Christopher Nolan Rips HBO Max as "Worst Streaming Service," Denounces Warner Bros.' Plan
To many insiders, WarnerMedia's blindsiding of talent and their reps with news that it would send 17 films directly to HBO Max in 2021 felt like an insult.
For many in the movie business — producers, directors, stars and their representatives — Dec. 3, 2020, is a day that will live in infamy.
"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," filmmaker Christopher Nolan, whose relationship with Warners dates back to Insomnia in 2002, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
[...] According to a source, [Warner Bros. film studio chairman Toby] Emmerich tried to soothe In the Heights director Jon M. Chu by pointing out that the movie was still getting a "global theatrical release." But industry insiders say the studio is pretending that pirates won't pounce as soon as these films are streaming on HBO Max. As soon as one does, there's an "excellent version of the movie everywhere immediately," notes one industry veteran.
[...] Many think Legendary [Entertainment] will be the first to file a legal challenge. The company fired off a previous lawyer letter after Netflix offered something north of $225 million for the rights to Godzilla vs. Kong, which has seen its release date moved from March 2020 to November to May 2021. Though Legendary financed 75 percent of the movie, Warners had the power to block the sale and did. Legendary asked whether the studio would then give it a deal to stream the movie on HBO Max — and got no clear answer until its executives woke up one December morning to find that the movie was going day-and-date on the service without the benefit of a negotiation. Legendary's even more expensive picture, Dune, is getting the same treatment. The other companies that finance Warners movies, Village Roadshow and Bron, are also said to be aggrieved parties that might end up going to court.
Related: AT&T Exempts HBO Max From Data Caps but Still Limits Your Netflix Use
"Gone With the Wind" -- Gone from HBO Max
Related Stories
AT&T exempts HBO Max from data caps but still limits your Netflix use;:
AT&T's new HBO Max streaming service is exempt from the carrier's mobile data caps, even though competing services such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ count against the monthly data limits. This news was reported today in an article by The Verge, which said that AT&T "confirmed to The Verge that HBO Max will be excused from the company's traditional data caps and the soft data caps on unlimited plans."
The traditional data caps limit customers to a certain amount of data each month before they have to pay overage fees or face extreme slowdowns for the rest of the month. "Soft data caps on unlimited plans" apparently is a reference to the 22GB or 50GB thresholds, after which unlimited-data users may be prioritized below other users when connecting to a congested cell tower.
"According to an AT&T executive familiar with the matter, HBO Max is using AT&T's 'sponsored data' system, which technically allows any company to pay to excuse its services from data caps," The Verge wrote. "But since AT&T owns HBO Max, it's just paying itself: the data fee shows up on the HBO Max books as an expense and on the AT&T Mobility books as revenue. For AT&T as a whole, it zeroes out. Compare that to a competitor like Netflix, which could theoretically pay AT&T for sponsored data, but it would be a pure cost."
HBO Max Temporarily Removes ‘Gone With the Wind’ From Library
An HBO Max spokesperson says “Gone With the Wind” will eventually return to the platform with a discussion about its historical context and a denouncement of its racist depictions.
On Tuesday, HBO Max removed the 1939 film from its library in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd.
[...] Upon its release, “Gone With the Wind” broke theater attendance records and was the highest-grossing film of all time to that point. It still holds the record when adjusted for inflation. However, despite being considered one of the greatest films of all time, some film commentators have since criticized its depiction of slavery and Black people.
(Score: 3, Informative) by legont on Tuesday December 08 2020, @10:51PM
and the system dies horrible death for good.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday December 08 2020, @11:11PM (9 children)
Theaters have been hemorrhaging for a long time. Coronavirus only added an exclamation mark to the death of that model.
Theaters added cushy recliners to get audiences to come in. But audiences have recliners at home, can hit pause on what they're watching to go to the bathroom or get more popcorn, and don't have to pay through the nose for any of it.
Netflix has been using its deep pockets to lure away industry talent while it trains audiences they can get what they want, where they want, when they want. WarnerMedia is simply acknowledging that reality.
