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FILM

Will the Coronavirus Finally Settle the Streaming Movies vs. Theater Debate?

With COVID-19 now a full-blown pandemic, industries are struggling to adjust, but the film and TV industry may never be the same

Photo by Myke Simon on Unsplash

Less than a year ago, at the 2019 Cinemacon in Las Vegas, Oscar Winner Helen Mirren shared her opinion on streaming movies in no uncertain terms: "I love Netflix, but f*ck Netflix!"

The comment came amid controversy over the criteria by which a film qualifies for consideration for the Academy Awards and other major accolades. At the time, Netflix and other streaming platforms were pushing for their original productions to be included for consideration without the need for traditional theatrical releases, and many in the industry balked at the prospect. Yesterday, Regal and AMC—the largest cinema chains in the US—both announced that they will be closing all their theatres starting today. Together, the two companies operate nearly 50% of theater screens in the US. Other chains have restricted theater crowds, and more closures are certain to follow.

With no clear end in sight for the coronavirus pandemic, there is an open question about how the movie and television industries will cope. While social distancing is creating increased demand for streaming content, and numerous scheduled releases and production schedules have been delayed indefinitely, will studios be forced to release their existing projects online? Will selection criteria be adjusted for the 2021 award season? And will movie theaters ever recover?

Almost every aspect of our society is in the process of restructuring to adjust to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. More and more people are working from home. Entire regions are shutting down their restaurants and bars. And citizens and politicians alike are calling for measures that would have been unthinkable a few weeks ago—on the left, many people are pushing for freezes on evictions, as well as rent and mortgage payments, and even some Republicans (normally shills for heartless capitalism) are suggesting universal income measures to help people get by. In the short term it's causing unprecedented turmoil in the stock market, but in the long term, some industries are likely to never fully bounce back.

In some of the most dire cases—movie theaters being a prime example—the change has been a long time coming. American theater attendance peaked in 2002 and has been on a slow decline ever since—with audiences increasingly preferring the convenience of television and streaming services. Independent theaters have been hit hardest, with many closing down in recent years. Likewise, brick and mortar retail has been hit hard by the convenience of online shopping—with many local stores and even some major retail chains forced out of business. The restrictions imposed by the coronavirus—the latest guidelines advise against gatherings of more than ten people—are only accelerating the rate of change that was already occurring.

While many industry insiders would decry the loss of the theater experience—the immersive scale and the communal environment—most Americans have gotten used to viewing even epic films on screens smaller than a sheet of paper. While directors like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan will argue that movies are made to be viewed on the big screen, when your nose is six inches from the action, it hardly feels small. None of this is to say that there won't be something real lost if movie theaters disappear—just that it might be inevitable, and that the coronavirus pandemic has sped up the process. Empty movie theaters may soon join the suburban blight of empty malls and abandoned factories that dot the American landscape. They may go the way of the drive-in.

With the narrow profit margins involved in the theater business, government intervention (as we've already seen with other industries) could help them stay afloat until things return to normal, but the more realistic scenario may be that things never return to normal. While AMC's closure is currently slated to last 6-12 weeks, there is no way of telling how long it will actually last, and it may end up consuming the rest of 2020 and beyond. Will the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Academy open consideration to streaming content and encourage studios to opt for Internet releases in the case of James Bond, Mulan, and others? Or will they cancel next year's award season entirely? Whatever the case, 2020 is looking increasingly likely to be the year that cements the supremacy of the Internet over going outside.

Meanwhile, with Stephen Colbert delivering his Late Show monologue from home (from his bathtub, to be specific), will we see other productions following suit—delivering much-needed entertainment to the isolated masses while limiting the spread of the virus? The term "bottle episode" refers to the trope—particularly common in 90s sitcoms—wherein a small number of characters are trapped together in a confined space. Will we see a resurgence of that concept with an influx of quarantine content? Or will television networks and studios take it to the next level and invest in concepts that allow performers to work remotely from the safety of home, either with animation, or with live-action shows that play with the fact that no one is in the same room (e.g. the episode of Modern Family that took place entirely on FaceTime) If not, TV may also be left behind by the vast array of independent content creators who are more than capable of working with the current conditions.

Whatever else happens in the coming months—and as much as this all feels like a throwback to a different era—we should all be thankful, for once, that culture has increasingly embraced isolation with streaming and delivery services that prevent the need to leave our homes. We all thought we were just being lazy. It turns out we were training for a pandemic.

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New Releases

Jhené Aiko Fumbles with "Chilombo"

The singer's third album is filled with lyrical meandering, and not much else.

Jhené Aiko - None Of Your Concern (Official Video)
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Back in 2017, Jhené Aiko sat down with Billboardto discuss the tepid reception to her sophomore album, Trip.

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New Releases

"Eternal Atake" Is Finally Here: Stream Lil Uzi Vert's New Album

It was worth the hype.

Short film for Eternal Atake "BabyPluto" 🌟🛸
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One of the most colossal music releases of our lifetime has finally arrived.

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After two years of teasers, delays, and a brief musical hiatus, Lil Uzi Vert kicked the Eternal Atake press run into full gear these past few weeks, spontaneously releasing a new single, short film, and the album track list all with very little warning. Leading up to one of the most highly anticipated releases of the past two years, Uzi fans became convinced that Eternal Atake would never see the light of day after a GQ expose with the rapper mentioned that he was fully pivoting into fashion. "The music is whatever, bro. I really do it just to make my family happy," he said. His family must be happy then, because the reception for Eternal Atake has already been stellar, and Uzi has finally fed his fans what they've been drooling over for years.

Check out the album below:

Eternal Atake

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MUSIC

Lady Gaga Leads the “Kindness Punks” in a Fight for Peace in “Stupid Love” Video

"Stupid Love" is a return to the Lady Gaga we fell in love with a decade ago.

Lady Gaga - Stupid Love (Official Music Video)
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In a world that valorizes independence, it can be difficult to admit that all you want is to be loved.

But that's exactly what Lady Gaga does in her latest single, "Stupid Love." Clad in pink lingerie and wearing futuristic headgear, she proclaims over and over that all she truly wants is affection.

The song itself isn't exquisite, but it serves its purpose well. The drop is electrifying, ideal for cathartic club nights and drunk Lyft singalongs. The track and video both feel like they could be straight out of 2011, perhaps a B-side on Born This Way.

Will songs like "Stupid Love" hold up in 2020, though? The jaded experimentalism of Billie Eilish and the multi-genre stylings of Lil Nas X seem to be taking precedence over traditional pop. In a world where all art is political, immediately susceptible to rigorous Twitter analysis and the whims of TikTok algorithms, Gaga's old bag tricks may not serve her as well as they once did. Plus, the wild costumes and antics she became known for are now staples in the music industry.

Fortunately, Gaga—always an intoxicating showwoman—is adept at crafting magnetic visuals, and the "Stupid Love" video certainly takes advantage of her ever-futuristic artistic sensibilities.

In the video, Gaga plays the leader of a group called the "Kindness Punks," a militant dance team fighting for peace in a violent world. "The world rots in conflict," an opening statement reads in the video's first frame. "Many tribes fight for dominance. While the Spiritual ones pray and sleep for peace, the Kindness punks fight for Chromatica." From there, Gaga and her futuristic hippie punks dance their way across a desert, twirling past luminescent crystal rock formations until they come into contact with two conflicting troupes. Gaga manages to levitate some of the brawlers, and peace is achieved.

Lady Gaga - Stupid Love (Official Music Video)www.youtube.com

Chromatica is most likely the name of Gaga's forthcoming album, which is slated to drop in the next few weeks. Judging by this single, it'll be a return to her dance-bangers of old, and—after the folky turn of Joanne and A Star Is Born—it feels like coming home. "I put all my heart, all my pain, all my messages from the other realm [into this album]," said Gaga to Zane Lowe in a recent Apple Music interview. "I want people to dance and feel happy."

Gaga accompanied the video release with a tweet that read "Earth is cancelled," but maybe she's just in time. In a world run by Trumps and Putins pushed to paranoia by coronavirus and apocalyptic climate change headlines, of course love is probably the only thing that can save us. Gaga's just one of the few pop stars not afraid to shout it from the rooftops.

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TV Features

Here Are All the Times Penn Badgley Basically Says He Hates Playing Joe On Netflix's "You"

Less Joe, more Penn.

Penn Badgley Can Go From Charming To Creepy Without Changing His Expression
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Netflix's You created a phenomenon for binge-watchers everywhere, sparking a conversation around our societal understanding of what we consider inherently good and evil.

You's first two seasons follow bookstore clerk Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) as he uses murder as a means to get closer to the women he fixates on. This is a major departure from Badgley's earlier roles.

Penn Badgley was born in 1986 in Baltimore, Maryland. He first gained notoriety in 2000 on The Young and the Restless, where he playedPhillip Chancellor IV. After that, starred in the WB series Do Over, The Mountain, and The Bedford Diaries.

That was all before he become a household name, starring alongside Blake Lively in Gossip Girl on the CW, based off the popular book series of the same name.

