Names and faces
■ With reported cases of the coronavirus surging, Warner Bros. on Thursday postponed the release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, further delaying Hollywood’s summer kickoff. The sci-fi thriller starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson will move from July 31 to Aug. 12, a Wednesday. In a statement, the studio stressed the need for flexibility. “We are choosing to open the movie mid-week to allow audiences to discover the film in their own time, and we plan to play longer, over an extended play period far beyond the norm, to develop a very different yet successful release strategy,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement. Movie theaters had been pinning their hopes on the film as a major July release that could pull audiences back to theaters. Warner Bros. had planned to re-release Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster Inception in early July as a way to lead in to Tenet. Inception will now open on July 31, the studio said. Movie theater chains had planned the widespread reopening of cinemas partially around the return of new releases like Tenet and Disney’s Mulan. Disney on Friday followed Warner Bros. in pushing Mulan to late August. The film, initially planned to open in March, had been set for July 24. It’s now moving to Aug. 21. With reported covid-19 cases surging in Texas, Arizona, Florida and elsewhere, the earlier plans for a nationwide mid-July cinema restart became uncertain. On Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York would delay reopening cinemas while it continued to research the safety of indoor, air-conditioned venues. United Artists Releasing’s Bill & Ted Face the Music also pushed back from Aug. 14 to Aug. 28.
■ Kanye West is taking his Yeezy brand to Gap. The rap superstar will design adult and kids’ clothing that will be sold at Gap’s stores next year. Yeezy is best known for pricey sneakers that sell out online quickly. But Yeezy footwear, made with sneaker company Adidas, won’t be sold at Gap stores. San Francisco-based Gap Inc., whose sales are dwindling, hopes the deal will keep it relevant with shoppers. For Yeezy, being in more than 1,100 stores worldwide could get the brand in front of more people. On Friday, West tweeted a photo of what the collaboration might look like: bright colored hoodies, jackets and T-shirts. Shares of the retailer soared nearly 30%. West has a history with Gap. He worked at one of its stores in Chicago as a teenager. And he told Vanity Fair magazine back in 2015 that he wanted to be creative director of the brand. As part of the deal announced Friday, Yeezy will receive royalties and possibly Gap stock if the line sells well.