Last week, Warner Bros. made a shocking announcement that it is moving its entire 2021 release slate to a simultaneous HBO Max and theatrical release model starting with this year’s DC title, Wonder Woman 1984. However, one director – who has had a long-running partnership with Warner Bros. – has heavily criticised their decision.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, director Christopher Nolan, whose partnership with Warner Bros. dates back to 2002 with Insomnia, stated that he was in disbelief at the news, especially in the way they announced it without telling the filmmakers.
“There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone. In 2021, they’ve got some of the top filmmakers in the world, they’ve got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences. They’re meant to be out there for the widest possible audiences… And now they’re being used as a loss-leader for the streaming service — for the fledgling streaming service — without any consultation. So, there’s a lot of controversy. It’s very, very, very, very messy. A real bait and switch. Yeah, it’s sort of not how you treat filmmakers and stars and people who, these guys have given a lot for these projects. They deserved to be consulted and spoken to about what was going to happen to their work.”
After not holding back his thoughts on Warner Bros. decision as well as sharing his blunt thoughts on HBO Max by calling it a “fledgling streaming service”, Nolan continued to explain the shortsightedness of the company’s decision, especially given the long-term solving of the ongoing global health crisis.
“Long-term, I think all of the studios know that the movie theater experience will bounce back and be a very important part of the ecosystem long-term. What you have right now in our business is a lot of the use of the pandemic as an excuse for sort of grappling for short-term advantage. And it’s really unfortunate. It’s not the way to do business and it’s not the best thing for the health of our industry. But when the theaters are back and people are going back to the movies, when the vaccine has been rolled out and there’s an appropriate health response from the federal government, I’m very bullish on the long-term prospects of the industry. People love going to the movies and they’re going to get to go again.”
Nolan then spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, stepping up his criticism of HBO Max by calling it “the worst streaming service”:
“Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service. Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak. They don’t even understand what they’re losing. Their decision makes no economic sense and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction.”
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