State Of Play: March 2021

Hope everyone is doing as well as you can be, given current circumstances, and keeping yourselves occupied. 

There are a few reasons to be cautiously optimistic, that there's light at the end of the tunnel (and it's not just an Intercity 125 coming to knock seven bells out of us again!) 

This week saw some big film news, so I figured time to do an update!

I'll be honest, I wasn't massively surprised by this week's news that Black Widow was a) being moved again (from May 7 to July 9), and b) being made available via Disney+ Premier on the same day. 

The situation is still, to put it mildly, changeable. Cinemas in New York and Los Angeles are starting to reopen; UK-based cinema chain Cineworld (who also own Regal Cinemas in the US) have announced they will start to reopen Regal locations in early April. 

In the UK, cinemas in England and Scotland (at least) are working to the assumption that they will be able to reopen for business from May 17th, if COVID-19 is still being controlled at a reasonable level. That said, cinemas will still need to operate at reduced capacity (at least initially) and with social distancing protocols in place. In the numbers game, it's not going to be worth Marvel's time to put it out until the situation is a bit more stable. 

Unsurprisingly, this has had a knock-on effect to some of the other Marvel movies that are due to be released this year.

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings will now be released (it is assumed theatrically only) on September 3; there's no news at present whether Eternals or Spider-Man: No Way Home (due in November and December respectively) will be affected. 

A couple of random bits of MCU news: in December, when Christian Bale's casting in Thor: Love And Thunder was announced (Bale will be playing Gorr The God Butcher), a new release date was also given: May 6, 2022. This will now put the Thor fourquel (Thorquel?) after Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, which had its own date changed to March 25 2022.

But whilst Black Widow gets bumped, there's no such plans to change the date of Cruella (the live-action "prequel" to 101 Dalmatians, starring Emma Stone and Emma Thompson). Like Mulan and Raya And The Last Dragon, Cruella will be getting a cinema release (where possible) and will also be available on Disney+ Premier on the same day. This is Memorial Day weekend in the US, and a usually lucrative time for cinemas. 

As they did with Soul, Disney have also announced that Pixar's next movie Luca (a coming-of-age drama involving sea monsters in disguise, with the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Glazer, and Maya Rudolph) will be available on Disney+ (at no additional charge) from June 18th. Where Disney+ is not available, they are looking at potential cinema releases in those territories. 

Other Disney properties shifted around include Ryan Reynolds' Free Guy (now August 13), The King's Man (December 22), Ben Affleck starrer Deep Water (January 14 2022), and star-studded Agatha Christie adaptation Death On The Nile (February 11 2022)

For fans of horror and thrillers, you'll get to see at least two anticipated flicks a little sooner than expected. Paramount have moved A Quiet Place Part II to the aforementioned Memorial Day weekend, whilst Lionsgate have shifted Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (the ninth- NINTH!- Saw film) forward a week to May 14. Chris Rock, Max Minghella, and Samuel L. Jackson will be playing a game very soon...

On the subject of ninth films in franchises, Universal have decided to move F9 back a month, so it will now premiere on June 25. This set up a clash between Vin Diesel and Tom Hardy, with Sony's Venom sequel due to drop on the same day. Realising they were sunk, Sony have moved Venom: Let There Be Carnage to September.

Universal weren't quite so kind to Minions: The Rise Of Gru, on the other hand; originally due to release on July 3 2020, it first got shunted to July 2 2021 and has now been shunted back another year, to July 1 2022.

Here are some of the current release dates at the moment, correct as of 26th March 2021. This only includes movies whose dates have changed since the last State of Play update (in January). 

2021

May 14     Spiral: From The Book Of Saw

May 28     Cruella (cinema and Disney+ Premier Access)

May 28     A Quiet Place Part II

June 18     Luca (Disney+ exclusive)

June 25     F9

July 9     Black Widow (cinema and Disney+ Premier Access)

July 9     The Forever Purge

August 13     Free Guy

September 3     Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

September 17     Venom: Let There Be Carnage

December 22     The King's Man

2022

January 14     Deep Water

February 11     Death On The Nile

March 25     Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

May 6     Thor: Love And Thunder

July 1     Minions: The Rise Of Gru

If/when (let's be honest, I think it'll be when) things change, we'll let you know. 

As Jerry Springer used to say: "Take care of yourselves and each other." 

