Film News Roundup: ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘John Wick’ and More Set for Free YouTube Showings

In today’s film news roundup, Lionsgate offers four of its biggest films free on YouTube, Bruce Lee gets a Criterion Collection release and the stagecraft union IATSE devises a method for bringing utilities to hospitals.

FREE STREAMING 

Lionsgate has announced that it will stream “The Hunger Games,” “La La Land,” “John Wick” and “Dirty Dancing” for free on YouTube on the next four Friday nights.

“Lionsgate Live! A Night at the Movies” will start with a showing of “The Hunger Games” at 6 p.m. ET on Friday. The initiative is aimed at honoring the communal experience of watching films in movie theaters and supporting the people who make those places great. “Lionsgate Live! A Night at the Movies” will be hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis, who will share her own movie memories as she is joined by celebrities and YouTube personalities.

Lionsgate will make an initial donation to the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping workers impacted by coronavirus in the motion picture industry. Viewers are encouraged to make donations to the foundation, too.

“Dirty Dancing” will screen on April 24, followed by “La La Land” on May 1 and “John Wick” on May 8. The “John Wick” screenings will require age registration. Lionsgate said the program has the support of Fandango, National Association of Theatre Owners, AMC Theatres, Regal and Cinemark Theatres.

BRUCE LEE COLLECTION

The Criterion Collection has announced “Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits” as a seven-disc collector’s set of five of Lee’s kung-fu movies, available on Blu-ray beginning July 14.

The lineup features 4K digital restorations of “The Big Boss,” “Fist of Fury,” “Game of Death” and “The Way of the Dragon.” The package also includes a new 2K digital restoration of the rarely seen, 99-minute 1973 theatrical version of “Enter the Dragon,” and a 102-minute special edition.

“Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits” includes interviews with his closest collaborators and admirers, and documentaries about Lee’s life and philosophies. It has Q&As with Lee biographer Matthew Polly, author of 2018’s “Bruce Lee: A Life;” a new presentation of “Game of Death,” which features the final footage Lee shot before his death; six new audio commentaries from expert Brandon Bentley; and a new interview with author Grady Hendrix about the “Bruceploitation” sub-genre that followed Lee’s death.

IATSE DESIGN

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees has announced its stagecraft technicians have created a design to bring utilities — including lighting, individual power drops and oxygen lines — to beds in temporary hospitals being constructed in live-event venues.

The stagecraft union made the announcement Monday. The design was implemented recently at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia by technicians who have been through the union’s Entertainment Technician Certification Program.

“The design provided by the ETCP Certified IATSE technicians allows for the current Army Core of Engineers field design to be modified using entertainment technology to include the life sustaining utilities,” said Michael Barnes, IATSE international vice-president and president of the Philadelphia Stage Local 8.

“No one is better prepared to solve a dilemma creatively than an entertainment industry professional,” Barnes added. “ETCP Certified technicians are very well-versed in setting up large volumes of equipment for touring shows in under 12 hours. If we can spread the word that this is a possibility, our hope is that technicians in other communities will have the same opportunity.”