Not everyone is happy with Warner Brothers announcement about how next year in 2021 they will be releasing their movies in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming simultaneously. Since the start of the pandemic and quarantine, movie theaters around the world have been closed or limiting the amount of customers that can enter the theaters.
According to Hollywood Reporter, director and longtime advocate for the moviegoing experience in theaters, Christopher Nolan has expressed major concern about Warner Brothers’ plan. Nolan has had long history of working with the studio and many of Nolan’s films were made with Warner Brothers including his Dark Knight trilogy and his most recent movie Tenet. Cinemablend also reported that many other directors including James Gunn are unhappy with the studio’s decision.
Among their reasons for disliking Warner Brothers’ plan is the belief that HBO Max is a poor streaming service to use for the release of these very high profile movies. Nolan said on the matter that it comes as a betrayal because directors and actors “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.”
He went on to describe the impact this decision would have on the wider industry, saying “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.”
However the Wrap reported that there is some backlash against Nolan’s statements. A lot of people are pointing out that going to a movie theater even in 2021 could be very dangerous. Some people believe that the directors are more concerned about the viewing experience of movies than the dangers of the virus.
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