State Of Play: January 2021

Hope you're all doing well and January has been as kind as it can be to yourselves. 

We're still in the grip of a deadly pandemic and the cinema schedules keep changing left, right, and centre, so thought it was worth looking at the lie of the land as we come to the close of the first month of a new year. 

To very few people's surprise, news broke late last week that No Time To Die was being shunted back again, this time to 8th October 2021 (from its revised April 2021 release). It's disappointing, but understandable. The world is still very much in flux, so I can appreciate the studios wanting to err to the side of caution. If it keeps this date, it will arrive a few days shy of six years after the last Bond movie, Spectre.

This decision has set off a bit of a domino effect, with a lot of other films now having been moved, including Edgar Wright's horror-thriller Last Night In Soho (now due October 22nd 2021), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (now 11th November), and A Quiet Place: Part II (17th September), with Jared Leto's Morbius, and Tom Holland's Uncharted shifted into 2022.  

Before Christmas, Warner Bros. announced that their full slate for 2021- 17 films in total, including The Matrix 4, Dune, and The Suicide Squad- would follow the example of Wonder Woman 1984 and be released on both HBO Max and in cinemas (where possible) on their respective release dates. Already, the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints Of Newark has had a date change, so others may follow.

Here are the current releases at the moment, correct as of 25th January 2021. Films below marked with an asterisk are Warner Bros. films and will be released on HBO Max on day of release as well as cinemas. 


2021

March 5     Coming 2 America (Amazon Prime)

March 5     Raya And The Last Dragon (Disney+)

March 26     Godzilla Vs. Kong *

May 7     Black Widow

May 28     F9

June 18     In The Heights *

July 2     Top Gun: Maverick

July 9     Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

July 16     Cinderella

July 30     Jungle Cruise

August 13     BIOS

August 20     The King's Men

September 17     A Quiet Place: Part II

September 24     The Many Saints Of Newark *

October 1     Dune *

October 8     No Time To Die

October 15     The Last Duel

October 22     Last Night In Soho

November 5     Eternals

November 11     Ghostbusters: Afterlife

November 19     Mission: Impossible 7

December 3     Nightmare Alley

December 10     West Side Story

December 17     Sony/Marvel Spider-Man 3

December 22     The Matrix 4 *



2022

January 21     Morbius

February 11     Thor: Love And Thunder

February 11     Uncharted

March 4     The Batman

March 25     Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

July 8     Black Panther 2

July 15     Fantastic Beasts 3

November 4     The Flash

November 11     Captain Marvel 2


At the moment, the first big blockbusters of 2021 will be Black Widow and F9 in May - but it's probably too early to say that those dates will definitely hold. 

This is something that I found out today, and which I found very telling: of the many films who advertised during last year's SuperBowl (a traditional spot for new releases to advertise to a massive audience and where the cost of a 30-second slot was around $5.6m), only four have actually been released: they are The Invisible Man, Sonic The Hedgehog, Mulan, and The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run. 

We'll keep you updated if when things change again. 

The Watchers Review Of 2020

 

The Watchers Review of 2020 is now available! You can listen to it via iTunes or Podbean.

In an unprecedented year, our review of the year is also somewhat different - we still talk about our favourite films of the year but also take a look at how the world of cinema has been affected by world events and what we're now looking forward to in 2021 (circumstances permitting, of course!)

Have a listen and let us know what your films of 2020 are, or what you're looking forward to in the new year!

State Of Play: October 2020

Hello everyone, 

We hope this finds you well and that you're keeping safe and sound.

There's been a lot, LOT, of movement in the last few weeks regarding movie release schedules, so we figured it was time to do a bit of a round-up on where things stand at the moment. 

As with a lot of things in the current COVID-19 pandemic, things can change in a heartbeat so this is as we know it today (Sunday 4th October). This is, of course, always subject to change. 

Disney were the first to start rearranging their winter roster, moving Black Widow to May 2021 (which has a knock-on effect for at least two other MCU movies; see below) and postponing Steven Spielberg's new version of West Side Story (starring Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler as the star-cross'd Tony and Maria) until December 2021. 

At the moment, Disney still plan to release Pixar's next movie Soul and the latest star-studded Agatha Christie adaptation Death On The Nile in cinemas this year (Soul at Thanksgiving weekend, and Death On The Nile a week before Christmas). None of the films were moved to Disney+ (as Mulan had), although the situation remains very much in flux at the moment. Given recent news reports, and the likelihood that Cineworld will close cinemas in the U.S. and the U.K. and Ireland shortly, I would be immensely surprised if these films see cinema screens this year. 

