REMINISCENCE : In Production (Potential Spoilers)

[jo]

It's also on Hugh's Instagram Stories --

[jo]

Given that the film is right in the middle of post-production, how much will it get delayed by the health threat at the moment?

Will the movie be ready for the latter part of 2020? Will it get a theatrical release, if current conditions are still obtaining by the time the movie is ready? Or will Warner Bros opt to re-schedule its release to 2021, when hopefully cinemas can reopen?


Jo

[mamaleh]

Love that photo.

Ellen

[jo]

My caption of that photo --

Hugh : Ha, I beat you at backgammon

[jo]

A comment from the Director of Photography, Paul Cameron, who has just directed an episode of WESTWORLD, as interviewed by Collider's Managing Editor Adam Chitwood --

collider.com/westworld-season-3-episode-4-ending-dolores-twist-explained-paul-cameron-interview/

Excerpts --

You also shot Lisa Joy’s feature film directing debut, is that right?

CAMERON: Yeah. I just finished that at end of January, a movie called Reminiscent (sic) directed by Lisa Joy. Westworld co-creator and co-showrunner and director. It’s Lisa’s first film, it’s a Warner Brothers studio film with Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson. Incredible love story. Lisa really wrote a fantastic script here, and directed a beautiful movie. We shot it in New Orleans over four months.


I can’t wait to see that. I’m excited for that one.

CAMERON: Yeah, that will be good. I think it’ll be a good one, she did a really good job.

[jo]

They were lucky to have completed principal photography ( and maybe also the work of the second photography unit) by third week of January. Otherwise the filming would have been postponed.


They're now in post-production.

That is probably the most elaborate work in filmmaking --

www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-post-production/

But let me just touch on what may be involved in some of the major work --

I don't know how they work it out in the EDIT room but wouldn't technology play a great part in it...and allow them to do a fair amount of work while working separately and in the safety of their homes ( if they have a home setup for something like this). Maybe not all of the equipment... but hopefully enough of it so they can progress, albeit at a slow pace? Or will the pace be very, very slow because they cannot physically collaborate on all the technical aspects and with everyone else involved. Can director Lisa Joy even produce a first Director's cut?

Problem arises when they need to reshoot some scenes... that will need to set up filming facilities again and involve the actors and crew who will be needed...and maybe even the location shooting setup involved?

How much visual effects or CGI work can be done at this point? Can CGI make up for scenes that may need pickup shots or needing a reshoot? How will that affect the production budget?

Also, isn't film scoring one of the final aspects of post-production,presumably after a director's cut has been completed? Unfortunately, the music composer will have to work on this all on his own or with a collaborator composer. The final and actual orchestra work and recording will have to come when the virus issue has been resolved?

The pace of the final processes will also heavily influence the release date of the movie, subject of course to the pace of recovery of theatrical screenings!

Let's hope Warner Bros gives them extra flexibility, given these very trying times!



PS: The Greatest Showman had a messy post-production phase. I think that was the reason why James Mangold was asked to pitch in ( including reshooting some of the scenes...and maybe on the editing phase) - he did get an Exec Producer credit for it and a rumored seven-figure check. Les Misérables also had a difficult time because they were running after a specific deadline which was about only 5 months or so. Given that the initial assembly of filmed scenes came out to about 4 hours...later pared down to 3...and finally completed for 2 1/2 hours screening time -- that was a heroic effort by Tom Hooper and company! James Mangold seemed very organized when he handled the post-production for LOGAN. They completed principal filming/photography sometime in mid-August 2016. The release date for LOGAN was March 3, 2017, but he had to provide the final product for the Berlinale premiere held in the latter part of February 2017.


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

REMINISCENCE has been given a release date! Given the current circumstances, maybe this is the best date for the movie to be released!!

It's April 16, 2021!

Maybe the first cut has already been seen by Warner Bros and they are pleased with it - some of the earlier-announced movies from WB have been dropped from the schedule or moved down further. Lisa Joy Nolan sounds like a very creative and competent talent!

Btw, the present schedule for The Music Man shows a week in March ( March 15-22, 2021) where no tickets are being sold. Assuming TMM is already running or about to open then -- in time for the TONY nominations -- maybe Hugh will be using the break to do some promo for REMINISCENCE?


