Welcome back Studio Coffee Folks! It’s a COVID-centric news day, unfortunately, but there is some good news! If you’re an A24 fan, you’ll be glad to know the studio is auctioning off props like the Uncut Gems Furby to benefit charity. We’ve also got details on the SXSWxAmazon digital festival and two new trailers from Netflix.
Be like Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems (but for charity) with A24’s prop auction
A24, the studio behind hits like Uncut Gems, The Lighthouse and Midsommar, is auctioning off props to benefit charitable organizations battling COVID-19. Auctions are open now, so head over to A24auctions.com and pretend you’re Adam Sandler in that scene from Uncut Gems, except without all the greed. Money raised will go directly to those most affected by the pandemic, including the FDNY Foundation, Food Bank for New York City, NYC Health + Hospitals and Queens Community House.
Items available include the iconic gold Furby, Zendaya’s hoodie she wore on the set of Euphoria, the coolest girl in the world time capsule from Eight Grade, the heirloom doormats from Hereditary and the wooden mermaid from The Lighthouse. It looks like there’s an initial run of items already up for bidding now, with more lots staggered through the coming months, so keep your eye on that space for more of the best A24 swag.
SXSW and Amazon finalize their virtual festival lineup
The digital festival is officially on. SXSW and Amazon are teaming up from April 27 – May 6 to stream a selection of 40 movies and shorts originally planned to debut at the festival prior to its cancellation. Anyone with an Amazon account, regardless of if they have Prime or not, can participate at no cost. Not all of SXSW’s movies will be available, though. Because these are unsold movies, producers worry that potential buyers would be off put by the fact that complete exclusivity would be off the table if they agree to this Amazon debut. Although films and shorts were given fees for their participation – that’s far from an actual sale.
Amazon is also hosting online panels, Q&As produced by SXSW and highlighting Free the Work, a nonprofit org with a mission to find solutions for underrepresented creators in film and TV. For a full list of what to expect, check out Variety’s coverage.
National Association of Theatre Owners warns against reopening too early
Speaking of COVID wrinkles… some states are letting up on social distancing restrictions, specifically noting that movie theaters will be able to open their doors on April 27. Not only does that allow COVID-19 to spike again – the National Association of Theatre Owners reminds governments that there are nearly zero new movies releasing theatrically. The association warns that opening prematurely would only result in more financial setbacks, given that there’s little to no draw to spending money at a theatre with nothing new on the screen until Tenet and Mulan arrive in July, per THR.
Vox tackles COVID-19 in its next Explained series
Netflix is continuing its Explained series with Vox in an extremely timely Coronavirus, Explained special, aiming for an April 26 release. Based on the above trailer, it looks like the crew has brought together experts to discuss exactly how unprepared the United States was for a viral pandemic, what makes COVID-19 so dangerous in comparison to others of its kind and more. Since its 2018 launch, the show has spent two seasons honing in on various topics and even had two spin-off series with themed topics for the mind and sex. Look for the new series on Netflix this Sunday.
A Secret Love is a covert romance spanning six decades
A Secret Love is the true story of Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel; two women who fell in love in 1947 and kept their relationship a secret for the next six decades. Across their Netflix documentary, filmed by Donahue’s great-nephew Christopher Bolan, the pair tells the story of being queer in a time when it wasn’t accepted; when going gay bars were physically dangerous to be at due to police raids and women weren’t even allowed to play baseball. But they did anyway. A Secret Love is a Blumhouse production, and collaboration with Pose co-creator Ryan Murphy, whose Hollywood trailer also hit the internet this week. His latest lands on Netflix on April 29.