If Death On The Nile does still get a cinema release on December 18, it will be going up against Warner Bros.' new version of Frank Herbert's Dune (directed by Denis Villeneuve, and starring Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, and Zendaya), which is still scheduled for this date. Wonder Woman 1984 had another date change, as the film will now be opening on Christmas Day instead. (Movie-going on Christmas Day is apparently a thing in America, so will probably open Boxing Day in the UK, if the release goes ahead) 

Director Patty Jenkins said "Because I know how important it is to bring this movie to you on a big screen when all of us can share the experience together, I’m hopeful you won’t mind waiting just a little bit longer. With the new date on Christmas Day, we can’t wait to spend the holidays with you."

In our June State of Play update, we mentioned Robert Zemeckis' new version of The Witches (starring Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, and Stanley Tucci) being dropped from Warner Bros. cinema schedule in the US. Well, at the start of this month, it was announced that the film will make its debut on HBO Max on October 22 2020, with an international cinema release following a week later (where possible).

However on the same day as that, it was announced that No Time To Die, the 25th Bond film, was also going to be postponed until 2021. Originally set for release on November 12 in the UK and November 20 in the US, it's now set for April 2 2021 [almost a year after its initial release date]. In a statement on the official 007 site, the delay is "in order [for the film] to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience. We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans". 

As well as disappointing fans, it's no doubt disappointed cinema chains too: it has been one of the reasons mooted for Cineworld's decision to potentially shut down its cinemas. As a result of No Time To Die being shifted, F9 (Fast & Furious 9) has also moved in the schedule to the end of May 2021.

So that's where things stand at the moment. These are the current release dates for some of the films mentioned; obviously all of them are due to change if circumstances continue or change.

2020

November 20         Soul

December 18         Death On The Nile

December 25         WW84


2021

February 12         The King's Man

April 2         No Time To Die

May 7         Black Widow

May 28         F9

July 9         Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

November 5         Eternals

December 10         West Side Story

Keep safe everyone. It certainly looks as if things are far from being over...

The Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special 6

Our sixth Lockdown Special is here!

In this edition, we take a look at the IMDb Top 250 films countdown, and pick one that we haven't watched and report back on it. A film show reviewing films... how unusual!

Biting social satire, the vagaries of a Warwickshire accent, and a long-owned but never-watched DVD all come into play in this edition, which will be the last Lockdown Special as the UK is now starting to come out of lockdown; fear not, we will be returning to our usual audio/podcast shows!

In case you missed them, here are our previous Lockdown Specials:

Lockdown Special 1 - Feelgood Films

Lockdown Special 2 - Release Schedule Changes

Lockdown Special 3 - Moviemind

Lockdown Special 4 - 1980s Decades Chat

Lockdown Special 5 - Guilty Pleasures

Here are also our Feelgood Films posts, if you want some suggestions for cheery films to get you through these trying times:

Part 1 - Introducing... The Watchers Feelgood Films!

Part 2 - Mrs. Doubtfire and Galaxy Quest

Part 3 - Sci-Fi Special

Part 4 - Disney Special

Part 5 - Documentary Special

Part 6 - 1980s Special

Part 7 - Documentary Special (Part 2)

Awards Season 2021

I'm fairly certain I felt some of your blood run cold at the mention of "awards season".

What? You may be crying. Awards season stuff already? But it's only June! This festival of self-congratulation doesn't kick off til November, surely! What's going on?

Well... in these uncertain times we find ourselves in, the usual structures and strictures have been overturned and "mere anarchy is loosed upon the world". This news came out late last night here in the UK so I couldn't include it yesterday's State Of Play article. Probably for the best as there was a LOT of info in that!

Anyway, to my point (and I do have one)... 

Yesterday (June 15th), the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Scientists (AMPAS) voted on a new date for the 93rd Academy Awards. It will now take place on Sunday April 25th 2021, eight weeks from its original date of Sunday February 28th. 

The Oscar nominations will be announced on Monday March 15th 2021.

In a statement from the Academy, AMPAS president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson noted the following: 

"For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring, and entertaining us during the darkest of times. They certainly have this year. Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone’s control."

