Month: March 2020

The coronavirus has shut down movie theaters and postponed movie releases in the two largest film markets in the world, the U.S. and China.The film industry in the two countries has become more closely tied in recent years, and the economic impact of the coronavirus in one country will be felt in the other as well.“China’s and the U.S.’ film industries are very closely entwined,” said Aynne Kokas, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and author of “Hollywood Made in China”.Moviegoers in China are the fastest growing in the world, especially when high-tech movie theaters have opened in third- and fourth-tier cities.  Hollywood wants a piece of it.“Hollywood studios are increasingly making their films for the consideration of the Chinese market,” Kokas said.A Hollywood filming in Beverly Hills before California issued the order for people to stay at home. It was a common sight in Los Angeles but not any more due to the pandemic. (Elizabeth Lee/VOA)One film, “Mulan”, with Chinese actors, was one anticipated film that Disney had hoped would make a big splash in China. However, the coronavirus has put on hold the movie’s premiere in China and the U.S.Besides Hollywood collaborating with China, there have also been co-productions and Chinese companies investing in Hollywood films such upcoming film, “Top Gun: Maverick” slated to be released in June.“What we’re seeing is an increase in Chinese investment in Hollywood studio films. So, companies you may have heard of like Ali Baba or Tencent are actually investing in films,” said Kokas.The shutting down of theaters and productions in both countries will have far reaching economic implications.  Kokas expects to “see a pullback of outbound capital investment from the Chinese government” which will likely limit Chinese investment in Hollywood.Actress Yifei Liu, right, and Director Niki Caro, left, pose for photographers upon arrival at the European Premiere of ‘Mulan’ at a central London cinema, March 12, 2020.The political tension between both countries is another factor.China is expelling journalists from The Washington Post, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.  The announcement came after the White House, earlier in March, limited the number of Chinese citizens who can work in the United States for five state-run Chinese news organizations.In the midst of growing political animosity and economic impact caused by the closing of theaters, some studios in both countries are looking at streaming as an alternative to salvage their financial losses.China’s Huanxi Media has made its tent-pole movie “Lost in Russia’ online for free.Universal will release “Trolls World Tour” to video-on-demand.Justin Timberlake attends a photo-call for the movie ‘Trolls World Tour’ in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 17, 2020.Universal is also making movies that are currently supposed to be in theaters such as “Invisible Man” available for rent on streaming services.“You can’t do that. It’s not sustainable over the long term to do that. It’s not good for theaters, and it’s not good for the studios either, because theatrical is really where the money has been,” said University of Southern California Political Science and International Relations professor and China film industry expert, Stanley Rosen.However, after a long period of closed theaters and fears of getting sick may alter consumer behavior.“Will people actually go back to movie theaters? We’ve already seen an overall softening of movie theater attendance because there are so many in-home entertainment options.” Kokas continued, “my sense is that we may be seeing an overarching shift in certain consumer behaviors.”“I’ve looked at surveys posted on the Chinese Internet. Some large-scale surveys of thousands of people from 70 different cities and over 50% say they’re reluctant to go back to the theaters. People in the survey have said that “I’m very happy to be at home just to stream things.” It’s a wake-up call, and I think it will accelerate the importance of streaming,” Rosen said.What this means to the bottom line of film industries in China and the U.S. will depend on how long life is put to a screeching halt.With a backlog of films put on hold in China, even when Chinese theaters open again across the country, Hollywood would have a tough time trying to enter the market.“Hollywood is going to have a tough time competing particularly in this U.S. China relationship situation where China is going to want to promote their own films and not promote Hollywood films. That’s another thing that’s really hurt Hollywood,” said Rosen. 
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Neighbors on British street this week pulled together to help an eight-year-old girl celebrate her birthday after coronavirus lockdown regulations left her stuck in her house. The entire street in a Southhampton neighborhood Wednesday sang “Happy Birthday” out their windows for the girl — named “Sophia” — who stood outside her home in tears as she listened. Cell phone video of the serenade was shared heavily on social media in Britain. The British government Monday banned gatherings of more than two people — unless they’re from the same household — and told everyone apart from essential workers to leave home only to buy food and medicines or to exercise.     