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

deadline.com/2020/04/the-batman-sopranos-prequel-tom-elvis-presley-movie-warner-bros-release-dates-changes-coronavirus-1202912605/

Notching a new date: Lisa Joy’s Hugh Jackman-Thandie Newton-Rebecca Ferguson sci-fi movie Reminiscence on April 16, 2021. Warners already had that date in the books for an untitled feature where the sci-fi movie will come up against Sony Pictures Animation’s Lin-Manuel Miranda musical Vivo, and an untitled Universal feature.

variety.com/2020/film/box-office/the-batman-release-date-delayed-1234584978/

As previously reported by the studio, “In the Heights” — an adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical that was due out this summer — as well as animated adventure “Scoob” and James Wan’s thriller “Malignant” were shelved and remain without release dates.

[jo]

www.screendaily.com/news/warner-bros-moves-the-batman-deeper-into-2021/5149177.article

he Batman will be released in Imax, as will sci-fi Reminiscence with Hugh Jackman, which has been dated for April 16, 2021. FilmNation and Endeavor Content introduced the package to buyers at the EFM in Berlin in 2019 and Warner Bros subsequently acquired worldwide rights.

This has also been confirmed on another site --

www.blackfilm.com/read/2020/04/wb-announces-new-release-dates-for-the-batman-king-richard-untitled-fred-hampton/

Warner Bros. has announced the following changes and updates to their release schedule: The Many Saints of Newark moves from 09/25/20 to 03/12/21; Reminiscence will be released on 04/16/21 this will be released in IMAX;

This is rather unexpected -- but maybe the nature of the movie ( especially the sci-fi and thriller elements) will benefit from such a type of screening). But who knows when the overseas release will be ?

Jo

[jo]

[jo]

The head of At&T which owns WarnerMedia ( whose umbrella includes Warner Bros) seems to think that the theatrical release mode should be rethought in the light of current developments. Hope this does not mean that they can or will pull the plug for the theatrical release of REMINISCENCE --

www.darkhorizons.com/warnermedia-rethinking-theatrical-releases/

Movie News
WarnerMedia Rethinking Theatrical Releases
By Garth Franklin
Wednesday, April 22nd 2020 9:01 am


Up until this week, the only yet to release major studio film that seemed to be testing the ‘Premium VOD’ waters was Universal’s “Trolls World Tour”. That changed yesterday when Warner Bros. Pictures pushed its “Scooby Doo” animated movie “Scoob!” direct-to-premium streaming on May 15th – the same day it was supposed to hit cinemas.

Now, Deadline reports that WarnerMedia is ‘rethinking the theatrical model’ in light of COVID-19 – the sentiment coming from AT&T COO John Stankey himself during the media giant’s first-quarter earnings call.

Exhibitors can’t afford to upset Warners at this point. Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” in July and Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman 1984” in August are being seen as the first real blockbusters set to return to cinemas in coming months, with cinema chain CEOs talking up those films in recent days.

Stankey however was far less optimistic, saying: “Don’t expect that’s going to be a snap-back [recovery]. I think that’s going to be something that we’re going to have to watch the formation of consumer confidence, not just about going to movies, just in general about being back out in public.”

The comments follow on from WarnerMedia announcing the May 27th launch date for HBO Max which is reportedly a top priority for WarnerMedia’s owners AT&T. Its expected (though not confirmed) the SVOD service will become home to feature films in an earlier window than planned, following the pattern that began with Disney+ getting “Frozen II” and “Onward” so early.

Former Hulu founding CEO Jason Kilar is the new CEO of WarnerMedia and earlier this year promised to continue ‘experiments’ with release windows.

The sad thing is that these decision-makers at the top are not filmmakers or have had experience with filmmaking. they are telecom people - more excited about distribution channels, the speed of an internet or a phone service, than the enthralling beauty or the suspenseful atmosphere of a movie - qualities that are best appreciated on a large screen and the right cacophony of sounds! That is why I scoff at the monopolistic trend now of consolidating media companies ( which are now acquiring products that they can feed their telecom systems/products)!

Maybe, like perfume, they think that one scent is as good as another scent...that beauty at different levels do not exist. Just imagine watching the Opening Scene of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and THE GREATEST SHOWMAN on a TV screen for the first time seeing the movie!


