{"id":18311,"date":"2023-10-26T23:24:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T23:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/disaster-movie-kicks-off-film-festival-in-strike-hit-hollywood\/"},"modified":"2023-10-26T23:24:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T23:24:07","slug":"disaster-movie-kicks-off-film-festival-in-strike-hit-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/disaster-movie-kicks-off-film-festival-in-strike-hit-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"Disaster movie kicks off film festival in strike-hit Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cLeave the World Behind,\u201d an acclaimed novel about ordinary people struggling to cope as a slow and mysterious disaster shuts down the world, felt topical when it was published during the unfurling pandemic of 2020.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So the world premiere of its star-studded Netflix film adaptation at AFI Fest in Los Angeles this week, at a time when the world is wracked by conflict, and Hollywood itself is paralyzed by a lengthy actors\u2019 strike, carries an extra resonance, filmmakers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe notion that the world has ever been secure, or that the next day has ever been given, is sort of an illusion. And that\u2019s what the book is talking about,\u201d author Rumaan Alam told AFP on the red carpet Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was published into a moment where that seemed especially in stark relief because of Covid. But I would argue that that\u2019s probably how our grandparents felt about reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is always sort of a gamble. What is normal?\u201d<\/p>\n

The movie \u2014 starring Julia Roberts, and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama\u2019s company Higher Ground \u2014 will stream on Netflix from December 8.<\/p>\n

Its plot sees a wealthy white New York family hire a luxury vacation home in a remote pocket of Long Island.<\/p>\n

Their relaxation is shattered when a Black father and daughter claiming to be the house\u2019s owners arrive at the front door in the middle of the night, having fled a blackout in the city.<\/p>\n

With all phone, internet and television networks down, the terrifying nature of what is unfolding in the rest of the world creeps slowly in on the two families, who are forced to make an uneasy alliance despite their obvious prejudices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that really resonated with me about the book was this idea that, in a moment of crisis, how easily we can lose our common humanity,\u201d said director Sam Esmail.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe monster is the unknown, the not knowing. And that\u2019s the connection that I had at the time of the pandemic, where we were really in the dark,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the not knowing that was the part that scared us the most. But also, when it started to divide us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike most disaster movies, the apparent apocalypse unfolds mainly in the background, with the characters occupying the center of the story.<\/p>\n

Early reviews were mainly positive, with Deadline calling it a \u201cchilling disaster movie that hits close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stars including Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon were unable to walk the red carpet on Wednesday evening, with the actors\u2019 walkout having recently passed the 100-day mark.<\/p>\n

Talks between studios and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) over pay and other conditions are ongoing.<\/p>\n

AFI Fest continues until Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n