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posted by martyb on Tuesday December 08 2020, @10:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the movie-madness dept.

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


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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 10 2020, @03:13PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday December 10 2020, @03:13PM (#1085929) Journal

    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).

    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...)

    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.
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