Image Courtesy: Reuters
The first major in-person premiere event since the start of the Covid – 19 Pandemic took place in Hollywood with a screening of ‘In the Heights’ at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF).
Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre, which hosted the special screening featured one of Hollywood’s first real red carpets and in-person theater experiences during the pandemic. Releasing almost a year after its originally scheduled release, In The Heights is one among the first set of movies that brings audiences and movie-lovers around the country back to the cinemas.
The director of the film Jon M. Chu welcomed the audience back to the movies, and the cast and crew were met with a standing ovation inside the screening event. The musical produced by Warner Bros. is based on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway production sharing the same name. The movie tells the story of a bodega owner in New York City who saves his money in hopes of a better life. Director Chu hopes to show the world and expand horizons with the movie consisting of a largely Latino and Black cast and constant infusion of Latin culture throughout the movie. Starring Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Stephanie Beatriz of Brooklyn-99 fame, and Jimmy Smits, In The Heights is expected to arrive in theatres and simultaneously stream on HBO Max on 11 June 2021.
After a long and exhausting hiatus of 14 months for the studios, the film industry is attempting to pave a path to return to the traditional events of press screenings, red carpet events, and flashy movie premieres. Although there has been a slow yet considerable increase of traditional red carpets in the case of newer TV Shows, movie screenings and debuts have been strictly limited to drive-in events and virtual events. These may have been cost-effective and extremely convenient for the studios, but there is also a certain amount of computer/screen fatigue that comes along with spending most of the time indoors. However, some of the major industry events like Tribeca, Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Film Festivals are being planned as in-person activities.