The Midnight Sky is a new Netflix production that will release in December 2020. It is a science fiction film directed by George Clooney, the story is based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Clooney also stars in the production with Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo and Demian Bichir.
The storyline takes place on a post-apocalyptic planet and focuses on the survivor’s obstacles.
Netflix released a teaser for the film as fans of the network are growing more interested in the project and its debut. The teaser does not promote a timeframe for release and it is only 20 seconds, but it is probably one of many upcoming teasers and trailers for the show.
Everything in regards to the production is already finished. They began shooting the film in October of 2019 and finished in February 2020, which allowed them to narrowly escape the challenges of needing to film during Covid-19 that appeared a month later.
Clooney recently debuted the film at the London Film Festival and gave a talkback. He discussed the types of cameras that were used to record the film, the difficulties they had with maintaining their production schedule, and how it felt as an artist to both direct and star in film. George Clooney appearing in a feature film that is distributed through online video streaming is something that does not happen very frequently. Many of the actors and actresses that have a top billing draw will perform in films produced by the major studios.
Clooney is no stranger to working on big productions as he’s won two Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards. He also received the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. Probably his most memorable performances were on ER and Oceans 11. In 2019, he produced Catch-22.
After his Netflix project makes its debut, Clooney will appear in a new Kill Switch film. If actors like George Clooney will embrace video streaming services as a medium, then expect many other actors to follow. He is not the first movie star to film with Netflix or any other service. However, the fact that he is innovating the medium from a director’s standpoint is really creative and is something that the larger studios only offer actors on a rare basis.
Usually the big studios will have their own director and a complete production team; this gives the actors the ability to focus on line memorization, blocking and bringing their character on film. However, it is a different creative experience to give the actors the ability to make decisions regarding the aesthetics of film. Video streaming services are the perfect medium for providing this access to actors.
Especially due to Covid-19, the films shot during the pandemic that are not supported by the big studios may be featured more on the Award shows. The major studios have a lot to learn from video streaming services, where a great film can be produced on a low budget and draw top talent.
It will be interesting if these studios will create their own streaming video services or stick to the high budget projects and hope to do well at the box office as they begin to re-open.