You can addArrivalandDunefilmmakerDenis Villeneuveto the list of filmmakers incensed by Warner Bros.’ decision to release its entire 2021 slate in theaters and on HBO Maxat the same time. Soon after Warner Bros. made the announcement – without giving a heads up toanyof its filmmakers or theatrical partners, mind you –Christopher Nolanblasted his home studio and decried HBO Max as“the worst streaming service.”Villeneuve doesn’t gothatfar in his statement, but does make it clear that this decision to releaseDunein theaters and on HBO Max at the same time will negatively harm the film’s impact and franchise potential.
Writing inVariety, theSicariofilmmaker rightly takes aim at WarnerMedia’s parent company AT&T, who shoulders much of the blame for this pivot to HBO Max:
“With this decision AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history. There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here. It is all about the survival of a telecom mammoth, one that is currently bearing an astronomical debt of more than $150 billion. Therefore, even though Dune is about cinema and audiences, AT&T is about its own survival on Wall Street. With HBO Max’s launch a failure thus far, AT&T decided to sacrifice Warner Bros.’ entire 2021 slate in a desperate attempt to grab the audience’s attention.”
But Villeneuve doesn’t let WB go unscathed, echoing Nolan’s sentiments and essentially saying if this is how Warner Bros. does business, he’s not sure he wants to work with the studio anymore:
“Warner Bros.’ sudden reversal from being a legacy home for filmmakers to the new era of complete disregard draws a clear line for me. Filmmaking is a collaboration, reliant on the mutual trust of team work and Warner Bros. has declared they are no longer on the same team.”
Villeneuve acknowledges that streaming services are not inherently bad, going so far as to call them “a positive and powerful addition to the movie and TV ecosystems,” but he rightly notes that streaming alone “can’t sustain the film industry as we knew it before COVID.” The director also makes a great point in saying that the hampered box office potential of puttingDuneon a streaming service at the same time it’s in theaters makes it harder to quantify its success, and thus may kneecap Villeneuve’s grand franchise plans:
“Streaming can produce great content, but not movies of Dune’s scope and scale. Warner Bros.’ decision means Dune won’t have the chance to perform financially in order to be viable and piracy will ultimately triumph. Warner Bros. might just have killed the Dune franchise. ‘This one is for the fans.’ AT&T’s John Stankey said that the streaming horse left the barn. In truth, the horse left the barn for the slaughterhouse.”
Indeed, part of Villeneuve’s initial agreement with Warner Bros. to adaptFrank Herbert’sDunewas thathe’d get two films to tell his story. So theDunethat’s set to be released next October starringTimothee ChalametandRebecca Fergusonis only half the story, and he intended to get moving on the sequel after the release of this first film. Moreover, he was even overseeing an HBO Max limited series spinoff ofDunecalledDune: The Sisterhoodthat would serve as a prequel of sorts to the film – so it’s not as if Villeneuve was ignoring Warner Bros.’ streaming service altogether.
“Public safety comes first,” Villeneuve argues in his piece, noting that when it became apparent that a new wave of COVID-19 would hit this winter, he supported the decision to delayDuneby nearly a year – a contrast to Nolan’s position to getTenetin theaters this summer. Which is why Villeneuve is so frustrated. He was under the understanding that this delay was to preserve the theatrical exhibition of what he calls the best film he’s made so far:
“Dune is by far the best movie I’ve ever made. My team and I devoted more than three years of our lives to make it a unique big screen experience. Our movie’s image and sound were meticulously designed to be seen in theaters. I’m speaking on my own behalf, though I stand in solidarity with the sixteen other filmmakers who now face the same fate. Please know I am with you and that together we are strong. The artists are the ones who create movies and series.”
Villeneuve closes his statement by speaking directly to AT&T, calling on them to “act swiftly” to protect “this vital cultural medium,” adding that “economic impact to stakeholders is only one aspect of corporate social responsibility. Finding way so to enhance culture is another.”
I expect Villeneuve won’t be the last filmmaker to speak out so strongly against AT&T and this decision, and it’s clear filmmakers like himself and Nolan are taking a stand and sending a message – if this is how Warner Bros. wants to do business, then maybe they don’t need to make movies with them anymore.
And this stands in stark contrast to Disney’s investor day presentation, during which they announced a slew of original content for Disney+, but maintained their biggest films – anewStar Warsmovie,Marvel sequels, and twonew Pixar movies– would be released exclusively in theaters.
