WARNER BROS/GETTY/ISTOCK
For anyone who followed the Christopher Nolan/Warner Bros/HBO Max drama last fall, it should come as no surprise that the iconic English director is now looking for a new movie studio to call home.
Nolan, who seemingly forced Warner Bros. to release Tenet back in August, threw a massive bitch fit when it was announced that the studio would be releasing all of their 2021 films on HBO Max. Ironically, it may have been the disappointing box office returns on Tenet that pushed Warner Bros. to make such a decision.
“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,” Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter back in December.
First and foremost: Nolan’s criticism objectively isn’t true, as HBO Max is by no means the worst streaming service. In fact, despite the issues it’s had in its first year, I’d argue it’s already approaching the Top Three (tough to beat having Godzilla vs. Kong available to watch on a Thursday morning).
Still, regardless of how laughable I may have found Nolan’s fury, he was obviously quite serious about his frustrations, as Netflix Head of Original Films Scott Stuber recently revealed he’s had discussions with the famed director about making the move to Netflix.
“I think there are aspects of global distribution in the cinema that are still appealing,” Stuber told The Wall Street Journal. “Chris Nolan and I have spoken quite a bit…and that’s still something he wants deeply. If we can’t provide that, it will still be an issue for him.”
“I think we have a model that works and we’ve done well with the theaters that have played us. As these things change, we’re all having these conversations to see where it all lands and what the landscape on the other side of all of this is.” [via The Wall Street Journal]
As Stuber points out, though, any potential deal with Nolan would be contingent on the streamer’s ability to distribute his films globally.
Christopher Nolan’s latest directorial effort, TENET, will be available to stream on HBO Max on May 14.
‘TENET’ Review: Christopher Nolan Finally Jumps The Shark In Arguably His Worst Movie Yet
Subscribe and listen to our pop culture podcast, the Post-Credit Podcast, and follow us on Twitter @PostCredPod
(Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Anchor)