Stage MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021 FFeatureseatures Albuquerque. (AP) operations onthesouthernedgeof ahead withplanstoexpandits Phillippe Forte, KristenWiig August 2021.Itwillstar gin fi Universal StudioGroup,willbe- Universal Television,adivisionof comedy seriesforPeacockby tion facilityinNewMexico. incentives forlocatingtheproduc- economic developmentfundsas than $10millioninstateandlocal tion spendingover10years. to $500millionindirectproduc- try. Thecompanyalsocommitted fi print inoneofthefastestgrowing as partofaplantoexpanditsfoot- north ofdowntownAlbuquerque studio inawarehousedistrictjust state-of-the-art televisionandfi in 2019thatitwouldbuilda as weputthepandemicbehindus.” help ourstaterecovereconomically have putsafetyfi has leaptbacktolifebecausethey said inastatement.“Thisindustry television industry,”thegovernor best yearever—withthefi productive years—ifnotourvery had oneofourbestandmost Albuquerque Michelle LujanGrisham ribbon-cutting ceremonybyGov coronavirus pandemic. challenges thatstemmedfromthe to fi by thefi and localoffi facility in the openingofanewproduction with NBCUniversalcelebrated lm productionhubsinthecoun- ban lastedfrom80 A.D.whenthe venturing belowstage level.The the publicwasforbidden from gladiators andwild animals, to watchspectaclesrepletewith spectators fi maker, whohasfootedthebill. Tod’s, theshoeandluxurygoods in thepresenceoffounder restore theundergroundsection pletion ofworktoshore-upand day formallyannouncedthecom- the ancientarena’s“backstage.” through partofwhathadbeen be abletogodownandwander underground passages,touristswill to shoreuptheColosseum’s signed virtualsetsforaproductionof“Aida”attheSydneyopera. that helpedcreateLaScala’sall-virtual2020seasonpremierandde- at DWOK,anItaliancompanyspecializinginadvancedvideodesign artistic quality.” rona Arenaisusedtodoinghugeshows,alittlepharaonic,withgreat said theArena’sgeneralmanager,CeciliaGasdia.“Afterall,Ve- have anotherplan,intheeventualitythatwecouldn’tusebigsets,’’ audience memberssittingfarawayintheuppermostseats. Arena isfamous,onesbigenoughtofi Festival. er, settinginmotionareimaginingofthe98thVeronaArenaOpera ited inthecrampedbackstageopen-airRoman-eraamphitheat- ROME: ALBUQUERQUE, NM: screens, recreatingaSicilianvillageorFellini-esquefi have beenreplacedbydynamic,3DimagesbroadcastonhugeLED the pandemic—butwithonebigdifference. northern Italyhasreturnedtostagingfulloperasforthefi VERONA, Italy,June27,(AP):TheVeronaArenaamphitheaterin 3D videoreplaces hugesetsinVerona asfulloperasresume This summer,MacGruber,a The mediagiantreceivedmore NBCUniversal hadannounced “Despite thepandemic,we’ve The executiveswerejoinedata Meanwhile, Netfl nd ways to work through the nd waystoworkthroughthe During thecenturieswhen Italy’s cultureministeronFri- “They areartistsandtechniciansatthesametime,thatisnot Deputy creativedirectorStefanoTrespiditappedtechnicalwizards “We understoodalreadylastyearinNovemberthatweneededto For thisseason,technologyisstandinginforthesetswhich Distancing rulesmeantthatstagehandsmovingsetshadtobelim- The monumentalsetsthatnormallyfi lming inthefacilitythrough lm and television industry lm andtelevisionindustry After 2-1/2 years of work After 2-1/2yearsofwork ❑ . New Mexico lled theColosseum cials touted efforts cials toutedefforts Mayor rst — and they will rst —andtheywill ix ismoving and Tim Keller , as state , asstate Executives Executives Will lm and Ryan and lm This imagereleasedbyWarnerBros.EntertainmentshowsDonCheadle,(left),andBenicioDelToroinascenefrom‘NoSuddenMo . Russo entrances. formers andanimals fordramatic level vividsceneryaswellper- in ancienttimestohaulupstage wooden elevatorswereemployed until thelastshowin523. amphitheater wasinaugurated, ll thevaststageandengageeven a sequeltohisfi I’m confrontedwith.” Zoom. “Icanfi this industry,”hesaidsmilingonarecentinterviewby ers, seizedanuncertainmoment. through profoundchange,Soderberghhas,likefewoth- of assemblinglastMay. shame the1,000-piecepuzzlesomeofusarestillproud fun) andco-producedtheAcademyAwards. otape”), re-editedsomeofhisoldermovies(mostlyfor Goynes, strollingthrough1950sDetroit.Soderbergh parachute intothisstory.” to seethisguywalking,walking—andwe wanted itornot,”Soderberghsays.“Literally:I center thistime. (“Traffi dle hasco-starredinfourmorefi “Snoop” Millerin“OutofSight.”Sincethen,Chea- with DonCheadle,whomemorablyplayedMaurice Sudden Move”returnsSoderberghtotheMotorCity into winteryDetroit.Twenty-threeyearslater,“No Elmore Leonard. “Out ofSight,”theslinky,sublimecaperadaptedfrom one ofSoderbergh’smostcelebratedmovies:1998’s back-together, “NoSuddenMove”remainsacousinto presence wouldhavereinforcedaspiritofget-the-band- HBO Max,doesn’tlackforstars.AndwhileClooney’s cerns forhisasthmaticson. star, GeorgeClooney,whowithdrewoutofhealthcon- tocols, Soderberghremountedit—albeitwithoutone early fall,afterhehelpedcreatereturn-to-setsafetypro- April 2020.Thepandemicscuttledthoseplansbutby happen. Itwasinitiallyscheduledtobeginshootingin Mike”). Hislatest,“NoSuddenMove,”nearlydidn’t ers (“Ocean’sEleven,”“ErinBrockovich,”“Magic Flying Bird,”“”)tocommercialcrowd-pleas- of workspanningexperimentaliPhoneindies(“High 35 yearsinmovies,amassinganimble,freneticbody D Soderbergh revisits Detroit withCheadle Colosseum director Dozens ofmobileplatformsand ll thevastamphitheaterstage Soderbergh hasaveragedafi “I thinkit’sfairtosaythatI’mthecockroachof Yet atatimewhenmuchofHollywoodisgoing It’s anamountofaccomplishmentthatreallyputsto “No SuddenMove”openswithCheadle,asCurt “This wasdesignedasvehicleforDon,whetherhe That fi Still, “NoSuddenMove,”whichdebutsJuly1on said tourists will be able to saidtouristswillbe ableto Variety two featurefi uring thepandemic,StevenSoderberghhasshot c,” the“Ocean’s”movies).Buthe’sfront-and- lm openedinMiamisunshinebutdescended nd awaytosurviveinanyversionthat lm backlot. rst fi rst lms, releasedapairofmovies,written rst timesince By JakeCoyle Alfonsina Alfonsina lm (1989’s“Sex,LiesandVide- For manyjustseeinglivetheaterwasatreat Film and underliningthecollisionofreallifetheaterinopera. costumes, againstamoresparebackdropinspiredbyFellinifi white andgray,the“Pagliacci’’castwasdressedinbrighttechnicolor create acentralpiazza. cal staircaseandthroughaforegroundfi scene dynamism,whilesingersandactorsmovedupdownaphysi- buildings, allwiththree-dimensionaldepth.Movingcloudsgavethe screens, withprojectionsofahillside,churchfaçadeandcraggy lm everyoneofhis lms withSoderbergh The videocomponentalsoincludescameoimageryfromItalianmu- While “Cavalleriarusticana’’wasnostalgicallystagedinblack, Instead, aSicilianvillagewascreatedon400squaremetersofLED future edition. cavernous workshopattheedgeofcity,setasideforperhapsa en setsforlastyear’s“Cavalleria”remainunfi due torestrictionsthatlimitedperformancesconcerts.Infact,wood- acci,” aproductionplannedforthe2020seasonthatwasneverstaged Mascagni’s “Cavalleriarusticana”andRuggieroLeoncavallo’s“Pagli- will takeus.Certainly,itusforward.” to takehold.Theprocessthatwestartedtodaydon’tknowwhereit easy,’’ Trespidisaid.