Paramount halts ‘Mission: Impossible’ shoot over virus
NEW YORK » Paramount Pictures on Monday halted production on the seventh “Mission: Impossible” film due to the new virus, as Hollywood began to more drastically adapt to the growing global outbreak.
“Mission: Impossible 7” had been scheduled to shoot for three weeks in Venice. More than 200 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Italy, the largest number outside Asia. While most of those cases are in the neighboring Lombardy region, authorities said three people in Venice have tested positive for the virus.
In a statement, Paramount cited the Venetian government’s halting of public gatherings, and said it was canceling the shoot “out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew.”
Paramount also on Monday postponed the Chinese release of “Sonic the Hedgehog,” which had been set for Friday. Cinemas in China have been shuttered due to the outbreak, closing down the world’s second largest box-office market.
LOS ANGELES » WarnerMedia’s new streaming service will debut with some extra “Friends.”
The company announced that the entire original “Friends” cast will reunite for an unscripted special that will be available on HBO Max when the service debuts in May.
A reunion has been long-sought by fans of the NBC series, which ended its 236-episode run in 2004. HBO Max will also carry every episode of the sitcom, which has proved enduringly popular, including with young audiences who discovered the show when it was available on Netflix.
The show made Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer into household names and won six Emmy Awards.
“Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together — we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire ‘Friends’ library,” said Kevin Reilly, HBO Max’s chief content officer.
The special is being called a “celebration of the beloved show” and will be shot on the same Burbank, Calif., soundstage where the series filmed.
The stars posted identical Instagram posts of an old publicity photo of all them with the caption, “It’s happening.” LeBlanc’s post kept the same message but went farther back in TV history — he used a “M*A*S*H” cast photo instead.
The show’s stars and its co-creator, Marta Kauffman, have long fielded questions about a possible reunion. Rumblings of an unscripted reunion special picked up after the WarnerMedia announced it would launch its HBO Max service into the crowded streaming landscape.
It was also announced that cable channel TBS will air the show’s entire run weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.