It's even worse than that for Hollywood, though, because the young'uns have little interest in scripted content anyway. They'd rather watch YouTube clips or other quick cuts on social media. Which means that Hollywood is chasing a shrinking, older demographic. If Hollywood doesn't change, in ten years it won't be around anymore.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday December 08 2020, @11:27PM (2 children)
That's great! Especially the luring talent part. I don't mind Hollywood exists if talent has other and better ways.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday December 08 2020, @11:44PM (1 child)
We could make an argument that Hollyweird prevents new talent from making new stuff. We're somewhere around the 87 sequel of Star Trek and the 61 sequel of Star Wars, aren't we? It's past time for something original.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 08 2020, @11:53PM
Battlefield Earth II it is then.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Wednesday December 09 2020, @01:38AM (3 children)
It's even worse than that for Hollywood, though, because the young'uns have little interest in scripted content anyway. They'd rather watch YouTube clips or other quick cuts on social media. Which means that Hollywood is chasing a shrinking, older demographic.
While I agree with the rest of your post, I'm not so sure about this part. From what I've seen and read, the young people (namely teenagers, as well as younger kids) are the ones who were mostly keeping the theaters alive before Covid. Basically, for teens, it was a way of getting out of the house and hanging around their friends. It also made movie-going (esp. on weekends) a miserable experience for non-teenagers. Sure, teens have been watching a lot of YouTube too, but it's not one or the other.
The older demographic is the one that can afford nice big TVs and living rooms, and who don't want to hang around a theater eating nasty concessions and listening to noisy teenagers. Also, notice how all the movies are superhero movies now: older people don't want to watch Marvel Avengers #24. Of course, there's also the crowd that goes to art-house theaters, but that's a small minority of theaters and theater-goers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @04:33AM
I *LOVE* going to the theaters (genx) even if it is some random explosion fest. But the thing is the price is nuts and why I stopped going except once a year. At this point if I want to go see a movie it is about 50 bucks for 2 people. Now I make decent money but that is *way* out of line for the benefit. If I wait 1 year I can see the same movie for about 5-10 bucks. My 'tv/stereo' is OK but nothing compared to most theaters. I could do better but you are splashing out some decent cash (2-4k) for a good system. Making my own popcorn is easy. Just buy the same ingredients they have at the theater and use a stir pop. I have a 1 gallon jug of 'butter oil' that is wildly more than I will ever use. Popcorn is dead cheap. For the cost of 1 theater exp (which I do like) I can have almost a lifetime supply of it. Then on the other side the studios have royally screwed the theaters and keep like 90% of the profit of ticket sales. So yeah theaters are going to have a tough time of it. I went this route not because I hate theaters. But they just charge too much. They charge too much because the studios screwed them. The studios screwed themselves with things like 'star wars never made a dime' and taking all the profit for a select few.
This is basically the studios trying to squeeze out whatever was left of the middlemen.
Butts in seats makes money. Has for a long time. When covid is done it will again. You just cant make 200+ million dollar movies and make it up in streaming. The streaming people expect a catalog of movies for 10-20 a month. The model just does not work there unless you plan to up the price. You can make tons of 'indie' movies but those are extremely hit or miss (mostly miss).
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday December 09 2020, @01:31PM
Before my time, it was discos, roller rinks, drive-in movie theaters, and supermarket parking lots. For us it was as you said. I'm not sure younger generations will congregate in meatspace, given the social media platforms we built for them and the coronavirus the Chinese built for us.
If they do congregate in person, perhaps they'll rediscover the great outdoors and the joy of holding keggers in the woods.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Wednesday December 09 2020, @04:04PM
No they're not, and speak for yourself: some of us do.
Answer now is don't give in; aim for a new tomorrow.
(Score: 2) by theluggage on Wednesday December 09 2020, @01:16PM (1 child)
Yeah, Covid and overpriced popcorn are not the only problems here. Hmm. Look at the films involved. Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, Wonder Woman 1984, James Bond 007 #700... all 60-year-old source material that has already been adapted multiple times. Will we finally reach the point where not taking any risks is getting too risky?
Dune - if they had to have a third go - would have worked far better as a Game-of-Thrones-scale TV series anyway, the rest... Hey, Hollywood folks, anybody old enough to see a 12 or higher rated movie has already seen impressive CGI effects that are marginally better than the impressive CGI effects from 10 years back... and we've had post-Watchmen deconstructions of the superhero myth for so long that we've forgotten what it was that they were deconstructing.
On the other hand, it was about time that they made a sequel to The Matrix... /s
Meanwhile, at the moment, I don't know what would possess people to go and sit in a big dark, warm, room with scores of other human germ-bags for three hours - as opposed to going somewhere where the risk was balanced by e.g. decent food & drink and the ability to actually socialise (or, for gen Z, enough ambient light to take selfies and wave at the person you've just Instagrammed...)
