As governments work to contain the global pandemic caused by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Hollywood studios are swiftly reorganizing their release schedules, postponing anticipated new releases indefinitely and locking down new dates later in 2020 and 2021. As of March 12, major releases including the 25th James Bond film, No Time to Die, Disney’s The New Mutants, Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II, and Universal’s F9: The Fast Saga had all seen their release dates changed; while studios and theater chains pondered just how long the industry would feel the impact of the still-spreading virus.
With the aforementioned quartet of new releases now off the release calendar, Venganza Media’s Now Playing Podcast moved quickly to fill in the gaps in its weekly podcast schedule, as well as its previously announced Spring/Summer 2020 Donation Drive.
The latter, which was to feature A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II, and Sandra Bullock’s Bird Box at the Platinum donation level, has now been pushed back to August. In its place, the Tom Cruise: Man of the 80s Gold level retrospective will kick off earlier and include a ninth film featuring the star.
March 20 – Losin’ It
March 27 – Risky Business
April 3 – All the Right Moves
April 10 – Legend
April 24 – Top Gun
May 1 – The Color of Money
May 15 – Rain Man
July 3 – Top Gun: Maverick
July 10 – Born on the Fourth of July
Additionally, Now Playing Podcast is responding to listener demand and adding a Viral Outbreak retrospective series that will take a thoughtful approach to Hollywood’s disease-driven disaster film format.
“This pandemic is not a laughing matter, and these films are not ‘end of the world’ comedies,” explains show creator and host Arnie Carvalho. “The idea behind our Viral series is to examine a film from each decade, going back to the 1950s, and look at how Hollywood and the moviegoing public responded to the threat of a pandemic.
“In each decade, you can see how cultural and political beliefs and fears shaped the storytelling process for each of these films. It’s a discussion worth having and one that many of our listeners have asked to hear.”
The Viral series will begin April 7 and include seven films:
April 7 – Panic In the Streets (1950)
April 14 – The Satan Bug (1965)
April 21 – The Andromeda Strain (1971)
April 28 – Warning Sign (1985)
May 12 – Outbreak (1995)
May 26 – The Andromeda Strain (2008)
June 2 – Contagion (2011)
A complete list of upcoming shows can be found on the Now Playing Podcast website.