“Thisisagreatinnovation;innovationsneedtime ‘No SuddenMove’aperiodcrimefi Wiig Phillippe Friday’s season-openingpremierewasadouble-billofPietro rearrange thefi lengthy introductionsandspeeches,onegambitto ceremony warmlyintimate.Butitwasalsotalky,with shot ofReginaKing,anditmadeanoftenimpersonal cast washandsomelyshot,openingwithafl person OscarsdespiteCOVID-19protocols.Thetele- from 2011.“Ithinkhe’sPatientZero.” referring toSoderbergh’spropheticpandemicdrama gun shyaboutevenleavingmyhouse.” says. “IlostfamilymemberstoCOVID.Iwasreally hell inmyuncertaintyaboutcomingback,”Cheadle antine bubble. The centralcastandcrewmemberswerekeptinaquar- COVID-19 testingunitsthatwerepersonallypaidfor. shoot withoutincidentbyfrequenttestingintwomobile ing andsendinghimscripts.Thedirectormanagedthe a-stuck-at-home Soderberghwouldprobablykeepwrit- set atthetime.Buthealsorealizedthatifdidn’t, energy.” or 1.0,30yearsbeforehand—revisitingthatkindof intrigue. Itfeltinalotofwayslike‘OutSight2.0’ the head,”saysCheadle.“Itwasallpartofnarrative car manufacturerswithoutproselytizingorhittingiton nity andthedevastationofDetroitgreed Oscars safelywhileexperimentingwithanofteninfl broadcast didwhatitsetouttodo:pulloffanin-person Projections In April,Soderberghledanefforttomountin- Cheadle smiles.“Ialsoblamehimfor‘Contagion,’” “I knowthatIputSteventhroughsomeversionof Cheadle wasn’tnecessarilyeagertoreturnafi “We wereabletotalkaboutredliningandcommu- Overall, Soderberghispleasedwiththeshow.The Matt DamonandRayLiotta. Jon Hamm,DavidHarbour,JuliaFox,BrendanFraser, Los Angeles.TherestofthecastincludesBillDuke, original sins,alittlelikehow“Chinatown”doesfor expands inscopetoencapsulatesomeofDetroit’s Culkin), butinamultiplyingseriesofdouble-crosses, three hiredguns(Cheadle,BeniciodelToro,Kieran emissions controls.“NoSuddenMove”beginswith the historyofautomotiveindustry’seffortstoavoid Friends ofEddieCoyle”wasanother.) was oneinspiration.Theclassic‘70scrimefi electric 1959noir“OddsAgainstTomorrow.”(That brought togethernotunlikethoseinRobertWise’s from thestartasaheistmoviewithtrioofthieves and screenwriterEdSolomonconceivedofthefi But whileworkingonthescript,Solomoncameupon nal awardsended awkwardly. lled withtablesandchairsto the COVID-19pandemic. gists wasinterrupted duringpartof workers, architects adarchaeolo- engineers, surveyors,construction that circledtheundergroundlevels. what wereoriginally15corridors (530 feet)longtoviewsomeof stroll downawalkway160meters Tod’s founder Restoration workbyteamsof Devastation nished attheArena’s Diego Della lm set, uid tracking lm foradults lm “The lm certain point.” was singinginthePagliacciboys’choir.“Italmostseemsrealata ful,’’ saidGuiaVeronese,aregularattheArenawhose8-year-oldson new technologyaelementtoabsorb. non-singing castmemberswearmaskswhenthestagegrowscrowded. spread stageleftintheamphitheaterseatinglikeaGreekchoir,and chestra musiciansareseparatedbytwo-meterdistances,thechorusis a maximumof6,000guests,insteadthepre-pandemic13,500.Or- is veryimportantintheArena,becausewesingoutdoors.” able forthevoice.Itisawall,thatgivesalsoacousticsupport,andthis audience canseearealshow,andnotjustconcert.” really sobeautifultosee,thatyoudon’tseeitisnotarealset.Andthe tenor YusifEyvazof,whoissingingtheroleofCanio/Pagliaccio.