Christopher Nolan was asked by ET‘s John Boone about Warner Bros.’s recent decision to open all of its 2021 releases simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. Nolan, a longtime advocate of theatrical presentation, did not hold back in his strong disapproval:
“[My reaction was one of] disbelief. Especially the way in which they did. 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…[I mean] 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.”
It’s going to be interesting to watch this whole thing play out. The WB/HBO Max move was so overwhelmingly consumer-driven and anti-theatrical that it was a near-given Nolan would chime in with negative thoughts. “Dune” filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is also protesting. It’s quite clear that Hollywood big-name directors are afraid that streaming will overtake theater and their “art” will be diluted and lost in the ocean of streaming movies and shows. It’s a reasonable concern.
Between this merger and the stacked lineup of films Netflix will likely be giving us again, 2021 is shaping up to be an incredible year on the small screen for cinema, if you’re even willing to call it that anymore.