This isn't the first time that the Oscars have moved their broadcast date: in response to major events - such as severe flooding in Los Angeles in 1938, the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, and the attempted assassination of US President Ronald Reagan in 1981- the Academy made the decision to postpone the events in those respective years. So it was going to be a no-brainer for them to do it again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In light of this, the Academy have also changed their qualifying release deadline. Usually, the deadline is 31st December, but for the 93rd Academy Awards it will be extended to Sunday 28th February 2021. So, any film that has had a qualifying run in that time (which currently means a film has to be shown in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County for a theatrical qualifying run of at least seven consecutive days, during which period screenings must occur at least three times daily) can be eligible for Best Picture. 

The Academy have also expanded their definition of "qualifying theaters" to include venues in other cities, including New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta. They're also waiving the demand that documentaries have both an L.A. and a New York run in order to be considered. 

They'd previously announced a big change in relation to films that would have had a theatrical release but can't due to cinemas being closed. Usually films that only appear on streaming services are ineligible for consideration, but- until further notice- streaming-only films can be eligible but "must be made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member-only streaming site within 60 days of the film’s streaming or VOD release". 

Other rmajor awards bodies, such as the Golden Globes, Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, and BAFTA have all already adopted new guidelines which relax their rules regarding commercial streaming/VOD releases, so it makes sense. 

Speaking of BAFTA, this morning (16th June), the announcement was made that the 2021 BAFTA Film Awards will also move; they will now take place on Sunday April 11th 2021 (keeping with recent tradition that the BAFTAs predate the Oscars by two weeks). They're the first of the major awards bodies to announce a shift in date in light of the change in the Oscars, so expect the others to follow suit. 

Decisions have also been made to cancel the 2020 Governors Award gala in November (where the Academy Honorary Awards, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award are handed out), and postpone the 2020 Scientific and Technical Awards presentation (which was due to take place on Saturday June 20th). The flagshop Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will now open to the public on April 30th 2021 instead of December 14th this year. 

In other news, from 2021, the Academy will be merging its Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing awards to one award: Best Achievement in Sound. It's also going to be the last Oscars where physical DVD screeners and other hard-copy materials will be distributed, instead pressing for digital materials instead. 

As for how this will effect the Oscars going forwards? Who know? (And a lot of people might say: who cares?) 

The 94th Academy Awards were previously announced to take place on February 22nd 2022, but the Academy has opened the door for a new date. There's also been an announcement that- from 2022- the Academy will commit to 10 Best Picture nominees a year, rather than basing the number of nominees on the members' preferential voting. 

The 2010 and 2011 awards both had a fixed 10 Best Picture nominations (changed from the fixed five due, it is generally believed, to The Dark Knight's exclusion from the top prize in 2009), but from 2012- since the rules changed to allow anywhere between five and ten Best Pictures- it's fluctuated between eight and nine Best Picture nods a year. 

It's a brave new world, my friends, and we must adapt to survive. I'll leave you with this quote from an anonymous awards consultant which I think sums it up nicely: 

“Who knows what awards season is going to look like?” 

Who indeed. 

State Of Play: June 2020

Over the past week or so, there have been a lot of changes happening to release schedules and how filming can or might continue in the current climate, so I thought it might be worth doing a quick round-up of where things stand at the moment. 

Of course, given the nature of the world at the moment, this is accurate as of today (15th June) but could well change again.


Release Schedule Changes

This one has come as a bit of a surprise. Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s next mindbender, had- up until last week- been resolutely sticking to its release date of July 17th 2020. This has now changed, albeit only by a few weeks and not months like some other films. Tenet is now due to be released on July 31st 2020, two weeks later than expected. 

Wonder Woman 1984 has been shifted again and will now open on 2nd October 2020 (from its date of August 14th). This is the fifth release date that the film has been given; it was originally due for release in December 2019, then November 2019, then June 5th 2020 before its move to August 14th as the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold. Hopefully it won’t need to be moved again. 

But with Wonder Woman 1984 being moved back, it has meant that Bill & Ted Face The Music has been brought forward a week, and will now be released- all being well- on August 14th 2020 instead.   

No Time To Die- the twenty-fifth Bond film- will be released slightly earlier than expected- November 12th 2020 in the UK (and November 20th in the US)


Looking forward to 2021, there’s been a little movement with several films changing release dates next year. 

