As audiences become less confident about returning to theaters, critics are pushing studios to make films digitally available to critics
Disney hosted a press screening of the latest Marvel movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Aside from the mask warrants required by Los Angeles County, the event was like any other pre-screening offered to critics and reporters for a new Hollywood film release.
But Disney’s decision not to offer critics the ability to view the tent pole digitally has been part of a growing wave of concern among critics about seeing films in person as cases of COVID- 19 have increased and the confidence of customers in the cinema has taken a hit in the past months. As the fall film festival season quickly approaches, the pandemic is forcing critics, publishers and studios to make tough decisions.
“I just feel like it’s a hell of a time to take a chance. So I removed virtually all in-person screenings temporarily, ”Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips told TheWrap, noting that he has an 11-year-old son who is not eligible for a COVID vaccine. “I’m just selfish, completely selfish, but in my opinion the studios haven’t changed their thinking enough or quickly enough.”
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (Disney / Marvel)
Last year, the pandemic forced studios to replace their traditional screenings of critics in person with digital projection options, a trend that has largely continued this summer even as many theaters reopened. But now critics face a strange time when the availability of digital screens can change from movie to movie, even within studios.
Disney, for example, has made some of its best summer movies like “Black Widow” and “Jungle Cruise” available for digital screens alongside in-person screenings. Studio insiders said the reason the same option wasn’t available for “Shang-Chi” is because the movie hits theaters only without a premium paid streaming option on Disney +, and Disney wants critics to watch. the film in the same format as the audience.
But independent reviewer Keith Uhlich said major studios need to recognize that not all reviewers are able or willing to attend in-person screenings with the Delta variant, which is causing an increase in cases. “We can always do the things we want to do. We can always write about whatever art form we love, and I encourage that, but we also have to put it into perspective and adjust, ”he said.
Become a member to find out more.
The adjustment is also something entertainment editors have had to do as they prepare for a busy fall that will not only include film reviews from festivals in Toronto and Venice, but a crowded release list that includes from David Chase’s “Sopranos” prequel “Many Saints of Newark” and Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho” to “Dune” and the James Bond film “No Time to Die”.
TheWrap’s chief film critic Alonso Duralde said that for many critics digital screens provide more accessibility for writing on films if they couldn’t attend in person for some reason, which he said. be it health or disability issues, family responsibilities or simply because they have done it. not live in a big city like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.
Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Duralde said he had to consider many different factors, including whether there was a screening available for the film and, if not, what reviews are available that would be comfortable attending an in-person screening in a theater, screening room or festival. “Last year, Venice did not do any online press screening. As for Toronto and New York, you see critics based in those cities feeling comfortable going to a screening in a theater, and I find myself assigning reviews for films that I would review myself to. these writers, ”Duralde said.
Duralde also said he requested digital screens on behalf of himself or his critics and was able to receive them, but notes that not all reviewers have honored those requests. As a freelance writer, Ulrich said, he noticed that the studios treated his filter requests differently depending on which website he wrote a review for or whether he wrote for his Substack site instead.
“It’s not really about you, it’s about the place you’re writing for,” he said. “What they’re looking for is the location with the most clicks or the brand name. It’s a business decision. That was before the pandemic, and it is now. And I choose not to be offended by it, and where I am personally, I have passed the point of wanting to play this game.
Phillips is at the opposite end of the spectrum of influence. As a critic who once belonged to Gene Siskel, he is one of Chicago’s top critics and recognizes that he has benefited from the “caste system” that the studios have created around the press screens. But with “Shang-Chi,” he had to travel to New York City for an in-person screening, something he did his best to avoid as much as possible for the sake of his son.
“Over the past two, three weeks I’ve had the impression, you know what, the least I can do is try to stay out of the screening room or a theater as much as possible until ‘to have the 11 year old in our house turn 12. soon gets his second shot in December, “he said.” With all the confusion and hesitation I’m going through, that’s one thing that I feel pretty clear about, and I’m trying to stick to it. “
