Don Arnold/WireImage (NEW YORK) –Russell Crowe’s Unhinged hits today — the first wide release in the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and director Derrick Borte calls it an “adrenaline fueled thrill ride” he’s hoping will offer an escape from the everyday worries we’re all facing right now.

Borte tells ABC Audio his wish for the film is to bring people “back to the theater where we have such a long history of this communal type experience of sharing…what’s on this giant screen together and bringing people together in some way that is a huge part of all of our lives.”

As the first movie to open in the U.S. since the pandemic brought production to a halt in March, Borte is not as concerned about whether Unhinged will bring people into theaters, as he is about the theaters themselves being a safe place for them to gather.

“It brings with it a lot of pressure,” he explains, but really more about, you know, pressure to make sure that the people in charge are doing the right thing to make it a safe environment for people.

“Thankfully I’ve gotten to really see some of the things that they’re doing, from touchless entry and distancing and the lobbies and checkerboards seeding and spraying the theaters down with these disinfectants that they’re using elsewhere on planes and whatnot between screenings and wearing masks and in a theater,” he continues.  “So, I mean, my comfort level is I’m gonna be at the theater Friday night.” 

By George Costantino
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