Filmmaker Christopher Nolan has a new movie coming to theaters this summer with his take on Homer‘s mythic Greek fantasy tale “The Odyssey,” but he wears many hats as he’s also the president of the Directors Guild of America, elected back in September.
In the wake of the shocking revelation that Netflix is buying Warner Bros. Discovery (Paramount Skydance‘s desperate hostile bid being mostly ignored by the board/shareholders), putting a lot of worry into the future of the legacy studio, winding down its theatrical footprint, but CEO Ted Sarandos has claimed he is pushing to keep a 45-day window for features, in an attempt to quell growing concerns of the streaming service takeover. Nolan has commented from DGA headquarters (via Variety) about that public promise, but doesn’t sound like he’s entirely sold on those intentions.
“There are encouraging noises, but that’s not the same as commitments. The theatrical window becomes an easily graspable symbol of whether Warner Bros. will be run as a theatrical distributor or whether it be folded in as a streamer. But the reality is, the issues on the television side and the streaming side are far more important to [the Directors Guild of America],” Nolan said of the situation of Netflix acquiring WBD and their talk of keeping a 45-day theatrical window, as reiterated by Sarandos.
Nolan, you may remember, exited Warner Bros. Pictures after their mishandling of the release of “Tenet” during the COVID-19 pandemic, and led him to audition off “Oppenheimer” to other studios willing to give him a proper theatrical release. The R-rated atomic bomb drama would end up staying in theaters for multiple months (because it was attacting a large swath of moviegoers), and despite being released head-to-head with “Barbie,” it was able to earn an impressive $975.8 million (as the phenomenon Barbenheimer got audiences out in droves to see both films opening weekend) and become a Best Picture winner at the Oscars.
We’ll see if Sarandos is a man of his word and if they’ll ultimately make a real commitment rather than public statements meant to ease concerns of the acquisition. Considering that once the ink dries on the deal, Netflix and Sarandros could easily have a change of heart and turn WB into a streaming service pipeline (a genuine issue that could arise), and Christopher Nolan’s skepticism isn’t coming out of nowhere.
“The Odyssey” is heading to the big screen on July 17, thanks to Universal Pictures, which boasts a large cast that features Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Corey Hawkins, Ryan Hurst, Lupita Nyong’o, Logan Marshall-Green, Will Yun Lee, Samantha Morton, and the newly revealed Travis Scott.
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