Theatrical Future/PVOD Thread

[Nick]

I think they have an argument for the eight, ten, however many movies are being released. After that, the table shifts.

I agree with that.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Apparently people on "WW84" who had back end agreements are being paid as if the film had earned $1 billion worldwide. Thats gotta hurt WB

 

[MrBlonde]

Apparently people on "WW84" who had back end agreements are being paid as if the film had earned $1 billion worldwide. Thats gotta hurt WB

That's an investment in the director and star probably.

The problem with this blanket decree and the fact they they co-produce with outside money is they some may not want to pay. I assume WB would've been smart and got those ducks in a row to buy them out (doubtful with its debt) or to make a plan for rev share with this new model.

 

[rageofthegods]

‘Dune’ Producer Legendary Entertainment May Sue Warner Bros. Over HBO Max Deal

The production company behind "Dune" and "Legendary" has considered suing Warner Bros. over its HBO Max deal.

variety.com

Denis Villeneuve, the director of “Dune,” is similarly disappointed with the HBO Max plan and would prefer a traditional theatrical release for his movie, according to insiders.

 

[quinnmac000]

Christopher Nolan Talks 'Tenet' Release & the Future of Movie Theaters

The director has a strong stance on the future of theaters as WB commits to streaming debuts.

www.etonline.com

Trading Box Office for Streaming, but Stars Still Want Their Money (Published 2020)

If studios are no longer trying to maximize ticket sales, what will that mean for often lucrative pay packages tied to a film’s performance in theaters?

www.nytimes.com

The surprise move left agencies on a war footing. Representatives for major Warner Bros. stars like Denzel Washington, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie wanted to know why their clients had been treated in a lesser manner than Ms. Gadot. Talk of a Warner Bros. boycott began circulating inside the Directors Guild of America. A partner at one talent agency spent part of the weekend meeting with litigators. Some people started to angrily refer to the studio as Former Bros.

“For the longest time, Warner Bros. has been known as the best home for talent, and that has been a significant competitive advantage,” Michael Nathanson, a founder of the MoffettNathanson media research firm, said in a phone interview. “With this move, they alienated the very talent they have worked so hard to attract. These aren’t engineers you can just replace.”

 

[rageofthegods]

Christopher Nolan Talks 'Tenet' Release & the Future of Movie Theaters

The director has a strong stance on the future of theaters as WB commits to streaming debuts.

www.etonline.com

Trading Box Office for Streaming, but Stars Still Want Their Money (Published 2020)

If studios are no longer trying to maximize ticket sales, what will that mean for often lucrative pay packages tied to a film’s performance in theaters?

www.nytimes.com

The surprise move left agencies on a war footing. Representatives for major Warner Bros. stars like Denzel Washington, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie wanted to know why their clients had been treated in a lesser manner than Ms. Gadot. Talk of a Warner Bros. boycott began circulating inside the Directors Guild of America. A partner at one talent agency spent part of the weekend meeting with litigators. Some people started to angrily refer to the studio as Former Bros.

“For the longest time, Warner Bros. has been known as the best home for talent, and that has been a significant competitive advantage,” Michael Nathanson, a founder of the MoffettNathanson media research firm, said in a phone interview. “With this move, they alienated the very talent they have worked so hard to attract. These aren’t engineers you can just replace.”

The surprise move left agencies on a war footing. Representatives for major Warner Bros. stars like Denzel Washington, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie wanted to know why their clients had been treated in a lesser manner than Ms. Gadot. Talk of a Warner Bros. boycott began circulating inside the Directors Guild of America. A partner at one talent agency spent part of the weekend meeting with litigators. Some people started to angrily refer to the studio as Former Bros.

Popcorn.gif

 

[Nick]

I’m sure Universal is very excited to hear about this. Will be extremely interesting what Disney decides to do. No matter what it is, I bet Disney is gonna try way more careful about how they go about it after seeing this reaction.

 

[joelbryant11]

Nolan going IN on them lmao

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Nolan going IN on them lmao

And here come the long term effects!

 

[Nick]

This whole saga has been very entertaining so far and it seems like this is probably only the beginning.

