupted, and fruitless reaction to the global pandemic. To do this, Gibney uses news footage from the past ten months— much of it showing Trump’s early, woefully dismissive thoughts on the coronavirus before it hit the United States.
He also interviews experts from doctors, to scientists, to government officials, all of whom agree that the current administration’s reaction to COVID was absolutely abhorrent from the start.
The trailer plays out like that of a disaster movie, beginning with former Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority leader, Rick Bright explaining, “The scientists knew what to do for the pandemic response. The plan was in front of us, but leadership would not do it.” Bright goes on to recall how he tired bringing this vital information to the public, but was consequentially fired from his federal position.
As the trailer unfolds, the music gets more and more intense. The interviewees retell the all-too-familiar 2020 story of how COVID got worse by the day and the United States government did nothing to combat it. Meanwhile, quasi-apocalyptic images of ubiquitous ambulances, omnipresent sirens, medial personnel in hazmat suits, restless political rallies, and so on flash across the screen.
All the while, Trump’s voice comes in and out with infamous phrases such as “It will disappear,” “It will be wonderful,” and most egregiously, “I don’t take responsibility at all.”
Art imitates life as covid disbeliever enters hospital after contracting virus that affects ‘almost nobody’
Today, these statements are more ironic than ever before, as Trump himself has been checked into the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for COVID. The diagnosis occurred just two days after the first presidential debate, where Trump continued to downplay the coronavirus in favor of reopening the country.
“Totally Under Control” will be available On-Demand starting October 13th and will stream on Hulu starting October 20th. Although the film focuses on current (and ongoing) events, it is not the first piece of media to tackle the coronavirus, and it surely won’t be the last.
Twitter has been called “hell on earth” and too fast to follow, yet is exciting and addictive for many. The opportunity to vent without a filter and gain some kind of digital revenge surfaced last night when POTUS and FLOTUS announced that they had tested positive for covid-19.
The outpouring of every emotion, slant and convolution of logic or fantasy has been epic, monumental and, well, big, very big.
There are so many intense, shocking reactions, as if the initial news they are reacting to is not extreme enough, many took it to the next level. Where to start?
Without measuring scientifically, the “anti-Trump” category was huge. Running the gamut from the Ghanaian Pall Bearer faction to the dead-Trump happy dancers, this grim and tasteless group hit hard and fast.
Not to be outdone the Right & GOP got to work, in a familiar manner
Next came the right-wing wackos and conspiracy nuts. It didn’t take long for a Republican Senator to decide that this was a Chinese conspiracy, and hell, it’s a “chinese virus” anyway, etc. Followed up by the not-to-be-outdone Republican that decided, instantly, that the Democrats supposedly in charge of his microphone planted the virus on it in order to intentionally infect the president. I kid you not.
I’m just going to say what we’re all thinking.
Trump was fine until the debate, where they set up microphones & podiums for him.
Incubation period is usually 2-3 days.
He tests positive a couple of days after the debate.
Next: out of the woodwork crawled even more tasteless observations – welcome to Twitter
Then, on the “independent” political side there was the wannabe lawmaker who repeatedly tweeted that he hopes both trump and biden will die. His logic is that they are equally bad and beholden to corporate bribes. wow.
Finally a form of sanity appears to be emerging, if you can call it that
Starting Friday there have been more measured and thoughtful tweets. An illuminating thread is one started by Rachel Maddow when she tweeted “civil” condolences and singled out the disease itself as the enemy. This was countered by a series of replies, pointing out all the clear and irrefutable reasons why Trump has not earned that kind of kindness or sympathy, not even in this extreme case.
This sort of traditional political “civility” will be weaponized against us by these far-right fascists. I don’t want anybody to die or be in pain, but there’s no reason to spend your energy sending positive vibes to the culprits when we have the true victims to worry about.
Before sanity could prevail, however, the left-style conspiracies exploded
Finally, in the last couple of hours, a new theme has emerged from the more liberal side: why should we believe that Trump really does have the virus? Well, if he tweets in a week or so from Moscow, sitting in a room with Putin and Snowden, then you’ll know it was, to use Trumpian phraseology: “a hoax”.
A “typical” American family trying to deal with pandemic isolation, safety and all with “advice” from a president who is a proven liar and a sociopathic narcissist, if not an outright psychopath.
The family, represented by these cute dolls (except for the bleach drinking Grampa, for some reason) each have a way to try and cope, not only with the pandemic and associated (looming) economic depression but with the sh^$tstorm of lies they are surrounded with daily on how they should behave and survive.
This Ad, created by the Meidas Touch, has a “softer” tone and addresses the likely perspective of a large number of people in this country who are, more or less, apolitical, and just want to live and try to have their lives and freedoms intact, without endangering themselves or others.
In the end, the women of the house, who have the best sense, a realistic projection indeed, come to the conclusion that, a change, particularly one that involves getting rid of Trump and his stooges, is needed, and pronto!
Lincoln Project ad once again uses his own words to expose the criminal incompetence
A serious ad on a serious subject. Using clips from recent interviews it becomes shockingly clear that the “plan” that is Trump’s actual one, and has been all along, is to rely on a “herd mentality” (a freudian slip of murderous proportions) to kill off the weak and, eventually, leave those with biological resistance alive.
Known, by the real world, as “herd immunity” the idea is a much debated topic among medical and scientific researchers. Unknown as a solution one thing is known: many more than the 200k already dead will have to die before this mythical immunity will save those left alive.
After a tragicomical series of nonsense excuses and lame attempts at outlining a plan to combat the virus, Trump finally announces, with his odd and bizarre habit of admitting to crimes he is likely to be accused of, that his plan all along was to just let people die until the virus, eventually, fades away on its own.
Would you like to volunteer your family? Your parents or children? How about you yourself? Trump doesn’t care. He has a medical staff and the Secret Service protecting him 24/7. But they can’t protect him from your vote for Biden. That’s the real message here.
Wear A Mask: Paul Rudd as certified Young Person (Spoiler alert!)
Paul Rudd (the 51 year old actor and comedian), channeled his inner millennial to help engage with the youth in sending a crucial message that everyone, young and old need to do their part and wear a mask.
Doing his best, occasionally, hilarious impersonation of young people, Rudd can be heard using lingo like “beast”, “lit”, “bae”, and “homie” all in the name of public safety.
“So Cuomes asks me, he’s like, ‘Paul, you’ve got to help. What are you, like, 26?’ And I didn’t correct him. So, fam, let’s real-talk. Masks, they’re totally beast. So slide that into your DMs and Twitch it.”
Paul Rudd
A little comedic relief is necessary, but the end goal is to stress the importance that wearing a mask is going to help the end result – of eventually getting back to some semblance of a normal life. Perhaps it could be funnier – but the shift to getting “real” at the end is, apparently, the real point.
“We want to go to bars, we want to drink, hook up, do our TikToks. I get it. I’m not gonna preach at you like some celebrity. Ugh. This is a convo, where I talk, you shut up. Wear your mask.”
Rudd filmed the public service announcement as part of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Mask Up, America” campaign. This is the latest video from the campaign, which has also featured PSAs by Billy Crystal, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman and many others.
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Has Trump learned anything? Or was it all Intentional.
Sara Gideon, the Maine House speaker is taking a jab at both Donald Trump and Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins. In a video put out by her campaign akin to that of the Lincoln Project, who retweeted this video, the video clip shows how Trump admitted he knew the severity of the pandemic and intentionally misled and downplayed the American public.
Unfortunately, she never stood up or even wavered from her blind loyalty. Her anti-impeachment rubber-stamp was historically myopic and she is now a prime target for removal on November 3rd. She is, make no mistake, a Trump follower and in no-way a lone voice of dissent within her party.
Trump lies do matter, as hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their lives to the pandemic, and many of those deaths could have been prevented.
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The precise side-by-side audio and video of the real facts and the public lies
A more detailed, side by side comparison, showing exactly what Trump admitted to knowing as fact in March, and the misleading statements and outright lies that he publicly spread, subsequent to the recorded conversation.
This Bob Woodward tape puts Trump into a situation that even he will have a hard time talking and lying his way out of. The New Ad from Lincoln Project does a great job exposing his exact words and the obvious intentional decision to mislead the public in a politically calculated, and deadly, misinformation strategy.
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On July 6th, actor Tom Hanks sat down for an interview with The Guardian to promote his new movie “Greyhound.” However, this interview was not done face-to-face between Hanks and the correspondent. Like almost all other professional interactions nowadays, it was done remotely, with the two parties talking via computer screens in their homes—practicing social distancing due to the coronavirus.
This particular interview with Hanks was especially telling, because the actor was actually one of the first American celebrities to contract COVID-19 back in March, and “Greyhound” was among a long list of movies meant to hit theaters this summer, but got sidelined because of the pandemic.
Now, Hanks—along with his wife Rita Wilson, who also had coronavirus—is fully recovered and well. Nevertheless, his beef with the pandemic is not entirely settled, as the coronavirus’ consequential theater shutdowns has forced him to release his new film on a different platform: Apple TV+.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with Apple TV+. As far as streaming services go, Apple is a rising phenomenon and has brought about several praiseworthy shows since it launched last November. All the same, Hanks intended “Greyhound” for a theatrical release, and in the interview he called the film’s ultimate home on Apple TV+ “an absolute heartbreak.”
Again, this is not necessarily a jab at Apple, but it is indicative of what many filmmakers are going through right now. Streaming vs Theatrical releases was a hot debate in Hollywood long before COVID-19 ran everything amuck, but now that releasing movies in theaters is not an option, many movies have no choice but to sell out to the streamers and debut online.
“Greyhound” for example, was meant to hit theaters in March with Sony Pictures as distributor. However, the pandemic pushed the release date back perpetually, and in May, it sold to Apple for $70 Million, getting an official July 10th release date on the site.
Hanks continues in the interview, “I don’t mean to make angry my Apple overlords, but there is a difference in picture and sound quality [when viewing a film online rather than in a theater].” He is not the first filmmaker to voice this opinion, but he is also not the first filmmaker to have his creative work siphoned off to an unanticipated platform during these unprecedented times. Paramount Pictures, for example, sold the Kumail Nanjiani-starring rom-com, “The Lovebirds” to Netflix earlier this year despite initially banking on a theatrical release.
Triple Threat Thwarted by Timing, perhaps, but will be enjoyed nonetheless
The alternative would’ve been to hold out on releasing these films until theaters re-open. Given the fact that the theaters are closed indefinitely, though, only the movies that are more-or-less guaranteed blockbuster hits are taking this risky option—Marvel’s “Black Widow,” Universal’s “Fast & Furious 9,” DC’s “Wonder Woman: 1984” and Warner Brother’s Chris Nolan-directed “Tenet” are among them.
“Greyhound”— which Hanks wrote and produced as well as starred in— might’ve had blockbuster potential, but the clock was ticking a little too temperamentally on production company Columbia Pictures and the film’s $50 million budget. Returns simply could not be left up to a temporally unspecified gamble.
Luckily, the stigma around direct-to-streaming releases has diminished in recent years, as Netflix in particular has garnered a large number of Oscar nominations with prestigious projects like Martin Scorsese‘s “The Irishman” and Alfonso Cuaròn’s “Roma” going straight to the service. Likewise, even the studios are also transitioning to the streaming world these days with Disney+, HBOMax, and Peacock headlining the ongoing streaming wars.
Still, with “Greyhound” being a war epic set at sea, we can empathize with Tom Hanks for wanting audiences to experience it on the big screen. In fact, we can empathize with all of the filmmakers who put their hearts into creative projects for 2020, and are now seeing them shrunk down to something smaller—but perhaps not lesser—than their expectations.
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Many factors contribute to the haze of confusion surrounding the facts
The coronavirus pandemic is sowing confusion across the globe, not just medically but in the representation of fact vs. hopes. Since, 1918, most of the world has not experienced anything akin to a global outbreak of this magnitude. In order to navigate this novel landscape, quality, consistent, and factual information is essential. Unfortunately, many journalists are already getting the boot during the shutdown, which causes trusted reporting to be less available, but the stifling of facts does not stop there, as now scientific integrity may be in question too.
As harrowing as COVID-19 is, the disease is presenting new opportunities for scientists and medical researchers. Academically speaking, it is an irresistibly hot topic, and any significant contribution to its study could launch a career. Thus, there is a budding competitiveness amongst the scientific community, with many researchers rushing to uncover something (anything) about the coronavirus and get it published.
According to a new post on Harvard Law’s Bill Of Health website, a recent study from Stanford University epitomizes the chaotic drive for scientific corona-findings right now. The Stanford study is documented in an unpublished paper titled, “COVID-19 Antibody Seroprevalence In Santa Clara County, California.” It describes a procedure whereby the scientists tested multiple Santa Clara County residents for the SARS-Cov-2 antibody, which causes COVID-19. The ultimate findings suggest that many more Santa Clara residents had the virus than sought treatment for it.
By extension, the scientists suppose that this conclusion could be true for other parts of the world as well. If it is, it could significantly alter the reported data as well as the global reaction to the virus.
Peers in the scientific community, however, express skepticism towards the Stanford study, citing dire flaws in its methodology. First off, Stanford improperly selected its subjects for the tests. Rather than creating an algorithm for testing random individuals from the Santa Clara area, it fished for volunteers on Facebook, attracting people more likely to seek out testing in the first place and ergo, more likely to have symptoms. Using social media also means that they probably drew in a younger crowd, catering to a demographic that is less at risk and therefore less prone to hospitalize or report feeling sick.
Critics also note some inconsistencies in the data itself, particularly the section that takes into account the risk-factor of faulty equipment or inaccurate results. Overall, the results are more than a little suspicious, depicting a possible example of scientists getting excited over this unprecedented natural phenomenon and jumping to conclusions.
Politics, ratings and money are putting pressure on journalists and scientists alike
Of course, the scientific community meets even greater discrepancies when findings get thrown into the blenders of media and politics. Even when the science remains rightfully impartial, different forces can twist or manipulate data to tell a different story.
“If refusing to mislead the public during a health crisis is insubordination, then I will wear that badge with honor,”
Rebekah Jones in an interview with Chris Cuomo of CNN
In Florida, for example, Department of Health scientist recently lost her job for refusing to skew data. In a statement to CBS, she said that the Department wanted her to “manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen.”
Jones’ job at the Department was to create Geographic Information Systems (maps) of Florida that topographically represented the spread of COVID-19 across the state. Her work was widely praised and her departure comes non-coincidentally around the same time that Florida Governor Ron Desantis is trying to reopen stores, restaurants, and barber shops across the Sunshine State.
In a leaked email, Jones warned other Florida Health Department workers to be weary of forthcoming data produced by the state, for it could easily be meddled in corrupt agendas.
Science, by definition, is the objective study of what is. When warped to fit a subjective point of view, though, it becomes something very dangerous—a destructively deceitful force disguised as the truth. Nowadays, truth is an unfortunately delicate term, but it is a necessity to conquer our current circumstance. If we lose science as the impartial study of truth, then we lose the facts, and thus lose our grasp on reality.
With movie theaters shut down around the globe and many films either getting delayed releases or siphoned off to streaming services, Warner Brothers has been anomalously adamant about keeping its highly anticipated Christopher Nolan directed “Tenet” on schedule for a July 17th theatrical release. It recently reaffirmed this plan by releasing a new trailer.
“Tenet” is a sci-fi action spy film, but like most Chris Nolan projects, details about the (presumably intricate) plot have been kept under tight wraps. We don’t even know the names of the characters and from the trailers, all we can decipher is that it will have to do with time travel/inversion to prevent World War III and “something worse” than nuclear holocaust. Overall, it looks very twisty and complex… classic Nolan.
Perhaps the reason Warner Brothers has been so steadfast about a theatrical release for “Tenet” is that Chris Nolan is a highly cinematic filmmaker. The director of “Inception,” “Interstellar,” and “The Dark Knight,” Nolan frequently shoots in IMAX and his final products are visual feasts best served on the big screen. He blends practical and visual effects in a manner that few other directors can pull off nowadays and is considered one of the few remaining auteurs in the business, able to rake in blockbuster revenue and hype without relying on franchise or studio labels.
Visual feast could be vicarious travel replacement for fans
For “Tenet,” Nolan shot the film on location across seven countries, working with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and an all-star cast including John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Kane, and other recognizable faces (including Indian stars Dimple Kapadia and Denzil Smith). Behind the camera, Nolan also teamed up with editor Jennifer Lame, VFX supervisor Andrew Jackson, SFX supervisor Ludwig Göransson, and executive producer Thomas Hayslip. Nolan being a Brit himself, “Tenet” is an acutely international production.
Right now, a few theaters are opening back up, so maybe come July, “Tenet” will be able to deliver on its high box office expectations. However, most intended summer blockbusters have been pushed back to November at the earliest. If the pool of open theaters is not large enough by the intended release date, perhaps “Tenet” will follow suit.
Until then, we will have to wait with bated breath, theorizing what the movie could be about, what weight its palindrome of a title carries, and when we will actually get to see it. One thing’s for sure, though, the film will definitely throw us for unexpected loops and keep us on the edge of our seats. After all, this is the director who most recently gave us the Oscar-nominated WWII epic “Dunkirk,” started his career with the chronologically warped “Momento” and came into the spotlight by transforming the superhero genre with his thrilling reimagining of Batman over a decade ago.
We can’t wait to find out what this modern master of suspense has up his sleeve this time around.
In an interconnected world consensus happens fast when a new thing needs to be named
The coronavirus is, as we all know by now, properly named covid-19 or at least the novel coronavirus. Could even be the new coronavirus, which is what “novel” is meant to convey. As you also probably already know, it is not named after a Mexican beer, but rather the fact that, presumably under a microscope, the virus looks like a crown or “corona”. And the “19” in covid-19 stands for the year of discovery, 2019, not that it is the 19th pandemic or 19th strain of the virus (go now and tell Kellyanne Conway).
If you are watching an interview on the pandemic and an expert or pundit is opining they are probably an epidemiologist which is a person who studies epidemics and is a word, and a group of people, you don’t hear much about except when the whole world is in the middle of one.
As you read this you might be at home due to your state, city or county having issued a “stay-at-home order” which is a nice way of saying you are under lock-down. When you go out you will need a mask and, above all to practice social distancing. Oh, and that mask will theoretically need to be an N-95 medical grade one to protect not only others but you as well. But please don’t wear one as they are needed for medical professionals.
The N-95 is necessary because droplets coming from coughing, sneezing, breathing or even loud talking or singing (!) will be hanging in the air for many minutes. See illustration above for a graphic portrait off droplets in action.
Flattening the curve is a simple and yet complicated concept that has become part of folklore or at least our community consciousness. It refers not to stopping or conquering the virus, which is impossible, but to slowing the rate of new infections down to a tempo that is below the rate at which hospitals and government services can keep pace with the surge of new patients. Spreading the virus more slowly is the real goal of wearing masks, practicing social distancing and observing the stay-at-home orders.
What do we do during lockdown? Go shopping of course!
Also, we must all have at least a cursory understanding of the meaning of essential vs non-essential business and employment. Walmart is essential due to the huge grocery section and the much sought after paper products, but the areas where every other non-essential product are available remain open also. However, if your store looks like Walmart but has no grocery section you are non-essential.
Photo / Lynxotic
Amazon of course is the most essential business of all and it’s soon to be trillionaire owner can decide what products to favor with faster shipping and which to delay or try not to sell, even as they remain on sale. He owns our national supply chain now. but just be sure to use alcohol spray on the boxes and wait anywhere from 3 to 72 hours before opening. And when you wash your hands, which you must do many, many, many times a day be sure and sing happy birthday to yourself. Or set your timer for 20 seconds +.
Both gouging, which is a crime in many states but Amazon wants to be made into a federal crime so it can blame its individual marketplace sellers, and hoarding which everybody does, especially with paper products, are rampant and it’s just something to get used to.
After approximately 2 months, flattening the curve changes to F.U. to the Gov, as long as they are democrats
Anti-lockdown protests, which are never called anti-stay-at-home-order protests are also something to get used to. Noose imagery, nazi swastikas, calls to kill or lynch the governor and, naturally semi-automatic weapons with enough ammo cartridges to re-load at least half-a-dozen times are all ok, even inside the state capitol. Just be sure you are white. If so you will be designated as a “good person” by the guy in the White House.
We are all intimately familiar with that little town of 11 million residents in China they call Wuhan, and we know that they have both a notorious “wet-market”, Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where people occasionally also buy bats they plan to snack on, and we also know that the same little town has a, now famous lab where they had been studying coronavirus strains.
Depending on who you ask, the novel coronavirus, aka covid-19, had its origin in one of these two places and was released accidentally, or on purpose either by the chinese government or by the U.S. military and the they, or the bat eating customers and wholesalers are to blame for everything.
The coronavirus might kill you but when the pandemic is a pin prick to the largest bubble in history you will surely notice it
The outcome of all of this is still very mush uncertain, but the US government and the SBA have already issued stimulus checks, created the C.A.R.E.S. act, created programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program, The EIDL disaster loan program and beefed up unemployment payments by $600 per week, while extending the length in some cases that claims can last. This is all to combat the economic fallout from the pandemic, and, depending on who you ask is a recession or a depression and in any case is really, really bad and getting worse. This has created an unemployment spike as large as or larger than the 1930’s Great Depression peak and make the 2008 Financial Crisis look like a hiccup.
Oh, and they have spent already somewhere between $2-3 trillion dollars, not including the Federal Reserve‘s contribution to “infinite quantitative easing” and other measures. Las week the congress passed a bill for an additional $3 trillion of “stimulus” but this will change as the senate and the prez and not going to agree (not due to the size but because the “wrong” people will get the money).
A sequel to this glossary on the next chapter “post pandemic deflationary depression and words you will need to understand to survive” is in the works and will follow shortly, along with the eponymous depression itself. Cheers.
Universal Studios and AMC theater chain at war over a potential straight to video future.
Throughout the history of the movie theater business, it has often survived desperate times, successfully adapting and staying in business during the Great Depression, two World Wars, the rise of television as competition, and, so far, even the recent streaming boom. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the entertainment industry has likely met its match, and the exhibition sector is getting hit the hardest.
For the first time since the 1918 pandemic, when theaters in San Francisco alone lost $400,000 per week while closed in what we now call a “lock-down”, theaters across the globe are being forced to barricade their doors. Adhering to social distancing precautions, government officials and theater owners alike are barring the possibility of people gathering in close proximity at the cinema.
Clearly, averting these gatherings is the responsible thing to do during the coronavirus outbreak, but several weeks into the lockdown, many theater workers were struggling to make ends meet. Now, exhibitors are even losing the cooperation of studios.
Currently quarantines are being gradually phased out, with social distancing procedures being used for “non-essential” retail, restaurants and in some cases movie theaters in the first wave of relaxation. Next would be Schools, parks and other public gatherings. Later, in a third phase, concerts and sporting events would be sanctioned, assuming that there is no second wave of cases to cause a reversal back to strict lock-down quarantines again. That is, at this point a big “if” as some states are already should surges in the number of new cases.
Just as restaurants could face financial hardship if they must maintain 50% or even 30% capacity to adhere to social distancing guidelines, a half-empty theater is an anathema in the movie business and could kill off theatrical releases altogether if required for years.
Part of the reason why theater chains have been able to persevere for so long is because major Hollywood studios see the continuing economic value of putting a movie exclusively on the big screen for at least a few weeks. The theatergoing experience allows studios to profit off of ticket sales before making their products available on the far more modestly priced home video markets. At least, this is how the process has conventionally taken place.
If congregating for any reason is too dangerous it could render Hollywood theatrical releases virtually extinct
Now, with so many theaters closed, it makes almost no sense for movies to even attempt theatrical releases during the pandemic. For a few titles (mostly the flashiest blockbuster-style movies like “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Fast 9,” or “Black Widow”) studios have pushed back release dates, knowing that they will eventually turn a profit at the box office despite delays. However, for some more modestly budgeted movies, production companies have contemplated (and in some cases executed) forgoing theatrical runs altogether and releasing the movies straight to video on-demand.
Bypassing theatrical runs has obviously been a possibility for decades, and the perspective has gained significant momentum in the past few years as direct-to-streaming titles have gained legitimacy. If the practice became widespread, however, this would be a nightmare for the theater industry. Because the pandemic is likely to prevent public gatherings for months or even longer, the shift towards this business model is rapidly becoming unavoidable.
Most notably, Universal Studios recently released “Trolls: World Tour” in theaters and on-demand at the same time. To the shock of theater owners everywhere, the film has reportedly made over $50 million on-demand, perhaps exceeding box office expectations and proving that a movie can make huge profits while eschewing the box office and going straight to this direct-to-home-video model.
Universal’s choice to take this unconventional path with “Trolls” led to the studio butting heads with AMC Theaters. AMC President Adam Aron penned a scathing open letter to Universal’s Chairman, claiming, in a threat that sounds like a bluff, that the chain would never play another Universal movie in any of its theaters. That’s a bold claim considering that Universal releases all DreamWorks, “Fast & Furious,” and “Jurassic Park” titles, all of which would bring in major numbers for AMC.
Worst case scenario, however, AMC won’t even need to worry about this, for Universal amongst other studios will see the success of the direct-to-home-video model and replicate it, significantly decreasing, perhaps even nullifying theaters’ essentialness in the release process.
Other movies that were already out when theaters started closing such as Universal’s “The Invisible Man,” Warner Brother’s “Birds Of Prey,” and Pixar’s “Onward” were expedited to on-demand. They are all now on Amazon’s Prime Cinema platform, available for rent at the theater-ticket-like-price of $19.99. The cost is definitely higher than a standard rental, but when watching with the whole family, it is cheaper to view these movies at home than each individual paying for a separate movie theater ticket.
That is, if people could even choose go to the theaters when they wanted to take the risk.
The world is changing fast and it is unlikely if things will ever go back to “normal”
Despite the success of Prime Cinema rentals and “Trolls: World Tour” on-demand, studios cannot ignore the desperation and unique extremes of the times. People are in a vacuum and home entertainment is the only kind of entertainment available to them. If consumers had the option of going to the movies, perhaps the home-video model would not prove as successful.
Essentially, the entertainment industry is undergoing a massive non-consensual experiment, but the variables are erratic and irreplicable. There is no telling how these movies might’ve done at the box office if the box office still existed.
When theaters open up their doors again, studios might realize that people still appreciate going to the cinema and that continuing theatrical releases as usual is the only financially sensible option. Of course the level of fear that people will still feel, even after governments sound the “all clear”, is also an unknown.
Click to buy “Save The Cat” and help Lynxotic and all Independent Local Bookstores
AMC and Cinemark both hope to have their doors open by mid-June or July. Meanwhile, the states of Georgia and Texas will be amongst the first states to allow theaters to continue business. Returning to normalcy will not be simple, though. Just because state governments allow theaters to reopen does not mean that they have to. Plus, many theaters will probably want to take precautions with their crowds, allowing a limited number of people in at a time. The movies themselves will also probably be in limited supply, as it wouldn’t make sense for a movie to get a theatrical release if theaters are only open in a couple states.
If theaters were open today, we would currently be entering a huge summer blockbuster season with “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Fast 9,” and “Black Widow” leading the charge alongside Disney’s “Mulan,” Pixar’s “Soul,” and Warner Brothers’ Christopher Nolan directed “Tenant.” Likewise, we’d be seeing a whole lot of indie content pushed up through the festivals such as South by Southwest and Cannes— the former getting cancelled back in March and the latter pending cancellation.
God forbid the need for precautionary measures is still as extreme through the end of the year, but if the entertainment industry in still in the same situation come winter, then the closures, cancellations, and postponements will collide with the Awards Season. Already the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has stated that a theatrical run is no longer a requirement for Oscar nominees, breaking down a barrier that has been a point of contention over the past few years. As of right now, it is unclear if this waived rule will remain in perpetuity after its adoption during this highly abnormal year.
Regardless, those who own and work in movie theaters remain on the edges of their collective seats. While nobody in the entertainment industry is currently in an ideal situation, the theaters are clearly the most vulnerable; and that threatens the survival of the most hallowed of hollywood traditions.
The photo above, taken from “Deadliest Enemy’s” cover, says it all. The image depicts a “real life” scenario showing how this potentially deadly virus can spread, for example in an airport. Of course, in real life the “droplets”, as they are now known, are not florescent yellow. Too bad. If they were at least we could clearly see how dangerous it is to be in a crowded area while this disease, which currently has no treatment or vaccine, is on the loose.
Mark Olshaker and Michael Osterholm’s bestselling book “Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs” is more relevant today than ever before. Just as in San Francisco, in 2018, we are about to enter a phase where the “all clear” will be announced, setting the stage for a potential second wave.
“Siren wails on November 21, 1918 signaled to San Franciscans that it was safe, and legal, to remove their masks. All signs indicated that the flu had abated. Schools re-opened, and theaters sought to make back the $400,000 they had lost during each of the six weeks they were closed… Barely two weeks after the celebratory removal of masks, new flu cases were reported. Five thousand new flu cases would surface in December 1918 alone.”
Years before COVID-19 was on the map author Mark Olshaker and disease epidemiologist Michael Osterholm collaborated to write a book exploring the (then hypothetical) concept of an infectious disease spreading across the modern world. The final product outlines how easily such a disease could spread in our globalized society, how governments and scientists might react to it, and what a bio-fallout would mean for cultures and individuals across the planet.
Click to buy “Deadliest Enemy” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores
Obviously, such a situation is no longer theoretical. Olshaker and Osterholm’s concepts are in fact quite pertinent during the coronavirus pandemic. Their illustration of geo-political and medical scrambling to fight off a never-before-seen threat is eerily astute.
Fourteen chapters make up the book, each one investigating a different infectious disease from the past three decades. It goes into detail about how the world handled (or failed to handle) acute respiratory syndrome, AIDS/HIV, Zika, Ebola, and many other outbreaks. Even while studying the past, though, the authors keep a pulse on the future, constantly thinking about how we can learn from previous situations, and consider what those situations might look like on larger, perhaps planetary scales.
Olshaker and Osterholm conclude that major diseases can fall into four different threat levels—pathogens of pandemic potential, pathogens of critical regional importance, bioterrorism, and endemics. Of course, diseases can evolve along this spectrum, but the authors offer advice on how we can respond to them on each step of the way.
They liken curing or preventing diseases to solving puzzles. There are more pieces than one might expect, and the final product is somewhat of a mystery. The solution will not come solely out of a lab; it will take cooperation on many fronts including politicians, healthcare providers, medical and pharmaceutical professionals, and of course, everyday people who are vulnerable and instrumental in the spread or containment of an illness.
“Deadliest Enemy” is part history, part current events, and part memoir. The authors, offer up their own experiences in the field—most notably Osterholm’s disturbing eye-witness account of La Crosse encephalitis—while tapping into something larger than any single person. The book met high praise upon release, and the CDC recognizes it as a significant contribution to the world of written work on diseases.
You Want It? You Got It! Bringing the Audience what it Needs Now
Despite journalistic objectivity, many news outlets have tendencies to focus on the negative. Crimes, controversies, disasters, and crises simply make more pressing stories than most good news in the world. This is all the more prevalent now as climate change, stock market crashes, and a global pandemic dominate the headlines.
With all of the doom and gloom currently dripping from the wounds of the world, people have become famished for something more up-lifting. Luckily, outlets for such good news exist, and they have been witnessing a thermal (viral?) runaway in popularity during the COVID-19 shutdowns.
Sources emphasizing good news were around long before the coronavirus rendered the world thirsty for positivity. Websites like Good Good Good and The Global Positive News Network have been active for years, but have noticed increases in traffic over the past month.
The same goes for social media accounts such as Instagram’s @TanksGoodNews, @GoodNews_Movement, and @The_Happy_Broadcast. All of these pages have seen spikes in followers since March as they continue to seek out and report optimistic content throughout the pandemic.
Perhaps the most uproarious of good news outlets to come about in the past few weeks, however, is actor John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” YouTube broadcast. From the comfort of his home, Krasinski has produced and hosted four videos where he reports all of the good going on in the world. Riddled with humor, acts of charity, guest appearances via Zoom from Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, David Ortiz, Steve Carrel, Chance The Rapper, and Rain Wilson as well as remote performances from The Jonas Brothers and the entire “Hamilton” cast, “Some Good News” is both hilarious and heartfelt, and the videos have all received millions of views.
Once the “Human Interest” Kitten Beat, Now a Focus on Ways to Offset the Worst of Reality Reporting
Even more established newspapers, networks, and trades have tried to appease readers in search of cheerful stories. The Washington Post pumped up its weekly uplifting newsletter The Optimist into a biweekly occurrence, and started The Daily Break section to emphasize a feel-good story everyday. National Geographic also began Your Weekly Escape, a newsletter that is free of any coronavirus related content.
Clearly, these outlets have noticed the amplified demand for good news and are matching it with an increased supply. Of course, the bulk of the headlines remain somewhat gloomy nowadays, but rather than fixate on them, these good news alternatives offer positive twists. This is not to say that readers ignore world’s struggles, but rather that they want to see how people are reacting to the crises in healthy, wholesome, and genuinely helpful ways.
This embrace of good news, especially for the established publications, is an obvious spin to assuage readers. However, while spins in the media are usually traced back to politics, money, or hostility, this one is currently fueled by a desire to see kindness and generosity. Conventional “spins” are getting replaced by cartwheels or joy running up and down whatever good news stories are out there, laser-focusing on the glass half-full.
To make matters all the more soothing, many of these good news outlets are not-for-profit. While The Washington Post or National Geographic are still advertising alongside their uplifting stories, many of the Instagram accounts as well as John Krasinski’s broadcasts, are done entirely for free, making them in and of themselves, examples of good nature and good news.
On Friday, April 17, San Diego Comic-Con organizers announced that the annual event for 2020 will be cancelled for the first time in its fifty year run.
The four-day pop-culture convention traditionally takes place every summer. It is a yearly celebration of all things comic books—from the books themselves to movies, television, novels, and other transmedia adaptations.
their payments for Comic-Con 2021. We thank our friends for your continued support, and we are exploring the possibility of an online presence that should give us all an opportunity to share in the community for which Comic-Con is famous.
While San Diego may not be the largest Comic-Con in America, it is the most prestigious and widely observed of its kind. Roughly 135,000 people attend each year including academics, professionals, and fans, many of whom cosplay as their favorite characters.
SDCC 2020 was meant to take place between July 23rd and July 26th of this year. The organization fought hard to keep the event happening throughout the coronavirus shutdowns. However, its leaders finally pulled the plug, realizing that the packed occasion would severely violate the current social distancing precautions.
The event for this year has not been postponed for any later date, but rather terminated altogether. Nevertheless, those who have already bought tickets will have the options of receiving full refunds or transferring their purchases to vouchers for SDCC 2021.
Economic Fallout hitting Across Multiple Industries
Given that COVID-19 has put the entertainment industry on hold for 2020’s foreseeable future, though, perhaps it is fitting that this year’s Comic Con has been cancelled. Comic Con’s paramount draw is the panels of creative professionals who reveal new content and information within their industry. This includes casting decisions, trailers, original ideas, and much, much more.
Because most studios have had their 2020 production and release schedules pulled out form under them in light of the pandemic, it’s unclear how much concrete new information this year’s Comic Con would have to offer. Either way, its cancellation is unprecedented, but if everything is back to normal a year from now, 2021’s convention should have a surplus of exciting news to deliver the culturally famished masses.
Starting in a Crisis but Representing the New Normal?
In the modern digital age of direct-to-streaming films, studios and production companies have long contemplated the idea of releasing movies straight to home video markets at the same time as their theatrical debuts. Over the past few years, the gap between films’ theatrical runs and their home video releases has only shrunk, and the line has further greyed with rising numbers of nontraditional release platforms, or forgone theatrical runs altogether.
By and large, though, theaters have still maintained their relevancy. However, that has changed over the past couple months. Right now, theaters are shutdown across the globe because of the coronavirus and many recent releases have been expedited to Video-On-Demand markets. The most conspicuous of these expedited releases is that of DreamWorks’ “Trolls: World Tour,” which made history as the first film to get a VOD and theatrical release on the same day.
Releasing “Trolls: World Tour” like this was a bit of a gamble. Like many other movies, “World Tour” simply could have postponed its premiere for a more stable time. Nevertheless, the VOD release it seems to have paid off. The film came out on April 10th and has already earned Universal Studios $50 million. For comparison’s sake, the movie’s 2016 predecessor—simply titled “Trolls”—earned $46.6 million for its opening weekend in the theaters and overall had a $346.9 million Box Office run.
“Trolls: World Tour” will not have an enormous Box Office success given all of the theaters closed right now. However, it will arguably make more off of its VOD rentals than it ever would during a traditional theatrical period.
Granted, this is an unusual time. “World Tour” and its home release are probably benefitting from the isolated audiences practicing social distancing. Likewise, the film costs $19.99 On-Demand, a price that emulates that of a movie ticket, but is noticeably more than that of a regular VOD rental. The movie also garnered some extra attention as the first film to execute this unconventional release platform. Lastly, it is a family comedy appropriate for kids and adults alike to watch on a common screen. All of this considered, the VOD success of “World Tour” might be an anomaly tied to beginner’s luck and the current circumstances.
Virtual “Box office” Cume is nothing to Sneeze at
Nevertheless, the entertainment experiment that is “Trolls: World Tour” has still proven fruitful, raising the question of whether or not other movies will follow in its footsteps. If “World Tour” can get $50 million in its first week On-Demand, maybe the persistent gap between theaters and home markets has become futile. Perhaps moviegoers are content to watch a new picture at home for the same price of seeing it on the big screen.
The nullification of theatrical releases would naturally be bad news for the theater companies, but it would give streaming sites and tech companies a leg up in the entertainment market. It would also completely transform the industry release pipeline that has persisted for the past century. This potential change, however, will not manifest overnight. “Trolls: World Tour” simply demonstrates that a corresponding VOD and theatrical release can be financially effective, and it may spark an evolution in the enduring movie distribution model.
“Trolls: World Tour” is a PG-rated animated comedy-musical. Walt Dohrn directs alongside David P Smith, and the voice cast includes Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom, James Cordon, and many more. It is available on Amazon’s new Prime Cinema hub alongside other VOD expedited titles such as “The Invisible Man,” “Emma,” “The Way Back,” “Bloodshot,” “Birds Of Prey” and others.
Extremely fitting reading for today’s current events
Looking for something to read? Most of us are heavily inundated with reading about the novel coronavirus, so if you are interested in reading a title about epidemiology, Steven Johnson’s nonfiction book “The Ghost Map” is about the London Cholera epidemic in the 1850’s and details the journey of Dr. John Snow and a clergyman Henry Whitehead to find the source of what is making the city’s population drastically ill.
Imagine millions of people living with their livestock and with no proper way to dispose of waste – causing for the city to stink real bad. London officials were so convinced that the horrible smell was at the root of why people were falling ill. As a result, citizens were told to clean/purify their living quarters by flushing water out of their cellars into the Thames river, which inevitably poisoned the water supply and contributed to the cholera epidemic.
Very relevant right now. Thanks!
— Madison Santel 🏊🏻♂️🌎🎭 (@santel_madison) March 18, 2020
The overcrowding and lack of effective waste systems made cities in the 1800 highly susceptible to disease, yet the silver lining with urban environments was the diverse demographics of people that ultimately allowed for Dr. Snow and Whitehead to share their expertise to help solve the problem. It’s not a spoiler that the transmission for Cholera in 1854 was not through the air and because it smelled, but rather waterborne and being people were drinking the contaminated water.
Click to Buy “The Ghost Map” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon and Walmart.
From the New York Times bestselling author of How We Got To Now and Farsighted, a National Bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, and an Entertainment WeeklyBest Book of the Year.
It’s the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time.
In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.Also Available on Amazon and Walmart.
“More than anything else, though, it is an argument for seeing that terrible week as one of the defining moments in the invention of modern life”
Old movies about viruses and deadly outbreaks are making a come back into the spotlight and even trending most likely as a direct result of the current novel coronavirus that has now been deemed a pandemic according to The World Health Organization (WHO).
Most notable, is the movie “Contagion” a film from 2011, that is now the 2nd most watched Warner Brothers Film so far in 2020 and has reached the 10th spot on Apple iTune’s most rented movie this year. Yet “Contagion” is only one example of other movies that share the same recurring theme of disease and viral outbreaks.
All around the world, current blockbusters are postponing release and premiere dates, which makes this a perfect time to enjoy some oldies but goodies in the comfort of your own home.
Click to Buy “Contagion” – Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Released in 2011. When Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns to Minnesota from a Hong Kong business trip, she attributes the malaise she feels to jet lag. However, two days later, Beth is dead, and doctors tell her shocked husband (Matt Damon) that they have no idea what killed her. Soon, many others start to exhibit the same symptoms, and a global pandemic explodes. Doctors try to contain the lethal microbe, but society begins to collapse as a blogger (Jude Law) fans the flames of paranoia. Available on Amazon and a on Walmart.
Click to Buy “World War Z ” – Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Released in 2013. When former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family get stuck in urban gridlock, he senses that it’s no ordinary traffic jam. His suspicions are confirmed when, suddenly, the city erupts into chaos. A lethal virus, spread through a single bite, is turning healthy people into something vicious, unthinking and feral. As the pandemic threatens to consume humanity, Gerry leads a worldwide search to find the source of the infection and, with luck, a way to halt its spread. Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Click to Buy “12 Monkeys” – Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Released in 1995. Traveling back in time isn’t simple, as James Cole (Bruce Willis) learns the hard way. Imprisoned in the 2030s, James is recruited for a mission that will send him back to the 1990s. Once there, he’s supposed to gather information about a nascent plague that’s about to exterminate the vast majority of the world’s population. But, aside from the manic Jeffrey (Brad Pitt), he gets little in the way of cooperation, not least from medical gatekeepers like Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe). Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Click to Buy “Outbreak” – Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Released in 1995. A dangerous airborne virus threatens civilization in this tense thriller. After an African monkey carrying a lethal virus is smuggled into the U.S., an outbreak occurs in a California town. To control the spread of the disease, a team of doctors is brought in that includes a contagious disease expert (Dustin Hoffman) and his ex-wife (Rene Russo). Once the Army intervenes to handle the situation, though, the doctors must fight against the clock to save the town and its residents. Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Click to Buy “Pandemic” – Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Released in 2016. After a devastating virus outbreak, the world is plunged into a state of chaos. Zombies roam the streets, while survivors fight to stay alive. With the human race under threat, an armed rescue team target the undead. Rachel Nichols stars as a doctor who leads a group to find survivors of a worldwide pandemic. The film is shot in a first-person POV, similar to first-person shooter video games. Available on Amazon and on Walmart.
Click to Buy “Mayhem” – Amazon also Available on Walmart.
Released in 2017. Derek Cho is having a really bad day. After being unjustly fired from his job, he discovers that the law firm’s building is under quarantine for a mysterious and dangerous virus. Chaos erupts throughout the office as the victims of the disease begin acting out their wildest impulses. Joining forces with a former client who has a grudge of her own, Derek savagely fights tooth and nail to get to the executives on the top floor and settle the score once and for all.
Find books on COVID-19, health and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org
Official Movie Release and Premiere Timing Reconsidered
The 25th James Bond movie and the last one to star Daniel Craig “No Time to Die” has officially been delayed. The premiere in London was originally set for March 31st and worldwide release April 10th, yet due to the increasing global outbreaks of COVID-19, the movie and production company gave word that the film will now be released in November of this year.
The official word is said to be the result of an open letter written by a popular Bond fan website named MI6-HQ that addressed EON, MGM, and Universal about the health concerns relating to the movie release. (see link for full letter):
“With the Coronavirus reaching pandemic status, it is time to put public health above marketing release schedules and the cost of canceling publicity events.
Major events around the world have already been canceled or postponed due to health risks. Leading tech companies have banned travel for hundreds of thousands of employees, including Amazon and Google. All before the US and UK outbreaks expand.”
quote from MI6 Staff / www.mi6-hq.com
MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of NO TIME TO DIE will be postponed until November 2020. pic.twitter.com/a9h1RP5OKd
Two days after the letter was written, @007 the official Twitter page for the Bond movie took to social media to make the announcement of the delay. All in all this seems a wise decision as the public attendance of large numbers of people for any venue is in question due to the outbreak and the danger associated with close contact in enclosed spaces.
The entire film industry, concert and music industry and even live sports face a potentially huge challenge if this situation worsens. At this stage both the spread of the virus and the extent of quarantine measures that could become mandatory in the U.S. are unclear.
In Asia, not only mainland China but also Korea and Japan can be seen as initial examples of what could be in store for us in North America. In Europe, most notably Italy and in Iran things have already progressed beyond what we have seen thus far in the U.S.
Ultimately the question remains whether the spread of the infection can be contained, and yet, it is precisely measures such as the postponement of large public events that could be seen as part of the prophylactic response, and could help to prevent the kind of tragedy that China has already experienced.
Trend in Cancellations and Postponements Rising as Concerns of Infection Increase
Click to Buy “The Ghost Map” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon.
The list of events being cancelled due to fears of an increase in Coronavirus cases and even a possible eventual quarantine situation arising in the U.S. is getting longer daily. Some recent examples include the South by Southwest festival (also known as SWSX), scheduled to kick off on March 13th in Austin TX and yet is considering a cancellation after both Facebook and Twitter indicated that they would not send employees to the sow this year. The huge festival’s organizers must reconsider, it seems, after a petition online has been signed by over 40,000 people calling for the cancellation of the event. In some countries there is a ban on public gatherings altogether, naturally in China but even in Switzerland where there is a ban in place on any gathering that expects attendees in excess of 1000.
The effects on vast swaths of commerce, such as the $2.5 trillion trade show industry are looming large and could have a ripple effect throughout the economy as a whole. The Mobile World Congress, now known as MWC, originally scheduled for February 24-27, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain, for example, which is the world’s largest trade show for the Mobile Phone Industry has just been cancelled, and each of these kinds of large gatherings will mean a directly correlated drop in hotel, travel and restaurant revenue in the cities affected. To date more than 24 trade shows and conferences have been cancelled or postponed worldwide due to the concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.