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 10 2020, @03:13PM
Wonder Woman was one of my favorite super hero movies of the last ten years, because it was about a super hero in the truest sense of the word, not a super anti-hero. I don't know if they can sustain that energy and verve with Hollywood sinking into a dark narcissistic abyss, but I'd be willing to give them another shot there.
Dune...the book and series are one of the true greats in science fiction. It deserves a good film adaptation. Remember, it took several tries with Lord of the Rings before Peter Jackson succeeded (not perfect, but good).
The basic reason remains the same: people want to meet others and have sex with them. Going to the movies has been an ice breaker because it gives you an instant shared experience to talk about with your date afterward.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @01:11AM
The parallels between this and what took place with Music over the last 20 years, are striking. Their business model is changing in fundamental ways. Streaming is the future. They are fighting it tooth and nail. Just like the Music industry did. And they will fail, and then adapt. Just like the music industry did.
The really painful part is that they have serious levels of money invested in the traditional way of distributing movies. And that money is locked to the old model. New movies and content can adapt to the new system and be profitable. But the current moves in the pipeline have financial models and funding based on the old model. Those involved are going to take a beating financially.
I love how they brought pirates into the discussion. Even though the impact from pirates has been proven time and again to be zero, or even positive overall. But, as they cling to the old model, they keep using the same arguments they always have. Proving they are dinosaurs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @02:34AM (5 children)
from showing films parallel to streaming (besides Democrat governors)? I'm sure I'm not the only one who cut the cord, but would be willing to see a movie on the big screen (better than any TV I can buy). Of course they would have to show something sufficiently interesting. I really haven't watched many new films in the last 10 years, but the last two were Chinese (the Wandering Earth, and one about a military acting troupe).
Or from showing classic movies from the past. The local brewpub-theater did this successfully, until the governor killed his business.
(Score: 2) by ledow on Wednesday December 09 2020, @10:44AM (1 child)
Buy a projector.
Even a 95" screen in a decent size room is stupidly cheap and good.
And you can go to ludicrous sizes.
I stopped going to the cinema years ago and just grabbed a few old projectors that were headed for the bin, and an old (cine-era!) pull-down screen. Hell, I bought a popcorn maker.
People literally come round my house to watch movies.
Cinema is dead in the face of that kind of thing being available for sale in any electronics store, and with things like COVID.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday December 09 2020, @12:33PM
For the splurge, an ultra short throw 4K HDR laser projector could be the ultimate theater killer.
https://www.projectorcentral.com/best-ultra-short-throw-projectors.htm [projectorcentral.com]
https://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-CinemaX_P2.htm [projectorcentral.com]
These used to be like $15,000 not so long ago, now they seem to have dropped to around $3,000.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Touché) by meustrus on Wednesday December 09 2020, @03:20PM (1 child)
"besides Democrat governors"? You act like it's only the politicians that take COVID seriously. 81 million Americans voted to elect Joe Biden president, and I'll bet hardly any of them are going to the movie theater even in states with Republican governors. Which by the way have started enforcing social distancing in their states now that the election is over and there's no more political advantage to be gained by pretending their constituents aren't dying by the thousands.
There is definitely one side of politics where the politicians get to dictate what the followers believe, but it isn't Democrats.
(on topic: you answered your own question with "Of course they would have to show something sufficiently interesting" ≖◡≖)
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @05:36PM
How many of those 81 million supposed Americans have only ever lived in a suitcase under a table?
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Wednesday December 09 2020, @04:33PM
I watched it, as it looked interesting... it was quite a spectacle but it got past my suspension of disbelief unfortunately.
Answer now is don't give in; aim for a new tomorrow.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by meustrus on Wednesday December 09 2020, @04:12PM
Yeah, that'll happen when your prestige is built on a nostalgia-fueled illusion. Shine a light on the Hollywood business model and this is what you will see: a system for churning out shit even Netflix wouldn't pay for. I'd say it's time those "biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars" finally face the light.
And the author here is pretending that pirates don't already have access to an "excellent version of the movie" on day 1. In reality, HBO Max offers an "excellent version of the movie everywhere immediately", anybody who isn't already a pirate and has $10 to spare is just going to pay for the service.
I would go on, but I don't need to, because now evidently there are more people at Warner who actually understand piracy than people that just fundamentally don't. For the sake of the business, the people who made this decision most likely have more direct knowledge and experience here than "one industry veteran".
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?