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In Uganda, authorities have confirmed five new cases of COVID-19, among them an eight-month-old baby and two Chinese nationals who left their quarantine.  Ugandan officials are trying to raise awareness of the coronavirus, including one well-known opposition lawmaker who, not surprisingly, issued his warning in song.Legislator and musician Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, is attempting to spread awareness of the deadly coronavirus.His musical message: everyone is a potential victim, everyone is a potential solution, and do not underestimate the danger. Like a majority of Ugandans and others around the world, Wine is staying indoors with his family and he tells VOA, it’s not easy.“Well, like everybody else, am struggling, laughs,” said Kyagulanyi. “Because it’s not very easy to have kids home when you’re not earning especially in our Uganda where it is mainly from hand to mouth. But we try to manage under the circumstances.”In the last two weeks, President Yoweri Museveni has addressed the nation four times through the national broadcaster, urging people to stay indoors, keep social distance and wash their hands to keep the virus at bay.Wine tells VOA, this is the time especially for musicians like him to use their talents for humanity.“We must use all the tools that we have to communicate,” said Kyagulanyi. “Music is a very powerful means of communication and it’s not only communication but it also deals with matters of stress with different people out there who are confined, who are self-quarantined.”A general view shows St. Paul’s Cathederal in Namirembe hill, amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Kampala, Uganda, March 22, 2020.Uganda has so far registered 14 cases of COVID-19.  Most of them had traveled recently.Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the director of general health services in the Ministry of Health, said the cases include a 63-year-old man who traveled from Germany and a 57-year-old man dealing in the salt trade at the Uganda-South Sudan border.“The third case is actually an eight-month-old baby, a Ugandan, whose father travelled from Kisumu in Kenya about a week earlier,” said Mwebesa. “The two other cases were two Chinese who traveled from Guangzhou and Linyang who have been currently under quarantine. They are part of six Chinese, I think somehow they escaped out of quarantine and tried to cross to DRC via Zombo district.”To date, a total of 2,261 travelers, including Ugandans, have been identified as potential risks and are under quarantine.All of Uganda’s first eight COVID-19 case patients are reported to be in stable condition.Meanwhile, Bobi Wine reminds Ugandans to be aware of the danger.“The Coronavirus is sweeping over mankind, everybody must be alert. It’s a global pandemic we cannot afford to ignore you better watch for yourself. Yes man, this is Bobi Wine himself. Watch out for the coronavirus, you can be a very important in stopping the spread of the coronavirus,” he sings.For now, as more Ugandans adapt to their new, isolated lifestyles, they at least have a song that gives them courage to hold on.
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Terrence McNally, one of America’s great playwrights whose prolific career included winning Tony Awards for the plays “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and “Master Class” and the musicals “Ragtime” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” has died of complications from the coronavirus. He was 81.McNally died Tuesday at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida, according to representative Matt Polk. McNally was a lung cancer survivor who lived with chronic inflammatory lung disease.His plays and musicals explored how people connect — or fail to. With wit and thoughtfulness, he tackled the strains in families, war and relationships and probed the spark and costs of creativity. He was an openly gay writer who wrote about homophobia, love and AIDS.”I like to work with people who are a lot more talented and smarter than me, who make fewer mistakes than I do, and who can call me out when I do something lazy,” he told LA Stage Times in 2013. “A lot of people stop learning in life, and that’s their tragedy.”McNally’s “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” about two married couples who spend a weekend on Fire Island, was a landmark play about AIDS. His play “The Ritz” became one of the first plays with unapologetic gay characters to reach a mainstream audience.McNally also explored gay themes in the book for the musical “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” for which he won his first Tony Award. His play “Love! Valour! Compassion!” earned him another Tony Award for its portrayal of eight gay men facing issues of fidelity, love and happiness.”Theater changes hearts, that secret place where we all truly live,” he said at the 2019 Tony Awards, where he accepted a lifetime achievement award. “The world needs artists more than ever to remind us what truth and beauty and kindness really are.”F. Murray Abraham, the Oscar-winner who appeared on Broadway in “The Ritz” said of McNally: “His plays are a pleasure to do, but what he says is important, too. And he’s like a fountain he keeps on writing and writing and writing.”Tributes poured in online from Broadway figures, including from fellow playwrights Paula Vogel, who called McNally “the soul of kindness” and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who called McNally “a giant in our world, who straddled plays and musicals deftly.” Actor Conrad Ricamora describe McNally as “the most kind, brilliant person to work with” and talk show host James Corden tweeted: “He was an absolute gentleman and his commitment to the theater was unwavering. He will be missed by so many of us.”Composer Tom Kitt, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “Next to Normal,” told The Associated Press he considers McNally “irreplaceable.”  “Terrence was an extraordinary man and a brilliant artist,” Kitt said. “He’s a true giant in our art form, and he will be missed and we are lucky that we had him and had his art for as long as we did.”In 2018 McNally was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He won four Tonys and an Emmy. New York University gave him an honorary doctorate in 2019.Andrew D. Hamilton, president of New York University, told the crowd that day that McNally put a “unique stamp on American drama by probing the urgent need for connection that resonates at the core of human experience.”Some of his Broadway musical adaptations include “The Full Monty,” adapted from the British film and scored by David Yazbek; “Catch Me if You Can,” based on the Steven Spielberg film, and scored by composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman; and “Ragtime,” the musical based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, which won four Tony Awards. In 2017, his musical reworking of the film “Anastasia” landed on Broadway.His 2014 Broadway play “Mothers and Sons” — revisiting McNally’s 1990 TV movie “Andre’s Mother,” which won him an Emmy Award — explores the relationship between a mother and her dead son’s former gay partner. His “It’s Only a Play” was a valentine to theater-making. His “The Visit” was a meditation on revenge.McNally was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, listening to radio broadcasts of “The Green Hornet” and the Metropolitan Opera. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 1960 with a degree in English.McNally was at the Actors Studio when he was hired by novelist John Steinbeck to be a tutor and guardian to his sons. One of McNally’s earliest theater attempts was writing the book for a musical adaptation of Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” which was called “Here’s Where I Belong” and lasted only a single performance on Broadway in 1968.McNally’s first Broadway play “And Things That Go Bump in the Night” didn’t fare much better in 1965. His absurdist, symbolic melodrama about good and evil confounded critics. Newsday called it “ugly, perverted, tasteless.” It closed in less than three weeks. He was 24.He rebounded with the 1969 off-Broadway hit “Next,” a two-character comedy about a reluctant draftee reporting for an Army physical. A string of successes followed, including “Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?” (1971), “The Tubs” (1974), “Bad Habits” (1974) and “The Ritz” (1975), a farce set in a gay bathhouse that ran more than a year on Broadway and became McNally’s first produced screenplay.His breakout, “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” about a romance between a waitress and short order cook, was later adapted into a film starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. It was revived on Broadway in 2019 starring Audra McDonald.He collaborated three times with legendary composer John Kander and lyricist Freb Ebb — on “The Rink,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “The Visit.” Chita Rivera starred in all three.His love of opera informed his works “Golden Age,” “The Lisbon Traviata” and “Master Class,” which explored the life of opera diva Maria Callas. He also contributed to opera as a librettist — “The Food of Love” in 1999 with music by Robert Beaser, “Dead Man Walking” in 2000 with music by Jake Heggie, and 2015’s “Great Scott” with Heggie.McNally sometimes was controversial, especially with his play “Corpus Christi,” which depicts a modern-day Jesus as a homosexual. The Manhattan Theater Club, the first company to consider staging it, received death threats and temporarily canceled the production before enjoying a successful run.When picking up his “Ragtime” Tony Award, McNally thanked the theater community for its outcry. “You came together when I was in trouble. It was a time of oppression. You came together overnight. Our voices were heard, and we won.” Holding his Tony high, he said, “So this is for freedom. Thank you.”McNally and his partner, Thomas Kirdahy, married in Vermont in 2003, and again in Washington, D.C., in 2010.
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The Michael Jackson estate is donating $300,000 to help entertainment industry workers on Broadway, the music business and in Las Vegas who have been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
The estate announced Wednesday that it will give $100,000 apiece to Broadway Cares, the food bank Three Square in Nevada and MusiCares, because all three areas have been good to the estate and to Jackson.  “This virus, this pandemic affects all of us obviously, so we wanted to start in our own communities,” John Branca, the estate’s co-executor, told The Associated Press. “This is personal for us.”
 
