Christopher Nolan’s fight to keep “Tenet” released in July is well-documented. This is a discussion that has lasted months, as the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, Nolan has been steadfast in his goal to give people a reason to come back to the cinemas and support the theatrical experience. Hell, Warner Bros. is releasing “Inception” two weeks before just to get people back into theaters. Clearly, this is a filmmaker with a deep love of cinema and watching films the way they were intended, on a massive screen with the best sound system possible. And with that in mind, let’s talk about Fortnite and the latest way you can watch some of Nolan’s most popular films—in a video game. Huh?
That’s right, the most popular video game on the planet, Fortnite, has announced that its relationship with Christopher Nolan films is still going strong and will continue with special screenings of “Batman Begins,” “Inception,” and “The Prestige” inside the game’s virtual world. To say this is a strange idea is an understatement, especially when you consider that the only filmmaker agreeing to this right now is the one man who is leading the anti-streaming and pro-theatrical experience campaign.
Sure, these films will appear on a big screen. It’s just that the big screen will be housed in a fake world that will be viewed on laptops, desktops, TVs, tablets, and phones. And the film-goers will be dressed in ridiculous outfits holding pickaxes and guns while they enjoy the auteur’s work. Is this how Nolan intended for his work to be watched?
Of course, this is all part of the publicity for “Tenet,” which did debut its most recent trailer inside Fortnite. But that was a trailer, and these are full films. There’s a big difference. Clearly, for Fortnite, this is a way to attract people to sit inside the game for an extended period of time, running and jumping like maniacs as they watch Christian Bale do his Bat-voice or Leonardo DiCaprio infiltrate dreams.
For Warner Bros, this is another way to remind the world that Nolan makes incredible films and that everyone should run out to cinemas (with masks) and #RiskItforTenet on July 31. But we have to wonder why Nolan would be okay with this, or better yet, does he even know this is happening? Because if he does, the screen-within-a-screen viewing of his work has to be the worst possible way to view his films. Can he actually be upset if a filmmaker just releases a feature on Netflix after this?
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Yes, there is a difference between first-run films on streaming services and allowing a video game to showcase your art inside its virtual world years after it’s released. But a screen is a screen. And like it or not, people are consuming films on all types of screens, in all sorts of environments. So, if you’re okay with this, then common sense would dictate that you should be perfectly happy for films to be released on other services, right?
Head over to Fortnite’s website and see which films and screenings will be available in your region. For those in the US, it appears we’ll get “Inception” at three separate times on Friday.
For those wondering, this is what it looked like when the “Tenet” trailer debuted inside the game: