Geek News

Geek News on the Radio for March 16th, 2020

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Bad News

A Quite Place 2 Release Delayed

John Krasinski and Emily Blunt’s thriller “A Quiet Place Part II” has been delayed amid concerns around an escalating coronavirus pandemic. The film, which is released by Paramount Pictures, was slated to roll out internationally on March 18, with a U.K. debut scheduled for March 19 and a North American release set for March 20. Paramount has not set a new release date for the film yet. “After much consideration, and in light of the ongoing and developing situation concerning coronavirus and restrictions on global travel and public gatherings, Paramount Pictures will be moving the worldwide release of ‘A Quiet Place Part II,’” the studio said in a statement Thursday. “We believe in and support the theatrical experience, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences this year once we have a better understanding of the impact of this pandemic on the global theatrical marketplace.” Krasinski also released a statement that reads, “One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together. Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that. As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie .. I’m gonna wait to release the film till we CAN all see it together! So here’s to our group movie date! See you soon!”     Read More

Marvel Shang-Chi Production Shut down

Marvel Studios and Disney have decided to temporarily shut down production on their upcoming film Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. The delay comes after director Destin Daniel Cretton was asked by a doctor to self-isolate over the coronavirus. According to Variety, Cretton was not feeling symptoms of the virus, but he chose to be tested as a precaution because he is a new father. As he is in self-isolation, he awaits his test results. The movie has been shooting in Australia since February. The second unit will continue production at this time. Marvel’s shared the following note with the crew: “As many of you know, Destin, our director, has a new born baby. He wanted to exercise additional caution given the current environment and decided to get tested for Covid-19 today. He is currently self-isolating under the recommendation of his doctor. While he waits for the results of the test, we are suspending 1st unit production in an abundance of caution until he gets the results this coming week. Second unit and off production will continue as normal. We will reach out to everyone by Tuesday for the latest update. This is an unprecedented time. We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we work through this.”     Read More

Disney Stops Live Action Film Productions

Disney is halting the production of some of its live-action films as concerns over the growing coronavirus pandemic worsen. “While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our productions, after considering the current environment and the best interests of our cast and crew, we have made the decision to pause production on some of our live-action films for a short time. We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible,” the company said in a statement. This move could impact films like “The Little Mermaid,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Home Alone,” “The Last Duel,” “Nightmare Alley,” as well as “Peter Pan & Wendy” and “Shrunk.” It’s currently unclear how many employees will be impacted by the production shutdown. The film industry is notorious for its short-term employment opportunities, with movie crews working anywhere from just a few months to a little under a year on projects. They then move on to the next film. It is also unclear if Disney’s animations studios will also be shuttered. Disney was not immediately available to provide additional comment. ″[The coronavirus] will have horrifying effect on production,” Eric Schiffer, CEO and chairman of Patriarch Organization and Reputation Management Consultants, said. Schiffer warned that there could be a “drought of content” across the film and television industry if productions are shut down for too long.     Read More

New Mutants Delayed Again

The New Mutants cannot catch a break. On Thursday, Disney announced that three of their upcoming films have been moved off the release schedule. Sandwiched between Mulan (March 27), and Antlers, their horror film by way of Searchlight, was New Mutants, which finally expected to hit theaters on April 3 after countless setbacks. If you are unfamiliar with New Mutants’ journey to the big screen, it can be best summed up with the detail that this is the fourth time the Josh Boone-directed project been given a release date only to have it pushed back. The first delay occurred when the movie’s original distributor, 20th Century Fox, moved the release date from April 13, 2018, to February 22, 2019. The studio not only wanted to avoid any unnecessary competition with Deadpool 2 at the theaters, but they also wanted to lean further into the frightening elements, and create a scary superhero flick, which would require reshoots. These reshoots became the primary reason why New Mutants was moved again to August 2. That same month, the film faced scrutiny from its new boss Disney, which acquired Fox and a number of its properties. Disney wasn’t confident in the movie’s ability to make a splash at the box office, and was even considered to be moved to Hulu. After more reshoots, and a bit of a script upheaval, Disney felt comfortable enough to give it a April 3 release date, but then the coronavirus plagued the movie industry.     Read More

The Matrix 4 Still Going

Get ready to take the red pill again. Lana Wachowski, who co-wrote and co-directed the groundbreaking action film The Matrix and its two less-well-received sequels, is currently prepping a fourth entry in the franchise — and yes, both Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are both expected to return to play their iconic roles. Details about The Matrix 4 remain scarce, but the film does have an official release date of May 21, 2021, and a few high-profile cast members have been revealed. Here’s everything we know about The Matrix 4 so far.     Read More