Jo

[jo]

Also, the communal experience is not to be missed --

*At spectacular scenes so well-presented on the screen
*At the gasps that horror movies elicit
*At the sight and sound of the music from a movie like GREATEST SHOWMAN or MAMMA MIA!
*At the sheer appreciation of heightened dramatic scenes

Not the same...when you are ensconced on couch at home sometimes all by yourself


Jo

[jo]

WarnerMedia & AT&T Chief BACKTRACKING on what was said about the future of THEATRICAL RELEASES!

Warner Bros Studio Chief releases statement AFFIRMING faith in theatrical releases!


www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/warnermedia-brass-reaffirm-commitment-theatrical-movies-1291408

The Hollywood Reporter

Studio chief Ann Sarnoff and her boss, WarnerMedia chief John Stankey, issued statements late Wednesday clarifying comments made to investors. 


Warner Bros. late Wednesday reaffirmed the studio's commitment to the cinematic experience in hopes of clearing up confusion over comments made to investors by WarnerMedia boss John Stankey earlier in the day about the future of the theatrical model.

"We are committed to — and are excited about — releasing Tenet in theaters this summer or whenever theaters reopen. We remain supportive of the theatrical experience and our exhibition partners, and are confident that our tentpole titles, including Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984, are exactly the type of films that will have people eager to return to theaters," Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

Stankey also weighed in, saying in his own statement to THR: "Theatrical films have always been a major part of the our ecosystem. I fully expect that as we evaluate our business going forward, we will continue to champion creative work that is worthy of the theatrical experience.”



During an investors call earlier in the day, Stankey addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in theater closures and production delays, along with a surge in streaming and on-demand entertainment viewing in the home.
"This experience will change many things, including customer behaviors and expectations. We're evaluating our product distribution strategy, re-looking at volumes and the required support levels we need in a down economy. We're rethinking our theatrical model and looking for ways to accelerate efforts that are consistent with the rapid changes in consumer behavior from the pandemic," the exec added. "Now our focus is on defining and leveraging the new normal across all of our operations."

Stankey referenced Tuesday's announcement that Warner Bros.' Scoob! won't wait for theaters to reopen. Instead, the animated family film will be made available for rental in the home on May 15, the movie's original theatrical release date.

His remarks could have been taken out of context, according to box office analysts. Case in point: Warner Bros. has otherwise delayed the rest of its high-profile movies so that they can play in theaters once cinemas reopen, beginning with Christopher Nolan's Tenet on July 17.

Nolan is a passionate advocate of seeing films on the big screen, and his upcoming pic is the only July release that has stuck to its original schedule.

Also in the near future, the studio is also planning to bow Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 1984 on Aug. 14 (the superhero sequel was originally set to fly into theaters in early June).


Hollywood's current hope is that cinemas will begin turning the lights on by late June in order to ramp up for Tenet and Disney's Mulan on July 24.

Aside from Scoob!, the only other studio effort to scrap a theatrical release and go straight to on-demand is Universal and DreamWorks Animation's Trolls World Tour. Sources say both family films had a major merchandising component that made a delay difficult.

Scoob! will be available to rent and purchase for $19.99 and $24.99, respectively, on May 15. Stankey said the family pic will subsequently be given an exclusive run at some point on HBO Max, the new subscription service set to launch in late May.

“The theatrical business is obviously a stressed business right now. When theaters are closed, it's hard to generate revenue. And don't expect that that's going to be a snap-back," Stankey told investors, adding: "I think that's going to be something that we're going to have to watch the formation of consumer confidence, not just about going to movies, just in general about being back out in public and understanding what's occurring there."



Pamela McClintock
[e-mail]

Even if one has the topnotch executive & managerial experience but not the technical and creative experience as well as a thorough knowledge of the market it serves, one must be circumspect in making generalized statements about the future of a newly-acquired business. 

From what has been happening, it seems that it is animation movies which are being streamed immediately rather than waiting for a theatrical release window in the new environment. This may be temporary, but it makes sense and maybe the more practical option. The main audience are kids  ( and often reluctant parents/guardians) - -what is so different if kids watch it from the family dens or living rooms. It solves the problem of parents having to find babysitters or spending too much for a movie. On the other hand, some look at it as bonding time outside the house.  