A Jackson-themed Broadway show, “MJ The Musical” is scheduled to start previews in July, though like the rest of Broadway it is currently on hold amid the coronavirus shutdown. No announcements have been made on postponing the show, and the estate and producers are taking a wait-and-see approach, Branca said.  
“Michael Jackson ONE,” the long-running Jackson-based Cirque du Soleil show at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where Jackson lived late in his life, is also on hold indefinitely.  
“Las Vegas has been very good to Michael,” Branca said.  
The estate’s donation there will provide 300,000 meals to the needy, and help to maintain the supplies of the food bank Three Square, the estate said.  
In New York, the estate says it is donating to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund, and will give the rest to MusiCares, the charitable branch of the Recording Academy that helps those in the music industry who are economically struggling. 
The estate says the donations are inspired by the constant charitable work of Jackson himself.
 
“Michael was extremely generous both of his time and his money in his life, and it’s in his music too,” Branca said. “We look to Michael for leadership and inspiration. We’re doing what Michael would have been doing.”
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
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The global coronavirus outbreak keeps many of us at home and away from the things we enjoy. Sporting leagues around the world have postponed or canceled live competitions, and on Tuesday, the biggest event of them all, the summer Olympics, announced the Tokyo Games will be postponed to 2021. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports.
 
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The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will be postponed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday. Although the International Olympic Committee had said it would spend up to a month debating the matter, the decision to postpone became inevitable after several countries said they would not send athletes if the Games were held this summer.  “The IOC president and the prime minister of Japan have concluded that the Games must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020, but not later that summer 2021 to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games, and the international community,” the IOC and the Japanese organizing committee said in a joint statement Tuesday.  Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talks to journalists in Tokyo, March 24, 2020.Both committees say they made their decision after consulting with the World Health Organization. Abe and the IOC had said that canceling the Games had always been out of the question. “The Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present,” the IOC said. Abe told reporters in Tokyo that when the Games finally gets under way, it will prove that “humanity had beat the coronavirus.”  The Summer Games were to have opened July 24.  Team USA, which represents triathlon and duathlon Olympic contenders, tweeted its thanks to the Tokyo organizers for what it says is “all you have done for a great Olympic and Paralympic Games. We wish you all the best as you keep your communities safe and offer our cooperation and support as you prepare to host the world.” A man takes pictures of the Olympic Flame during a ceremony in Fukushima City, Japan, March 24, 2020.The Olympics have been canceled three times since the modern Games began in 1896. They were scrapped in 1916 during World War I and in 1940 and 1944 during World War II.  The Games have been boycotted, propagandized by Nazi Germany, and attacked by terrorists, but have never before been postponed.  Japanese organizers said Tuesday they are also postponing the Olympic torch relay that was supposed to start Thursday. The flame arrived in Japan from its traditional lighting in Greece on March 12. It was supposed to have traveled around Japan, to be used to light the flame at the opening ceremonies in Tokyo.The torch will remain in Fukushima until the Games are firmly rescheduled.  
 
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Athletes, national associations and sporting federations from around the world reacted with a mixture of sadness, relief and goodwill to the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Tuesday because of the coronavirus pandemic.After weeks of speculation and mounting criticism at the delay in announcing a postponement, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and IOC president Thomas Bach agreed the event would be rescheduled for the summer of 2021 at the latest.
 
It is the first break in the four-year cycle for the summer Olympics since the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled because of World War Two. Here are some reactions to the decision:
  IOC President Thomas Bach:
 
“This Olympic flame will be the light at the end of the tunnel.”
 
 International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons:
 
“Postponing the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak is absolutely the right thing to do. The health and well-being of human life must always be our number one priority and staging a sport event of any kind during this pandemic is simply not possible.
 
“Sport is not the most important thing right now, preserving human life is.”
  U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland in a message to athletes:
 
“Despite the feeling of eventuality that so many of us have felt in the lead up to this moment — my heart breaks for you, your fellow athletes around the world, our friends at Tokyo 2020, the people of Japan, and all who are impacted by this global pandemic and the decision to postpone the Tokyo Games 2020.
 
“This summer was supposed to be a culmination of your hard work and life’s dream, but taking a step back from competition to care for our communities and each other is the right thing to do. Your moment will wait until we can gather again safely.”
   Andy Andson, CEO British Olympic Association (BOA):
 
“It is with profound sadness that we accept the postponement, but in all consciousness it is the only decision we can support, in light of the devastating impact (of) COVID-19.
 
