Hello Everyone!
Yet again, it would be appropriate to say that it’s been a while since my last update. While there are many reasons for this, the clearest and most honest is that there really hasn’t been much to update on. Since my last major news post (in August of last year), the world has continued to be ravaged by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. That said, despite the bleak year we’ve all just endured, there is now light at the end of this tunnel. As a result, I now have new information to share regarding the Forbidden Dish feature film! Read on to find out more!
COVID-19 UPDATE
As my last update touched on the topic of the virus and the current state of the world, it seems only prudent that this one does so as well. So, in the interest of the historic view, here is how things currently stand:
The virus has spent the better part of the past year devastating the world, and the US in particular. This past winter was – as predicted by the experts – decidedly bleak, with a sharp uptick in the number of cases and deaths. Luckily, as the warm weather has begun to return, cases of the virus (and associated deaths) have declined.
More importantly, the long-awaited vaccine (well, three vaccines to be exact) has finally been released to the public and has started to be distributed. As many of the most at-risk groups are now protected, the shift is turning to the general public. As such, there is a great hope that life is beginning to return to some level of normalcy – partially by the summer and even more so by this fall.
Suffice to say, this is all very good news indeed and quite welcome after such a dark and depressing year.
MOVIE INDUSTRY
In the many months since my last update, the movie industry has been fairly dormant. What few films did try and release during 2020, and could even find an open cinema to show in, were largely flops. People, unsurprisingly, just weren’t leaving their houses.
More recently, Warner Brothers started a strategy of simultaneously releasing their films both in theaters AND on the streaming service HBO MAX. This plan includes all of their major releases for the 2021 year as we start to climb out of the muck of this pandemic. While some films, like Wonder Woman 1984, were mild successes (if critically panned), the first major sign of hope is the only-just-recently released (at the time of this writing) Godzilla vs Kong.
Not only did this film break the record of the highest-grossing film of the pandemic, but it also managed to reel in $48.5 million at the domestic box office (even with many watching at home) and $236 million abroad (so far). It also set records at HBO as the streaming services’ most-watched movie since the launch of the platform.
All this to say – it’s clear that people are still hungry for new cinematic experiences and are now starting to feel more comfortable heading back to theaters (even when afforded other at-home options). While this is all certainly good news for this film, in particular, it is even better news for the industry at large. Though I’m sure the gears of Hollywood will be slow to start grinding back up (after all, no one wants to lose their shirts on a multi-million dollar film by releasing too early), I get the feeling that this success will act as the first canary in the coal mine – signaling a slow, but steady, return to the regular ways of doing business.
While sets still have to be safe and smart regarding pandemic protocols until the vaccine is more widely available, I think the allure of returning to telling (and viewing) compelling stories will drive creators – and studios – onward.
FORBIDDEN DISH
All this to finally reach the primary point of this update – my own film, Forbidden Dish. As detailed in my previous update, most of the progress on the film has been sidelined over this past year. With many of the next steps requiring in-person meetings and getting out into the world (two things very much frowned upon in the pandemic era), most of my attention went to other projects – primarily new screenplays.
Work on these new stories was important as it was both something I COULD do during the lockdown and something that will hopefully pay dividends in the future (I’m quite proud of these screenplays and can’t wait until the day I can share more about them). It also helped me to stay both sane and productive during a time in which both were often hard to achieve – not just for me, but for the world at large.
That said, the good news is that as we’re now starting to see signs of the virus retreating, and the world resuming some facsimile of normalcy. With that comes the feasibility of resuming my originally planned tasks and – more importantly – a higher degree of safety for all those involved. As such, I’m happy to report that the long-dormant gears of this project are starting to spring back to life as I look toward the future.
WHAT’S NEXT
What does this future look like exactly? Well, while the exact start date of all these endeavors is still up in the air pending the continued rollout of the vaccine and the stability of the market, I hope to pick back up where I left off sometime in the coming weeks and months. This includes, but is not limited to – reaching out to business and organizations, talking to investors, fundraising, scouting locations, involving other creative individuals from across the spectrum (artists, actors, choreographers, musicians), and just generally marching towards the goal of entering the production phase (aka. shooting the film).
In what order many of these events take place, and exactly WHEN on the calendar they fall, will be determined by a host of factors. The takeaway here, and if you walk away from this article with nothing else, is that Forbidden Dish is once again on the road to cinemas.
While it has been a long and difficult year, full of many setbacks and a great deal of heartache, I’m thrilled to once again be looking toward a future full of possibility and excited to be able to share this journey with all of you. After all, I can’t wait for you to one day see my favorite film – Forbidden Dish.
Continue to stay safe out there and remember to watch this space for the latest information and updates on this project!
Chris