The stay-at-home order is still in place in Los Angeles, but that isn't stopping the pandemic thriller SONGBIRD from gearing up for production. Filming is scheduled to begin in L.A. just five weeks from now.
Michael Bay is on board to produce the film, which will be directed by Adam Mason. If you follow the Hulu / Blumhouse series Into the Dark, you might recall Mason's contributions to that show, I'M JUST F*CKING WITH YOU and THEY COME KNOCKING. Mason has written the screenplay for SONGBIRD with Simon Boyes; the pair previously collaborated on the films BROKEN, THE DEVIL'S CHAIR, BLOOD RIVER, LUSTER, JUNKIE, and NOT SAFE FOR WORK.
SONGBIRD is described as a "taut thriller" along the lines of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and CLOVERFIELD, and Deadline has been informed that it's set
two years in the future. The pandemic has not gone away. Lockdowns have been rolled back and then reinstated and it becomes even more serious as the virus continues to mutate. I don’t believe there are supernatural elements involved, but there is governmental conspiracy and paranoia and how it impacts the cast of characters who remain in lockdown.
The cast is currently being assembled, and actors are being provided with remote training. Deadline has heard that when the film is shot, "there will never be people in room together, and social distancing rules will be carefully followed. Scenes will be shot after crew has come in to prep the shots, and there won't be any scenes where actors engage face to face."
Bay is producing the low budget project with Adam Goodman and Eben Davidson of Invisible Narratives, in partnership with Jeanette Volturno, Jason Clark, Marcei Brown, Jessica Malanaphy, and Rick A. Osako of Catchlight Studios.
I'm very interested to find out how Hollywood will move forward after the COVID-19 shutdown, so I look forward to seeing how this production goes.