Christopher Nolan, with actor John David Washington on the set of 'Tenet' Photo: Cordon
Christopher Nolan is hurt.
At the end of the first wave he fought for his latest film,
Tenet
, to be released in theaters.
And in the end, he succeeded, pushing the Warner Bros. studio to be the
major
that released the most films in theaters, just opened and in need of product.
But the announcement Thursday that Warner will premiere its 17 major
blockbusters
in theaters and
streaming
at the same time.
on his platform HBO Max (currently available only in the US) has caused creators such as Nolan or Denis Villeneuve to revolt against this movement: the filmmaker has accused Warner of not respecting the will of filmmakers, producers and other creatives when making that decision , which the study qualifies as temporary and justifies the pandemic.
Warner opens the door to a paradigm shift in film screening
HBO Max, the platform that combines prestigious series and superhero stories
“What is in our business now is a great use of the pandemic as an excuse for short-term benefits.
And it's really unfortunate, "declared Nolan in an interview in the
Entertainment Tonight
publication
.
Nolan explained that the film studio, with which he has worked in recent years, made the decision unilaterally and without counting on the teams involved in the creation of the films.
"There is so much controversy around that because they didn't tell anyone," he says.
"Some of our industry's top filmmakers and movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the best movie studio and woke up to find they were working for the worst
streaming
service,
" he added. Nolan in a later statement to
The Hollywood Reporter.
The strategy, after countless delays and release delays, has rocked theaters and affects big-budget projects like the new
Dune
, the fourth installment of the
Matrix
,
Godzilla vs. Kong
and
The Suicide Squad.
“It's very, very, very, very chaotic.
It's about how you treat the filmmakers, the stars, and the people who have given so much for these projects.
They deserved to be consulted and told about what was going to happen with their work, "he added.
There
is a disparity of opinions about
Tenet
about his commercial career.
In the US, where almost all theaters were closed, it only raised $ 57.4 million;
on the other hand, in the rest of the world it exceeded 300 million.
Warner has decided to change its strategy, and in that movement it has dragged other production companies, such as Legendary Entertainment, which financed the filming of
Dune
and is studying filing a lawsuit against the studios because they did not participate in the decision.
According to
Variety
,
Dune
director
Denis Villeneuve - another industry heavyweight - is also "disappointed" with the Hollywood studios' strategy and prefers a traditional release.
Legendary is behind
Dune
(with a budget of 175 million dollars, and
Godzilla against Kong
(160 million), and according to this latest publication, it would be negotiating a more generous agreement with Warner for the changes in the distribution than if it does not reach good term could materialize in a lawsuit this week.