As is always expected when a worldwide news story captures headlines for an extended period of time, COVID-19 has already inspired a number of new film and TV projects, including the upcoming feature, “Songbird,” produced by Michael Bay. The film, which was conceived, written, and filmed during the past 8 months, stars KJ Apa and there’s already a first look at the thriller set in a seemingly dystopian future that mirrors our current reality.
“Songbird” tells the story of a not-so-distant future (2024, to be exact), where a new version of COVID has infected the world and mutated into a virus that kills 50% of those infected and spreads rapidly. Now, the world is in the middle of a 4-year quarantine with no end in sight. While in quarantine, two young people connect and desperately want to be together in person, even if the world is falling apart. And according to an interview with EW, filmmaker Adam Mason explained that as he was writing the film during our real-life lockdown, things he was conceiving were coming true.
“Adam [Goodman] would say to me, ‘You can’t have a curfew, that’s too dystopian — no one will believe it,’” Mason said. “Literally the next day there were helicopters flying over my house with loudspeakers saying, ‘Everyone in their homes. Curfew’s starting.’”
Of course, the film isn’t just about the virus killing scores of people. There’s a human element too, with the love story between Apa’s character and his love, played by Sofia Carson. Mason believes this story is the real heart of the “Songbird.”
“It’s a dystopian, scary world, but it’s a romantic movie about two people who want to be together, but they can’t,” said the filmmaker. “It’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ but they’re separated by her front door and by the virus.”
In addition to Apa and Carson, the film also stars Demi Moore, Bradley Whitford, Paul Walter Hauser, Craig Robinson, Peter Stormare, and Alexandra Daddario.
The film was obviously written and filmed during the current pandemic, with production lasting only 17 days with a limited crew of about 40 people on set at once, with frequent testing. However, in a recent report, an unnamed crew member said that protocols were pretty loose on set as the filmmakers, cast, and crew rushed to get the project completed. So, it’s unclear just how frantic and chaotic the set was for the film. But it finished, and as far as we know, there weren’t any infections.
STXFilms has yet to release a date for when we might see “Songbird” arrive in theaters. Obviously, with the timely nature of the plot, you would assume that the film will be on its way fairly soon.
You can see the first look photos below:
