Michael Bay’s Pandemic-Themed Production Deemed Unsafe Because of Pandemic

Songbird, a Michael Bay-produced thriller set during the current coronavirus pandemic, has been given a “Do Not Work” notice from the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film’s cast includes Demi Moore, Craig Robinson, Paul Walter Hauser, and Peter Stormare, and was set to be directed by Adam Mason, who also wrote the screenplay with Simon Boyes. The British director’s previous work includes the 2007 horror film The Devil’s Chair.

Plot description for Songbird remains sketchy, but reports from mid-May compared it to Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield, and say it is set in a near-future that has struggled with two years of lockdowns and a virus that has mutated.

The SAG-AFTRA order states that “SAG-AFTRA members are hereby instructed to withhold any acting services or perform any covered work for this production until further notice from the union.”

A SAG-AFTRA representative told The Hollywood Reporter that “the producers have not been transparent about their safety protocols, and that is something we obviously take very seriously. Also, as noted in the Do Not Work order, the producers have not yet become signatory to our agreement. We have no further comment.”

Film and television productions have slowly restarted in Los Angeles (among them, The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless) but permits are being granted under great scrutiny from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.

Representatives from Songbird did not return a request for comment.

If Songbird was hoping to be the first, they are already too late. Corona, Coronavirus, and Corona Zombies are already in the can.