“It restrictions duringthepandemic. ture ofsolidaritywithanotherculturalbranchthatalsosufferedfrom Museum, theUffi co” and“LaTraviata.”Thecollaborations,includingwiththeVatican seums ineachofthefi ex- lm “Even beingusedtothebigsetsofArena,itisstillverybeauti- For manyinthecrowd,justseeinglivetheaterwasatreat,and Ongoing virusrestrictionsmeanthattheArena,fornow,canseat Eyvazof saidthescreenshadanaddedbenefi “They foundthiswonderfulsolutionthatworksverywell,”said ing oftheColosseum, amonumen- multi-million-euro (dollar)clean- and archaeological treasures. cash tocareforitsimmenseart try’s inabilitytocomeupwiththe tion projectsinlightofthecoun- private sectorfundingforrestora- to anItaliangovernmentcallfor Valle lm Della Vallealsopaid fora responded severalyearsago plummeted. ings, liketheyhaveformostpandemicawardshows, ing senseofalargerexistentialcrisisformovies.Rat- — asatisfyinganduniqueone,hesayswithgnaw- largely onanoceanlinercrossing. to his2020fi a moviecalled‘LetThemAllTalk,’”hejokes,referring that. Thisiswhathappenswhenyouhirethedirectorof where nobodyevergotplayedoff,andI’mproudof ible format. Soderbergh’s sixthheistfi purpose ofmydealwhichisformetobereallybusy.” tory withWarner.Webothseemtobeinsyncthe secular change,”saysSoderbergh.“Ihavealonghis- knows what’sacyclicalthingasopposedtoreal companies. Nobodyknowswhat’scoming. things. Ihonestlywouldnotliketoberunningthese to getmade. streaming fl adults, isverymuchthekindofmoviethatbefore Kravitz. “NoSuddenMove,”aperiodcrimefi HBO Max,“KIMI,”apandemic-setthrillerwithZoë like Soderbergh.Herecentlyshothisthirdfi ing, arealsoripeforaprotean,fast-workingfi that needstobeconfronted.” to?” Soderberghsays.“Tome,thisistherealquestion make peoplecareaboutthemovieswaytheyused of whatourshowlookedlike,andthatis:Howdowe he encouraged.“Spinthewheel!”(AP) let thatgo?” with,” saidSoderbergh.“Thequestionis:ShouldIjust gotten outoftherewithtwomoviesI’mreallyhappy scene ofhisfi “No SuddenMove,”hewonderedifreturningtothe dle hadtoleavefortheTribecaFestivalpremiereof just madeforthemovies,”hesays. bring somethingtothetable—“styleitup.”“It’s genre, thedirectorsays,encouragesafi that itsoughttopulloneoveronHollywood,too.The “,”aself-fi of Sight”thatincludesthethree“Ocean’s”fi “I justlookatitasalargerissuethanthespecifi But Soderberghdidwalkawayfromtheexperience “As farasIknow,we’rethefi Other thingsneverchange.“NoSuddenMove”is “It’s areallygoodtimeforsomebodywhomakes But theconditions,andopportunitiesofstream- Cheadle didn’thesitate.“Teeitup!Gotothewell!” “I’ve hadtworeallygoodexperiencesinDetroitand As timewounddownbeforeSoderberghandChea- zi andTurin’sEgyptianMuseum,aremeantasages- ood gatesopenedwouldhave beenunlikely lm forHBOMax,withMerylStreep,shot ve newoperas,includingalso“Aida,”“Nabuc- rst crimemovie waspushinghisluck. ve.’ (AP) nanced meta-heistmoviein lm, acyclebegunwith“Out be retractable.(AP) a centralviewpoint. Thestagewill mire theancientmonument from inside theareasovisitors canad- project tobuildalightweightstage Dario Franceschini arena lookdullanddreary. of sootandgrimewhichmadethe tal projectwhichremoveddecades rst showinalongtime Last month,CultureMinister t: “Itisverycomfort- lmkr to lmmaker lmmaker lms and lms l for lm lm for lm detaileda cs