Tired of your DVD collection? Seen every series on Netflix? Your couch probably has a permanent butt print from holding the fort at home during quarantine. With Hollywood — and the entire world — on hold for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, here are some creative movie-related things to do that are new.
7 fun film-adjacent things to do at home while new movies are (almost) completely out of the question
- Join movie watch parties. Loads of people are hosting online watch parties via chat mediums like Netflix, Facebook, Zoom, and Instagram Live. You can even hop on a watch party hosted by celebrities! Directorial darling Taika Waititi recently hosted a watch party of Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi added charming commentary, answered fan questions, and dropped a ton of great tidbits/spoilers for his upcoming Thor 4: Love & Thunder. Tessa Thompson and Mark Ruffalo joined in. It was a great time. I’ve also joined discussions during a daily Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Facebook rewatch.
- Celebrities, authors, and Gollum are reading books online, free. People like the stars of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone, Lord of the Rings‘ Andy Serkis, and Star Trek novel author Keith DeCandido are all getting into the act. When Serkis — the fallen Hobbit himself — announced a marathon live read of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, I was ready for the massive 30 hour listening time. Unfortunately, I got the day wrong and missed out. Did Serkis read it all in Smeagol/Gollum’s voice? Doubtful. He’d have damaged his lungs. But I bet he read Riddles in the Dark as Gollum… 🙂
- Catch a free Broadway show. BroadwayHD offers a free week with a nice library of some of the best extravaganzas in theater. Get cultured. Yes, Cats is included.
- Take in a drive in movie. Drive in theaters are seeing a welcome resurgence in these days of social distancing and family quarantine. You can take the whole crew in the comfort and viral-free safety of your car. While the movies on the big screens are not new, you can catch up on the most recently released offerings like Bloodshot, Onward, Sonic: the Hedgehog, Ben Affleck’s The Way, DC’s Birds of Prey, and 1917. Cult classics are also showing up. Get out the house. Stay in your car. Good times.
- Buy newly released movies from last year. Sometimes we forget that Amazon adds ‘new’ movies from last year to their collection every Tuesday. If there’s anything you missed in 2019, you can get almost every single film now. It would be like watching a new movie! More films keep straggling in: The Invisible Man landed last week. Keep checking in for the rest of last year’s best.
- Remember that some movies originally scheduled for theaters are dropping straight to Streaming. Artemis Fowl, Capone, Endings Beginnings, The King of Staten Island, Trolls World Tour, The Love Birds, and Scoob! are bypassing theaters and going stream-only this summer.
- Wait for a few real, actual new movies this summer. Christopher Nolan’s latest mind bender Tenet is coming to theaters July 16th. Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan follows on July 24. If things go well, we’ll have Wonder Woman 1984 by August. More could follow. Remember to obey the CDC’s social distancing guidelines when you go to the theaters! Sit as far from anyone else as possible. Wear a mask, use hand gel, and sanitize your seat rests with wipes for extra peace of mind. And don’t leave home at all if you feel even a little bit sick. Let’s be careful out there, people!
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A Return to Americana – Drive In Movie Theaters Are Back in Style
Must Watch-a two minute, made for Twitter movie, starring Sam Neill and Helena Bonham Carter
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