Each of these characters were far more conventional heartthrobs than Joe Goldberg.

In 2006s John Tucker Must Die, Penn played John's brother Scott, rather than the Tucker that "must die." In 2009 Penn Badgley starred in The Stepfather a remake of the 1987 horror film. Even in this thriller he played a sympathetic hero, rather than a killer.

In 2014 Badgley had a minor part as the Prince of Monaco in Adam Green's Aladdin. Apparently he's a natural at playing royalty. You allowed him to show off a new side of his acting skills.

In the latest 10-episode season of the show, viewers follow Joe from New York to California where he ultimately meets Love, the latest woman he sets his mind on. Joe finds himself in another calm, calculated, yet clumsy murder spree as he tries to win her affections.

On the promotional tour for both seasons, and particularly on the tour for this latest release, Badgley discussed his connection (or lack thereof) to his character, who is adored by thousands.

In many interviews, Badgley is refreshingly aware of the white male privilege he shares with Joe. In numerous soundbites from the press run, the 33-year-old actor can be quoted probing the question, "How far will we [as a society] go to forgive a white man?"

1. Calling Out Male Privilege on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he expounds on his point. "How patient and willing to forgive we are [as a society] someone who inhabits a body that inhabits mine, [has] the color of my skin, my gender, these sorts of things, these sort of privileges," he said. "And how less forgiving [we are] of those who don't fit those boxes."

Using many press sit-downs and interviews to raise foundationally similar questions, Badgley is clearly utilizing his platform to bring awareness to these privileges and to further examine ideologies that question society's understanding of love and morality.

When speaking, Badgley is noticeably careful not to support the alarming attraction his fans already have to his character. Fans across social media platforms and live show tapings have displayed an overwhelming attraction not only to Badgley, but his sociopathic and narcissistic Netflix persona.

In the Colbert interview, he described his struggle to play such a likable person, especially someone who provokes such a "thirsty" reaction in so many people.

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2. Responding to "Thirst Tweets" at Buzzfeed

Because of the open affection for Joe, Buzzfeed invited Badgley to read "thirst tweets" from fans. The tweets ranged from lustful declarations to murderous desires.

Aside from tweets aimed to ask about the plot of the show or the potential of a season three, Badgley gave quite a few of them short responses and passed on many entirely.

While Badgley makes it clear in repeated interviews that his responses to probing comments may seem tongue-in-cheek or downright snarky, the Gossip Girl actor has a clear discomfort with the open commentary.

The widespread attraction that many viewers feel for Joe brings to mind similar affections targeting the 1970s serial killer, Ted Bundy. Young woman were also unreasonably attracted to his charismatic charm and smile, even during his trial for the murdering of over 30 women across seven states between 1974 and 1978.

Then his story was reimagined and romanticized in 2019 when all-American High School Musical star Zac Efron reawakened the allure of the famed killer by playing Bundy in Netflix's Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

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3. Killing Off Joe on Entertainment Tonight

Badgley didn't mention Bundy (or other romanticized serial killers, for that matter) in his press run; perhaps he didn't want to offend Zac Efron.

On Entertainment Tonight, Badgley was asked what he would like to see happen to Joe, and Penn immediately responded with "death" (which he, of course, laughed off politely).

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4. Talking Justice on Buzzfeed's AM to DM

During his sit-down with Buzzfeed's talk show AM to DM, Badgley elaborates on his realization that Joe is "irredeemable." He toys with the notion that there needs to be justice in Joe's story but not for the fictional character—more so for "the rest of us in the world."

Given Badgley's hope that Joe will receive a fair punishment for his murders (whether it be jail, a mental institution, or death at the hands of a failed conquest), the audience should also feel hopeful that there may be a just ending to this story, which ultimately is a tale of a man using today's advanced technologies to invade women's privacy.

As viewers, we deserve to see a righteous end to this technological dystopian nightmare.

Badgley shared that he was constantly conflicted when he was not in front of the camera, even though he was essentially doing his job. "I'm a full puppet," he explained with a laugh. "That is the job of the actor, you're a vessel for these things."

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Badgley has been more publicly outspoken during his run as Joe than he was during his five-year run on the hit series Gossip Girl.

With age, Badgley has become more self-aware and understanding of his position and platform, and he seems to want to utilize it only for the greater good.

Performing a fictional, but also realistic, character like Joe gives him the space to share his understanding of morality and justice. While Joe is seemingly difficult to play, hopefully Badgley will find peace in knowing that his performance has sparked difficult conversations about how society views predatory (white) men.

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