PhonY, the feature about the (ab-)use of cell phones, bears the unusual concept of being told in interweaving segments located in five countries.

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The segments playing in Switzerland, Thailand and Canada were already filmed in spring 2018.

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The segments in Los Angeles and Australia were scheduled for October 2018.  But on September 6, a mere month before the filming had to start in Hollywood, PhonY’s lead actor,  the five-time-world-star-number-one-screen-legend Burt Reynolds passed away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This incident has left PhonY  to only 60% filmed.   However, as this production is uniquely filmed in segments, the existing footage represents completed segments, the difficult all-exterior segments. 

The 40% remaining segments call for the well-known Hollywood names.  Being mostly interior, these are easier and less risk-bound to achieve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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With Golden Globe-winner Elke Sommer’s commitment to participate last December, pre-production went underway for the Los Angeles-segment (one of the two remaining segments, roughly 20%) to be filmed April 14 - 24, 2020 in Thailand’s Phuket (doubling for California).

 

Though, as the current Corona-crisis has imposed severe restrictions, the April-filming was postponed to May 18 - 28, or as a second option, to June 9 - 19.  These new arrangements prevent the production to lose substantial parts of its extensive preparations, along its commitments of cast and crew.

 

Now, the producers came up with a win-win situation within this momentary crisis:  Why not add the star-laden Australian-segment (the other remaining segment of 20%) to the already scheduled one?

Given once the lockdown is lifted, filming in Hollywood will be accompanied with severe health-restrictions (see the article in ‘Deadline’).  These are certainly exorbitant cost-factors.

 

Now, in contrast to the cumbersome set-up of ordinary film-productions, PhonY’s remaining segments are fairly limited in numbers of cast and crew.  And as these segments are mostly interior, they might be filmed basically anywhere - anywhere to accommodate the respective local law. And anywhere to accommodate A-listers and top crew. 

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Thus with the existing schedule of the Los Angeles-segment, the Australian-segment might be added fairly easy.  Be it in Phuket – or anywhere else. 

 

Then after a relative short post-production, the film is ready to premiere autumn 2020/winter 2021 - be it the classic way at a festival and cinemas, or through streaming services. 

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Seizing this extraordinary opportunity is the dictate of the current situation!