Everybody's Talking About Jamie – the big-screen adaptation of the West End musical about a teenage drag queen- starring Max Harwood as Jamie, with Sarah Lancashire as Jamie’s mum Margaret, and Richard E. Grant as Jamie’s drag mentor Loco Chanelle- will now be released on January 22nd 2021 (instead of October 23rd 2020). Opening post-Christmas, in the traditionally bleak January, might provide "a little bit of glitter in the grey" (as one of the songs says)

Bios – This quirky Tom Hanks-starring sci-fi- about an ailing inventor in a post-apocalyptic Earth who builds an android to look after his beloved dog when he dies- which co-stars Caleb Landry Jones, Samira Wiley, and Skeet Ulrich, and is directed by Miguel Sapochnik will now be released on April 16th 2021 (moved from October 2020)

Godzilla Vs. Kong – The next instalment in what has been termed the Legendary MonsterVerse (after Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, and Godzilla: King Of The Monsters) will now be in cinemas on May 21st 2021 (from November 2020). The cast includes Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Demián Bichir, and Zhang Ziyi and two giant CGI monsters knocking seven bells out of each other. 

In The Heights – Another big-screen adaptation of a stage musical, this one by Hamilton supremo Lin-Manuel Miranda, comes to screens on June 18th 2021 (a delay of just over a year). Anthony Ramos takes the lead role of bodega owner Usnavi, with Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz, and Jimmy Smits in supporting roles. 

The Beatles: Get Back – Peter Jackson’s documentary, about the making of Let It Be, is moving its release from September 4th 2020 to August 27th 2021. 

The Batman – Matt Reeves’ take on the Caped Crusader with Robert Pattinson under the cowl, aided and abetted by a veritable rogues gallery of actors- including Zoë Kravitz (Catwoman), Paul Dano (The Riddler), Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon), John Turturro (Carmine Falcone), Colin Farrell (The Penguin), and Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth)- will now be released on October 1st 2021 (a shift of a couple of months, from June 25th 2021)

Looking even further forward, the as-yet-untitled fourth Matrix movie- which sees Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss joined by new cast members Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, and Neil Patrick Harris- is now going to be released on April 1st 2022.

When announcing the change to the Matrix sequel, Warner Brothers also dropped Robert Zemeckis’ remake of Roald Dahl’s The Witches from their schedule. Originally due for release in October 2020, the film stars Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci and Chris Rock, with Anne Hathaway taking the role of the Grand High Witch (played memorably and terrifyingly by Anjelica Huston in the 1990 original). Whether the film will see the light of day via a streaming service or if it will get a release date somewhere along the line, who knows?

Streaming Premieres 

On the subject of streaming services, several movies have taken the route of Trolls World Tour, Artemis Fowl, and Scoob!, and are premiering online instead. 

You Should Have Left – this Universal Pictures/Blumhouse Productions supernatural thriller- starring Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried – will launch via premium video-on-demand, starting June 19th (a.k.a. this coming Friday!)

Greyhound – this Tom Hanks war drama debuts on July 10th 2020 exclusively via Apple TV Plus. Set in the early days of World War II, an international convoy of 37 Allied ships, led by Ernest Krause (Hanks), crosses the treacherous North Atlantic while being hotly pursued by wolf packs of Nazi submarines. Stephen Graham, Rob Morgan and Elisabeth Shue co-star. 

The One And Only Ivan - directed by Thea Sharrock, this live-action/CGI hybrid about a special gorilla (voiced by Sam Rockwell) will debut exclusively on Disney+ on August 21st 2020. Other cast members include Angelina Jolie, Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Chaka Khan, and Bryan Cranston.



Restarting Film Production 

On June 1st, a 22-page "white paper" written by the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force (comprising representatives from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the Teamsters labour union) was delivered to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and California Governor Gavin Newsom, detailing how studios could resume filming during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Their recommendations include: 

• Regular, periodic testing of cast and crew
• Physical distancing of cast and crew maintained (whenever possible)
• Make-up artists and hairstylists using personal protective equipment (PPE) and keeping people in close proximity to performers at a minimum 
• Daily symptom monitoring of all cast and crew
• Appointing a COVID-19 Compliance Officer (or officers) who have with specialised training, responsibility and authority for COVID-19 safety compliance and enforcement, available at all times during working hours
• No craft service buffets; instead, providing individually packaged meals and snacks, avoiding communal trays, bowls or utensils
• Eliminating paper scripts and sign-in sheets, using digital alternatives where possible

All of these suggestions sound reasonable and not too onerous. Whilst there’s no news as yet on whether New York is allowing filming to resume (and under what circumstances; although given that Governor Cuomo threatened today to close down Manhattan and the Hamptons due to people not observing social distancing advice, I wouldn’t hold your breath), California officials released state guidelines and announced film and TV productions could resume as early as Friday 12th June.

