Warner Bros. has taken an industry-shaking decision recently collaborating with HBO Max. After that astounding plan of Warner Bros., Christopher Nolan spoke against that and shared his perspective, calling that a mess.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan said, “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.”
Last month, WB surprised everyone with its announcement; Wonder Woman is releasing in theaters and HBO Max on the same day (December 25). Before that settled down, it came up with another announcement; it will release all of its movies from the 2021 slate to HBO Max.
Not only Nolan, but many others are also upset with Warner Bros.’s recent announcement; that it would be releasing a total of 17 of their movies, including Dune, The Matrix 4, The Suicide Squad, Mortal Kombat, and more on streaming service HBO Max on the same day as theatres.
Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theatres 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.– Christopher Nolan on Warner Bros.
Christopher Nolan in a statement to ET:
“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.”
Also, he added, “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.”
What may happen?
It seems like Warner Bros. might be looking for some ‘legal challenges’ from their partners, where stars, filmmakers, and production companies are involved. Cause’ as Nolan said, it should not be WB’s sole decision. The profit participants usually share some percentage of box office revenue; that will highly impact if a movie is releasing on theatres and streaming service at the same time.
Warner Bros. gave significant bonuses to Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins to convince them for HBO Max release. But they haven’t done the same for the movies that are announced earlier this month. According to The Hollywood Report, “much of this outrage will surely be mitigated if WarnerMedia is prepared to write big checks to all the profit participants in the films that have been moved.”
There is also the matter of Legendary Pictures, the production house for two major Warner Bros.’ 2021 movies; Godzilla vs. Kong and Dune. The company fired its lawyer when Netflix placed a bid of around $225 for Godzilla vs. Kong’s rights. Warner Bros. blocked the deal, and it really wanted it for HBO Max. So many think Legendary Pictures will visit the court first. Also, Denis Villeneuve, director of Dune, is among the directors who felt strongly that their movie deserves a big-screen release. So what may happen to the WarnerBros.’ decision is yet unclear. Let’s wait to see if they go with their decision or may make some changes.
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