Michael Bay is leading the charge in getting Hollywood back to work, planning on moving ahead with the filming of Songbird in about a month. California has been under strict stay-at-home orders since the coronavirus pandemic exploded in March, restricting filming in the state, the epicenter of the entertainment industry in the United States. There hasn't been a a return to filming in Los Angeles yet, so Bay may be the first in those uncharted territories.

There has been slow movement towards getting production started back up around the country on movie and television projects, with Tyler Perry restarting a couple series soon in his personal studios in Georgia. With social distancing practices still destined to be in place even when quarantine lockdowns end, the way films are shot is likely going to change significantly from what it was like just a few months ago. Greg Nicotero, producer on The Walking Dead, has already expressed the kind of alterations he expects to see going forward.

Under these unprecedented conditions, Bay is stepping into the void. According to Deadline, Bay is co-producing Songbird with Invisible Narratives. The film will be a thriller set during the pandemic, reportedly featuring storylines of paranoia and conspiracy. It will be directed by Adam Mason, who helmed two episodes of Into the Dark in 2019. Mason co-wrote the script with Simon Boyes.


Just as interesting as the team behind Songbird is the process reportedly going into filming the movie in Los Angeles. Casting is ongoing for the low-budget film, which will be shot without multiple people being in the same room at any given time. Instead, crews will prepare shots ahead of time, then vacate the area to allow the actors to enter and film the scene. There also won't be any scenes where actors have to engage with one another face-to-face. This will resonate with many in the age of social distancing, but may create a more disjointed project overall.

Everything about this film appears to fly in the face of the persona Michael Bay has created with his films. He's mostly known for big-budget action films, packed with stunts and explosions costing boatloads of money. Making a film like that is going to be infinitely harder with all of the local restrictions put into place around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic. The progress of Songbird will be worth monitoring in the coming weeks as it attempts to bring filmmaking back to Los Angeles.