Christopher Nolan has blasted Warner Bros. for the studio’s decision to release all of its 2021 movies on HBO Max, as well as in cinemas.
The Tenet filmmaker – whose movie was the last major blockbuster to launch on the big screen earlier this year (2020) before the coronavirus pandemic – has worked with the company a lot in the past, but he was left stunned by their recent announcement.
“There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone. It’s very, very, very, very messy,” he told Entertainment Tonight.
“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.”
On December 3, 2020, Warner confirmed its divisive plans to simultaneously release all 17 of its 2021 titles – which include highly anticipated projects such as Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, The Matrix 4 starring Keanu Reeves, and The Suicide Squad sequel – on streaming platform HBO Max, as well as a theatrical release.
Nolan – whose award-winning work for the studio has seen him direct the likes of Dunkirk, Inception, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight trilogy – suggested the move from parent company WarnerMedia was unfair on the artists involved.
“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,” he explained.
“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.”