In addition to those above, the state guidelines also recommend:

• Limiting filming hours to between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
• Holding remote auditions and discouraging open casting calls
• Hair and makeup services should only be provided for cast members who cannot do it themselves
• Scenes that require a large number of cast members are discouraged, and scenes where cast must be closer than six feet should be kept as brief and as silent as possible
• Before filming any scene, cast are required to wash their hands
• Cast are encouraged to use their own props, such as by using their own cell phones in scenes. 
• Scripts and contracts are recommended to be shared digitally
• During auditions, actors must receive single-use scripts if they are unable to hold remote auditions.
• Face coverings are required for cast and crew when they will be interacting with others, aside from when their work requires them to not have a mask on (e.g., an actor filming a scene)
• Cast and crew must also be regularly tested for COVID-19 and if a producer, director, showrunner or any other manager is aware of three or more COVID-19 cases on their production within a span of 14 days, they must notify the Department of Public Health.
• Shared items must be disinfected between use

Given that there would need to be a fair amount of prep to be done to ensure these guidelines can be followed, it’s unlikely that many studios and productions will be starting up again so soon. 

That said, several productions have restarted, or are preparing to restart in other countries. 

In Australia, Kurt Wimmer’s reimagining of Stephen King’s Children Of The Corn continued filming, using stringent health and safety protocols, and multiple insurance policies. Principal photography began in New South Wales in early March, when the COVID-19 outbreak forced the majority of productions around the world to shut down. The cast includes Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey, and Bruce Spence.

James Cameron and producer Jon Landau are preparing to resume filming on the Avatar sequels by returning to New Zealand at the start of June. This will be the first major film series to resume production after the industry-wide pause.

It’s also been reported today that Jurassic World: Dominion will be the first major U.K.-based studio production to start filming again, with cameras set to roll at Pinewood Studios on the second week of July. Universal have been working with the British Film Council and U.S. unions to ensure the production meets required safety standards and have imposed additional measures (to go beyond those standards).


Cinemas in the UK 

So with production tentatively starting again, and release schedules amended, the big question remains: when can we actually go back to the cinema and see a film on the big screen?

Well, it’s a little bit complicated. 

Whilst Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to announce their provisional dates, indoor cinemas in England may be able to open from July 4th 2020 (subject to sufficient progress being made against COVID-19, allowing lockdown measures to be relaxed; a decision about this will not be made until closer to the time). Outdoor cinemas in England (of which there are around 20) are able to open from today.

Cineworld are preparing to open all of its UK cinemas (128 in total) on July 4th, and "have put in place procedures to ensure a safe and enjoyable cinema experience" although they haven't announced what these procedures are. Vue have already announced how the measures they will take if they are allowed to reopen, including "physically isolating family groups through our online booking systems, staggering film times to maintain social distancing and operate responsibly, and introducing enhanced cleaning and employee-protection protocols."

As with everything since lockdown began back in March, we just have to keep our heads down and wait and see what happens. 

The Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special 2

In the second of our Lockdown Specials, we discuss the current state of play with cinema and the amended release schedule for several of the big movies that were due to be released over the coming months. 

This information was accurate at the time we recorded the Special, however, because the circumstances we are in are constantly shifting, they may have already changed again!

So, if you want to find out when to expect films such as No Time To Die, Black Widow and Fast & Furious 9, check out the video above!

The Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special 1

We're not letting a minor inconvenience like the COVID-19 lockdown stop us from chatting about films!

In this first Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special, we chat about how we're dealing with life under the new rules, and highlight some more of our Feelgood Films! You might be surprised by some of our choices...

Check out the video above!

We've also done some maintenance work on the Watchers Productions page, and our entire past archive of Watchers Film Shows (both video and audio) are available to watch there. So if you fancy seeing how Rhys, Tez, and Matt looked nearly ten- TEN!- years ago (and hearing our contemporary opinions of the films of the time), check them out!