''Lockdown'' is a 2022 global pandemic thriller film written and directed by Bizhan Tong. The film stars

Xander Berkeley Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor. Since beginning his career in the early 1980s, he has appeared in over 200 film and television projects. His film roles include '' Terminator 2: Judgment Da ...

and Kevin Leslie, with an international cast including Anita Chui, John Savage,

Alix Wilton Regan Alix Sophie Wilton Regan (born 26 January 1986) is an English actress known for her roles as Samantha Traynor in ''Mass Effect 3'' and Aya in ''Assassin's Creed Origins''. Early life Born in London, Wilton Regan attended L'Ile Aux Enfants prima ...

Pamela Nomvete Pamela Nomvete (born 1963) is an Ethiopian-born South African/British actress. Life Pamela Nomvete was born in Ethiopia to South African parents. She spent her childhood in many different countries, and attended boarding school in the United Kin ...

, and

Mike Leeder Mike Leeder (born 5 August 1968, in Croydon, England) is an English casting director, producer and actor based in Hong Kong. Leeder has been responsible for DVD and Blu-ray special features for many Hong Kong productions. He worked on such projects ...

in supporting roles. ''Lockdown'' tells the story of an actor who enters an audition and is forced by the casting director to pass a series of tests or else someone around him will die. Despite challenges posed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

the movie was written, financed, and filmed around the world including

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, the UK,

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

entirely during that period. In September 2021, ''Lockdown'' made history as the world's 1st hybrid NFT feature and Asia's 1st NFT feature film with 5 copies minted as NFTs in advance of a traditional release.

Plot

While the world continues to grapple with the

and much of the world is in lockdown, actor Larry Boyle enters an audition where casting director Joel forces him to pass a series of tests in order to keep those around him alive. As events escalate and more people around the world are trapped in Joel's web Larry must confront his past, overcome his present, and answer the most pressing question about this game - Why?

Production

Following a partnership between

Asia Television Asia Television Limited (, also known as ATV) is a digital media and broadcasting company in Hong Kong. Established as the first television service in Hong Kong as Rediffusion Television () on 29 May 1957, it shifted to terrestrial televisio ...

and Phoenix Waters Productions whereby Bizhan Tong would develop several Films, Series, and Variety shows for the

broadcaster as its

Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

was the first project placed under development. Principal photography commenced in September 2020, with Bizhan Tong directing a screenplay he had written in response to the passing of his mentor and the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

which took place in the weeks after. Filming wrapped in November and was announced in December 2020. The film is an international co-production with scenes shot around the world including the UK,

and

. It is also the launch of a new international franchise with plans for the sequel to expand to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

with Tong already in talks with a Korean star. In January 2021 amid a corporate restructuring, AMM Global Media was formed as part of the ATV Group in order to devote itself entirely to creative entertainment with international appeal, with all 19 of Tong's creative projects including Lockdown (2021) shifting there, and Tong's remit expanding to act as its

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

. An eclectic cast was hired for the production ranging from

Do the Right Thing ''Do the Right Thing'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jackson, a ...

actor John Savage and The Walking Dead actor Xander Berkeley to

AV Idol An or is a type of pornographic film actress in Japan. It is a sub-category of the idol culture in Japanese pop entertainment. AV idols work in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances ...

Meguri. On March 15, 2021 the trailer and poster for

was released to coincide with FILMART. The film was shot between September and November 2020. In order to minimize risk of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

infection, separate production teams were hired in the UK, Hong Kong, and Japan with the director being the only member of the production who would fly between sets. In other cases the actors were directed remotely.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 13160874 2022 films British thriller films Hong Kong thriller films Films about the COVID-19 pandemic Films set in 2020 Films set in London Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in London Films shot in Hong Kong