“It is time for them to stop thinking about Tokyo 2020 for now and be home and safe with their families.”
 World Athletics:
 
“It is what athletes want and we believe this decision will give all athletes, technical officials and volunteers some respite and certainty in these unprecedented and uncertain times.
 
“In light of this announcement, we will also expedite our current review of the Olympic qualification system, in cooperation with the IOC, and release any changes to the process as soon as possible so athletes know where they stand.”
  Athletes body the World Players’ Association:
 
“World Players trusts that the postponement heralds a change in the culture of IOC decision-making from one of hierarchy to one of inclusion.
 
“Postponement — clearly the correct decision — followed strong calls by athletes and the Sport & Rights Alliance as well as historic decisions by key National Olympic Committees and sports bodies in athletics, swimming and gymnastics not to send teams.”
 World swimming body FINA, whose 2021 aquatics world championships are scheduled for July 16-Aug 1:
 
“We will now work closely with the host organising committee of the 2021 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, with the Japan Swimming Federation and with the Japanese public authorities, in order to determine flexibility around the dates of the competition, if necessary and in agreement with the IOC.”
  Alejandro Blanco, Spanish Olympic Committee president:
 
“The IOC has given us some good news by announcing that the Olympic Games will be postponed. It will allow all athletes to be able to compete in equal conditions and will safeguard their health, just as we have been demanding since this crisis began.”
  Alfons Hormann, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB):
 
“It confirms to the world population that everything in sports is also being done to bring the global pandemic under control as best as possible and as soon as possible.”
  Statement from World Rugby:
 
“We look forward to working closely together in a spirit of partnership with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and all other stakeholders towards the rescheduling of the Games and our belief from the outstanding Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, is that the hosts will come out of this adversity stronger and more committed than ever before to deliver an exceptional Games.”
 International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty:
 
“We are faced with an unprecedented situation that calls for responsible leadership and making informed decisions. Whilst this is a bitter disappointment for all those who have been preparing and training hard, we all understand that the protection of human life, health and safety, comes first.”
  International Canoe Federation president Jose Perurena:
 
“We congratulate the IOC, the Japanese Government and Tokyo 2020 organisers for making this brave but essential decision.”
 World Triathlon President and IOC member, Marisol Casado:
 
“We understand that there are lots of questions unanswered at the moment, and we are working in all scenarios to give answers to all of them, and communicate all the different scenarios and solutions to all parties as soon as we can.”
 
 British Swimming CEO Jack Buckner:
 
“Were (our athletes) attempting to train for the biggest sporting event of the quadrennial they would be putting the health of themselves and those around them at risk, which I’m sure everyone would agree would be both dangerous and extremely selfish.”
  Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin to TASS news agency:
 
“We respect this joint decision by the IOC and the leadership of Japan. In these difficult times, the health of the athletes, organizers, representatives of all countries and IOC members is at the forefront. We will set up our cooperation on the training process with national federations.”
 
 America-born Swedish pole vault world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis:
 
“It’s a bummer, it’s a bummer that I won’t be able to compete in the Olympics this year, but you have to understand the situation, understand that some things are a little bigger than sport, and I guess we’ll have it next year.”
  Italy’s Olympic track cycling champion Elia Viviani:
 
“Postponing the Olympics to 2021 is the best decision for me. Today we are all struggling with a much bigger problem and although August still seems far away, the security for such a big event was very difficult. See you in 2021!”
 
 Canada’s Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe:
 
“Utter relief. Excitement. Uncertainty. We’re in unprecedented times. We’ll be more ready than ever in 2021 and wearing the maple leaf with more pride than I thought possible.”
 
 Britain’s world champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson:
 
“Waited eight years for this, what’s another one in the grand scheme of things? As an athlete, it’s heartbreaking news about the Olympics being postponed until 2021, but it’s for all the right reasons and the safety of everyone! Stay indoors!”
 Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge:
 
“All in all a very wise decision to postpone the Olympics until 2021. I look forward to come back to Japan to defend my Olympic title next year and look forward to witness a wonderful event. I wish everybody good health in these challenging times.”
 Britain’s 100m Olympic breaststroke champion Adam Peaty:
 
“As an athlete, I am obviously extremely disappointed but this is more important and bigger than me or any of the athletes that would have been taking part. This is a matter of life or death and we all need to do the right thing.” (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Hugh Lawson)
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