In Bill and Ted Face the Music, the grown-up rockers have to hop back in their phone booth and write the perfect song, or else the entire universe is destroyed. However, it wouldn’t be hard to argue that the Wyld Stallions real-life counterparts, Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, have an even more difficult task: promoting a movie in the middle of a pandemic.
Fortunately, Winter and Reeves’ work has been made easier thanks to Orion Pictures’ decision to do a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release for Face the Music. But the actors still have to thread the needle on promoting the theatrical release without seeming like they’re encouraging moviegoers to put themselves at risk. Here’s the very diplomatic answer Winter gave NPR when asked about what it’s like being one of the first films released in the “pandemic era”:
“I think that the industry is rightly very concerned about the cinema experience, but also they’re very concerned about the the economics for exhibitors who, you know — keep the movie business alive and we want the exhibitors to stay afloat at the same time. We want people to be safe in a pandemic. And people need to be to be given an option to watch this movie safely at home. So we feel really good about the fact that the studio is willing to throw in behind that rollout plan.”
Reeves echoed Winter’s statement by highlighting the fact that theaters will be working diligent on keeping audiences safe if they choose to go, but it’s also great that they have the VOD option. “I think everyone’s going to put all the protocols in place to make it as safe as possible for people who do feel comfortable,” Reeves told NPR. “That opportunity presents itself if they want to go to the cinema. And it’s also on pay per view or streaming. So there’s that option as well.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends – to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.
Bill and Ted Face the Music hits theaters and VOD on August 28.
(Via NPR)