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From The January Cover

PP Media Buzz PP

Pandemic Brings Blockbusters Directly To Your Couch — By Darwin Porter
Warner Brothers has announced that all of its 2021 movies is a recent four-episode TV series, Love in the Time of
will be released on HBO Max, an “on demand” subscription Corona, a quarantine-themed rom-com that explores how
service launched in May of 2020 as a showcase for entertain- we’ve been spending our homebound months and whether
ment products associated with AT&T’s WarnerMedia. Ann we’re truly “more connected than ever,” as its trailer suggests.
Sarnoff, WarnerMedia’s CEO, cited their reasoning as: “In With so many people confined to their homes, more viewers
these unprecedented times, the reality is that movie houses watched TV than ever before in history. Some early films were
are likely to be closed for most of 2021.” released with the actors wearing masks, but the policy was
As a sign of changing times, Wonder Woman 1984, (The quickly abandoned. “The public wants to see the faces of our
newest sequel to the version of Wonder Woman released in actors,” one director said.
2017) appeared—on Christmas Day, 2020, with lots of pub- Movie theaters aren’t the only enterprises devastated by
licity for its star, Gal Godot—on the HBO Max streaming service, too. the virus. In Manhattan, Broadway (formerly “The Great White Way”) is
Many other studios, after deliberately delaying the release of block- dark, some say, black. On stage after stage, rats scurry across where
busters, may follow Warners’ example and pivot their newest big-ticket Hamlet or Dolly Levi (Carol Channing) once trod. Frigid January winds
releases to video-on-demand streaming services, too. whistle through mostly deserted streets and through cracks in other-
Some producers still believe in the viability of conventional movie wise locked doors. Some 100,000 workers, formerly employed in such
theaters. One of them is Christopher Nolan, who insisted that his latest side industries as bars and restaurants, are out of jobs, and the theater
film, Tenet, (reviewed as a “time-bending tent pole”) be released in crowds of yesterday have disappeared.
movie houses this past summer. Despite his midsummer optimism, Broadway stars and workers aren’t the only ones hit. An estimated
ticket sales were disappointing. $30 billion was lost to the bug through the cancellation of live events.
H H “No show, no dough.” Stars like Elton John and Celine Dion could have
See AND hear Darwin Porter every month on Zoomertimes TV. made millions.
Tune in on YouTube (search zoomertimes TV), on Facebook. The revenue spigot was also turned off for everyone from truck
H com/Boomertimes, or on BoomerTimesFL.com H drivers to ticket agents. Some artists have taken to performing online.
From Hollywood to Broadway, most experts agree that the enter-
In spite of that setback, Nolan still remains one of the leading tainment industry (and ways to monetize it) will undergo major changes
advocates of a return to the way we were: “When the theaters come in the years to come.
back, and when the vaccine has been fully rolled out, I’m bullish on Surely times will get better, perhaps after widespread distribution
the long-term future of movie theaters. People love to go out to the of a vaccine. We can hope, at least.
movies, and they’re going to get to go again.”
In contrast, because of Covid, armies of producers are now forced Darwin Porter, sometimes with the collaboration of Danforth
to face the realities of 2021. “That vaccine is going to hang around Prince at www.BloodMoonProductions.com, is the author of at
longer than we want,” one executive said. least 50 seminal biographies of celebrities who
That means that in the months to come, you may be able to see THE SEDUCTIVE SAPPHIC EXPLOITS OF include Judy Garland, Donald Trump, James Dean,
such super-charged mega-buck biggies as Dune and The Matrix 4 MERCEDES Bill & Hillary Clinton, and Ronald Reagan and his
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Actually, movie houses were already suffering even before the intensely competitive wives (Jane Wyman and Nancy
pandemic. For years, cable TV networks like HBO and Netflix have Davis). His most recent biography is an overview
presented formidable competition through the “streaming” at-home “From Garbo to Dietrich, from Eleonora Duse to Isadora Duncan, of the arts-industry socialite Mercedes de Acosta,
from Eva Le Gallienne to Tallulah Bankhead to Katharine Cor-
nell—even to Valentino’s two wives—star seducer Mercedes de
Acosta was the Perfect Sapphic Lover.”
—Alice B. Toklas
release of such superhits as Game of Thrones, “a couch era block- DARWIN PORTER & DANFORTH PRINCE lover, muse, and mentor to some of the most influ-
ANOTHER UNORTHODOX OVERVIEW OF CELEBRITY AND FAME FROM
th
buster.” Hundreds of small theaters had shut down even before the ential and empowered actresses of the 20 Century.
pandemic in favor of multiplexes that could screen five or six movies
simultaneously under one roof. Now, since Covid, even some of these For information about how you can meet him for
giant houses have closed down, sometimes because of sanctions an overnight at his home in New York City, click
from local governments. on https://AirBnb.com/H/Magnolia-House or
Peter Suderman, Features Editor of Reason, said, “The theatrical contact DanforthPrince@gmail.com.
experience of yesterday is threatened. Perhaps it will be gone in the
near future. I don’t think theaters will completely disappear, but it’s Be sure to listen to Darwin’s discussions with
likely that they’ll become venues for major first-class events.” Anita at regular intervals on Zoomertimes TV.
Ironically, some producers have responded to the coronavirus by Boomer Times: Bringing you better access to a
making the pandemic the theme of their new products. A bright spot familiar friend. Darwin Porter
Are You Nuts?
By Anita Finley
I hope so! If you are a nut, you would be very healthy, E antioxidants, magnesium and fiber. Studies show
never have constipation problems and would enjoy being that you would not contribute to weight problems
eaten raw along with being an ingredient in many recipes. and would support good metabolic health.
Here are some of the good things about being an If you were a macadamia nut, you would be
almond nut... very tasty and high in monounsaturated fats and
You would be very popular and be loaded with Vitamin lower in omega and fatty acids than other nuts.
JANUARY 2021 BoomerTimesFL.com BoomerTimes & SeniorLife / 13