What happened to BAD EDUCATION -  a rare one because it was never meant to be, it happened unexpectedly ( the acquisition of film rights by HBO), and now that there is a new normal it finds itself ironically as being the beneficiary of very limited releases of other movies at the same time.

Back to WarnerMedia --

Hopefully, by the time April 16, 2021  ( release date of REMINISCENCE) comes along, there will already be a more normal environment for cinema visits!

Jo

[jo]

Entire Interview under "Multi-Topic Interview"

Will only reprint parts pertaining to REMINISCENCE --

Apr 24, 2020 11:16:04 GMT -5 jo said:

Great and very informative interview covering  --

*Bad Education
*Reminiscence - in detail
*The Music Man - more detailed than in TV interviews

*Working with directors
*Wish list director to work with
*Life in quarantine

Collider has written very interesting interviews with Hugh over the years.


collider.com/hugh-jackman-interview-bad-education-the-music-man-reminiscence/


Will break this up into separate topics for easier reading --

Hugh Jackman on HBO’s ‘Bad Teacher’, Quarantine Breadmaking Tips, and Quentin Tarantino
by Christina Radish April 24, 2020

What’s the status of Reminiscence?

JACKMAN: We finished filming, and they’re editing now. I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, but I guess (writer/director) Lisa [Joy] is probably editing at home. We finished filming, at the end of January. I’m really excited for that film. I loved doing it. I think Lisa is an incredible talent. I said yes to the movie, in my head. I didn’t say this to her because, you’ve gotta be cool, but she pitched me the movie. She said, “I’m gonna pitch it before you’ve read the script because I want you to understand the world of the film.” As she’s pitching, I’m like, “I’m doing this movie.” And then, I was reading the script, and 20 minutes into the script, I was like, “Honestly, I don’t even need to read this. I’m doing it.” It was that good and that exciting and that original, and I think audiences are really craving that. I’ve been part of a movie franchise, where I played the same character nine times. It’s important that I do some original content.



It sounds like a really cool sci-fi thriller, and to know that it’s original, what most impressed you about what Lisa Joy was able to create on set and about working with her?


JACKMAN: She’s like a savant, in the way that she prepares. She knows every cut and every angle. When she walks on the set, she has this preparation that you’ve never seen before, and a knowledge of how things are gonna go down, and because of that, which goes back to what you were saying about preparation, she has the ability to take on active suggestions. It feels like you’re really creating and flowing, but you have this foundation where you know you’re gonna make your day and you know you’re gonna create some things that have never been done before. And we were doing things in camera that have never been done before, but she had prepped it all. It was super exciting to be part of that. She’s just got an incredible brain. She never loses her temper. She always is laughing and having a good time. This was a really big film, and I was just proud to be part of it.


Does it also feel like a very different kind of character for you?

JACKMAN: Yeah, it does, and a different genre character than anything I’ve done. This puts me more in the Bogart world. It’s very much a film noir romance. Coming off of doing Frank, Gary Hart and The Greatest Showman, it’s been a really interesting time for me, and I’m really loving having the variety of characters that I’ve been offered and am lucky enough to do, but this does feel very different. And I got to work with Rebecca Ferguson again, who I think is ridiculously talented and amazing, and I love her. I had never met Thandie Newton before, but I now am equally as impressed with her.

[jo]

Have we seen the photo on the left before?

[jo]

Just a tiny sign...but big in significance. Turkey is getting day/date release like the USA - April 16, 2021! Maybe this means that it will be worldwide day/date release!


www.imdb.com/title/tt3272066/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_dt_dt


Given that one of the main actors ( USA-born Daniel Wu) is very popular in China for his movies, REMINISCENCE will likely get a day/date release there.


Jo

[jo]

Day/date release confirmed in Spain --

[jo]

***Potential SPOILERS***Potential SPOILERS***Potential SPOILERS***

Having been able to read the first draft of the script, I had wondered who would be playing his male assistant ( supposedly a much older man than Nick Bannister). I have been wondering why no announcement of the casting has been made, as that is a key part of the storyline.

In the just finished session from 92Y, Hugh unwittingly disclosed that the assistant will be played by Thandie Newton who is supposed to be secretly in love with the character of Nick. Ha!