Warner Bro’s Shut Down Productions

Warner Bros. Television Group has become the latest TV studio to confirm that they are shutting down or postponing production on some current series and pilots. The company is not revealing titles, but I hear the list of current series whose filming has been halted include CBS’ Young Sheldon, All Rise, Bob Hearts Abishola and God Friended Me, the CW’s Supergirl and Batwoman, TNT’s Claws, OWN’s Queen Sugar, Epix’s Pennyworth and HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, along with the already known Riverdale, The Flash and Lucifer. On the alternative side, impacted is ABC’s The Bachelorette. Pilot-wise, Disney TV Studios earlier this morning confirmed that filming on Warner Bros. TV drama The Brides, a co-production with ABC Studios, is being postponed for at least three weeks.     Read More

Netflix Shut Down Productions

Netflix is pausing its scripted TV and film productions in the US and Canada for two weeks, due to government restrictions and health and safety precautions, a source close to the situation confirmed to Business Insider. The New York Times’ Josh Koblin and The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint first broke the news on Twitter. The announcement came as US president Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13 over the coronavirus outbreak. Netflix is currently in pre-production on the fourth season of “Stranger Things,” which would be affected by the shut down, as well as others projects that were previously put on pause like Ryan Murphy’s film “The Prom” and the final season of “Grace and Frankie.” The streaming company, like other companies, has also been advising employees based at its Los Angeles and Los Gatos, California headquarters to work from home, the source said.     Read More

Wondercon Postponed

To protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, the California Department of Public Health announced a recommendation that gatherings and events of more than 250 people should either be postponed or cancelled. Comic-Con (organizer of WonderCon) will abide by this recommendation. Therefore WonderCon Anaheim, scheduled for April 10-12, 2020 in Anaheim, California, will be postponed until a later date. We will begin processing refunds for badge purchases in the coming days. We continue to work closely with officials in San Diego and at this time no decision has been made regarding the rescheduling of Comic-Con slated to take place this summer; July 23-26, 2020. We urge everyone to follow the recommendations set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and your local health officials.     Read More

E3 2020 Cancelled

The biggest trade show in video games is skipping a year. E3 2020, which was planned to take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center this June, is cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 coronavirus that is currently spreading across the globe, the organizers of the conference said today. “After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry—our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners—we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles,” the Entertainment Software Association, the video game lobbyist group that runs the trade show, said in a statement to press this morning. The ESA added that it will be looking “to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.” Traditionally, E3 has two parts. During the first few days of the show, from Saturday through Monday, major video game publishers like Microsoft and Ubisoft hold press conferences to showcase trailers announce their latest games, while from Tuesday through Thursday, the show floor opens for business deals and video game demos. The first part will be far easier to replicate than the second. Microsoft has already announced an Xbox digital event for this year, as has Ubisoft.     Read More

Good News

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Released early

Hey Star Wars fans, have we got some good news for you. Quite by surprise, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been released on digital earlier than expected. As such, the early arrival of the ninth and final film in Lucasfilm’s epic Skywalker saga means hanging out at home just got a lot better. Variety confirmed The Rise of Skywalker‘s early release on digital platforms on Sunday, March 15 but it seems the film officially released early on Friday, March 13. The ninth chapter of the Skywalker saga was originally scheduled to hit digital retailers on March 17. Interestingly, there has been no official statement from Disney or Lucasfilm on the reasoning behind The Rise of Skywalker‘s early release. It’s within the realm of possibility a decision was made to release The Rise of Skywalker early —just like it was decided to release Frozen II early — due to many of us deciding to stay home and stay protected as growing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus rise internationally. However, without an official statement, we just have to chalk this up as a great surprise for those of us who’ve been jonesing for something good as we hang out at home. The Rise of Skywalker is currently available for purchase on Amazon, Apple TV and iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, FandangoNow, Movies Anywhere, and other digital retailers. Price points generally start at $19.99 for HD and $24.99 for 4K Ultra HD. The Rise of Skywalker is still scheduled for release in physical digital and 4K Ultra HD form as well as rent on March 31. The Star Wars feature also comes equipped with tons of bonus features, including a making-of documentary and rib-tickling blooper reel.     Read More

Frozen 2 Released Early on Disney+

Disney has now released Frozen 2 on Disney Plus in the US, as per the tweet below. In Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand you’ll be able to watch it on Tuesday March 17. Grab a free Disney Plus trial here if you haven’t given the service a go yet.

Original story: Frozen 2 is coming to Disney Plus in the US on June 26, according to a new listing on the streaming service. This update was spotted by user jonnyslats on the Disney Plus subreddit, and it means that only two of Disney’s big movies from 2019 lack release dates on the service now – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. On Disney Plus Australia, the listing page says Frozen 2 is coming on July 31. Since Disney Plus UK hasn’t launched yet, we’re unsure when the film will, ahem, show itself on the UK version of the service. Over the last few months, Disney Plus has kept things ticking along with a mix of big movies from 2019 and the slow trickle of films arriving from other services as licensing agreements expire. Since January, the live-action versions of The Lion King and Aladdin have released on the service, as have notably-missing movies such as Black Panther.     Read More

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