Btw, that was part response to the question I asked about REMINISCENCE


And he did describe the abiding atmosphere of the storyline and setting. He kept saying that the movie is a film noir...and also referred it as such to the moderator Annette ( the Columbia U professor for the online classes that Hugh participates in regularly). It is probably a distinct subject ( film noirs) that they discuss when referring to classic films. One of the most generally concede examples of film noir is Billy Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD.


Jo

[jo]

While slowdowns were felt in film projects during the lockdowns --

work continues for REMINISCENCE --


variety.com/2020/film/spotlight/matrix-4-uncharted-shoot-germany-blockbusters-1234599673/

While work at VFX studios has slowed during the lockdown, it hasn’t stopped. Rise is working on Lisa Joy’s “Reminiscence,” starring Hugh Jackman;

Given that is a sci-fi near-future and part dystopian movie, there is probably a lot of VFX work to do.


Jo

[jo]

Reminiscence has competition!


deadline.com/2020/06/tom-hanks-sci-fi-movie-bios-moves-to-2021-1202958422/#comments

Universal/Amblin’s Bios is the first to move off Oct. 2 after Warner Bros. plopped Wonder Woman 1984 on that new date, and will now go on April 16, 2021. Uni already had April 16 on hold with untitled event movie.

Already on that date is the Warner Bros. Lisa Joy-directed sci-fi film Reminiscence which stars Hugh Jackman, Thandie Newton and Rebecca Ferguson.

Bios‘ departure from Oct. 2 leaves Paramount’s Tom Clancy movie Without Remorse standing next to Wonder Woman 1984.

With New York theaters and some prime offshore territories not really open yet, Warner Bros. made some seismic release date changes which has everyone jumping in response. That began with Tenet, which was the event movie primed to get the summer season started, going from July 17 to July 31. However, Warners took Wonder Woman 1984 to the first weekend in October, a frame they bronzed last year as the month’s best box office opening record with DC’s R-rated Joker ($96.2M domestic, and ultimately the highest grossing R-rated movie ever worldwide with $1.07 billion).


Miguel Sapochnik directs Bios which stars Hanks as Finch, a robotics engineer and one of the few survivors of a cataclysmic solar event that has left the world a wasteland. Finch has been living in an underground bunker for decade with his dog, Goodyear. However, Finch is terminally ill. With time running out, he creates a robot (Caleb Landry Jones, Get Out, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) to watch over Goodyear when he no longer can. As the trio embarks on a perilous journey into a desolate American West, Finch strives to show his creation, who names himself Jeff, the joy and wonder of what it means to be alive and to teach him to become human enough to take care of Goodyear. And Goodyear himself must learn to accept and trust his new master. Craig Luck and Ivor Powell wrote the screenplay. Producers are Kevin Misher, Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine and Powell. EPs are Robert Zemeckis, Luck, Sapochnik, Andy Berman and Adam Merims.

Btw, AMBLIN is Steven Spielberg's production company.


First comment on the article on the Deadline.com Page --

Julio
on June 12, 2020 7:04 pm
With so many great sci-fi stories out there you had to do this idiotic space soap opera?

A movie for kids...or a movie for more mature moviegoers ? Which one will attract the moviegoers more?


Both happen in a post-apocalyptic world, although REMINISCENCE occurs in the near future ( when climate change has wrought its impact on planet earth) and is classified as a "romantic sci-fi thriller"!



Jo

[jo]

The casting and producers team of REMINISCENCE cannot be faulted if one's talking of inclusivity --


*Hugh Jackman is Australian ( also carries a British passport) and currently residing in New York
*Rebecca Ferguson is British-Swedish
*Thandie Newton is part-British and part-Zimbabwean and grew up in Zimbabwe.
*The villain is played by Asian-American Daniel Wu who is popular in China.
*A Mexican actress (Marina De Tavira) who was nominated for an Oscar Best Supporting Actress role for ROMA also has a featured role in the movie.

Director Lisa Joy is Chinese-American married to Jonathan Nolan ( British-American and having been mostly raised in America) and the husband and wife team are co-producing the movie with Michael de Luca (now MGM Chairman).

Jo

[jo]

Jul 2, 2020 0:42:40 GMT -5 jo said:

Actors Roundtable for the EMMY Awards --

www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/00000173-0c83-da7f-af7f-befbf9e70000-123

This is for BAD EDUCATION --

but --

Can't wait to see REMINISCENCE!

[jo]