 

[rageofthegods]

Christopher Nolan Rips HBO Max as “Worst Streaming Service,” Denounces Warner Bros.’ Plan

Christopher Nolan: “Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak."

www.hollywoodreporter.com

"The instant response in Hollywood was outrage and a massive girding for battle. “Warners has made a grave mistake,” says one top talent agent. “Never have this many people been this upset with one entity.” Like others, he had spent much of the day dealing with calls from stunned and angry clients. And that swooshing sound you hear? It’s the lawyers, stropping their blades as they prepare for battle: that Warners was self-dealing in shifting these movies to its own streamer, perhaps, or that the company acted in bad faith. Some talent reps say the decision affects not only profit participants but others who have worked on films as this move might affect residual payments. They expect and hope that the guilds will get involved. (The Writers Guild of America declined to comment.) "

"Even before Warners made its play, there was grumbling among agents that Sarnoff, who has been on the job for more than a year, had yet to get acquainted with key players on the film side or make much of an impression at all. That’s why many are focusing their wrath on Emmerich. “Toby’s passion is only about managing up,” says one agent who represents major Warners talent.

By the weekend following the announcement, Emmerich was calling important filmmakers with projects set for 2021 to assure them that their movies wouldn’t be dropped on the streaming service without warning. “As if anyone would believe he had any control over the situation,” says one producer with a major Warner property. “Toby probably had a really bad weekend, not that I feel bad for him,” says one agent."

"And then there’s the talent. Dune director Denis Villeneuve is said to be among those who felt most strongly that a traditional big-screen release was essential for his film. Chu, who along with Lin-Manuel Miranda went through an intense courtship with multiple suitors for In the Heights and who had turned down a huge Netflix offer for Crazy Rich Asians because he cherishes the communal theatrical experience, told an associate he was “shell shocked” after being informed of the Warners decision. "

It also leaves out a long-standing Hollywood maxim: Content is king. And content comes from artists who aren’t always motivated purely by money. Says an agent who represents extremely important talent with business at Warners: “You had a decades-long legacy as being known as the most talent-friendly studio. Now you’ve gone from that to a studio that in starburst colors lit up a sign that says, 'We don’t give a f--- about talent.’”

It honestly seems like there will be people who never work with Warners ever again after this.

 

[quinnmac000]

The benefit is parts of Warner is likely going to go on sale here soon...this mismanagement is a studio killer

 

[Tristan]

Nolan going IN on them lmao

Nolan wanted TENET to do a theatrical release, and that failed. WB got spooked and had to adapt. Did WB do the best course of action? No of course not but they are bleeding money and needed a quick fix which they did with HBO Max. I like Nolan's movies but the fact that he's mad that nobody wanted to see movies during a pandemic is ridiculous.
Now if I were talking about the other problems such as Legendary being pissed off I totally agree with them, but Nolan does not have a good case other than "movies at home are not the true cinema experience."

 

[joelbryant11]

WB definitely should’ve consulted the filmmakers before they made the move. I also don’t get why it has to be all of 2021. Worst case scenario is that society is overwhelmingly vaccinated by July. Those movies in the back half of the year will really have no reason to be on Max the same day as theatrical release. It seems like a very knee jerk reaction.

At least give the blockbusters a week in theatres to give people a chance to see them before a-holes on the internet start spreading screenshots and clips everywhere.

 

[Tobias]

It's rather amusing how this whole thing has progressed.

- Universal get's the ball rolling with releasing Trolls World Tour on demand, with theaters/distributors angrily stating that "They will remember this!" as most theaters were pretty much closed at the time and had no power.

- Theaters/Distributors all rally behind WB, Nolan and Tenet like this'll be the savoir they need.

- Tenet opens and doesn't do nearly what they were hoping, for a variety of obvious reasons that you could take your pick from. (It's a Pandemic. Places still not open. It's nowhere near Nolan's best work.)

- WB get's spooked, which leads to the rushed decision they made, irking a plenty.

- Universal, who got the ball rolling...is amusingly doing the best with box office grosses of they films they did release in theaters and is sitting rather pretty!

The whole WB drama is gonna' be interesting to watch, since I can totally understand Legendary's frustration with the very short notice they were given.

Now as for Nolan, he can rant and rave all he wants, it doesn't take away the fact that he had that special contract to get a good chunk of theatrical profits off of Tenet. (Which is why he was so gung-ho on pushing things to get in released in theaters.) I honestly do feel the situation of Tenet is one of the factors they're in the whole mess to begin with, which is one of the bigger ironic moments I've seen in a while.

 

[rageofthegods]

It's funny yah. Though this...

Now as for Nolan, he can rant and rave all he wants, it doesn't take away the fact that he had that special contract to get a good chunk of theatrical profits off of Tenet. (Which is why he was so gung-ho on pushing things to get in released in theaters.) I honestly do feel the situation of Tenet is one of the factors they're in the whole mess to begin with, which is one of the bigger ironic moments I've seen in a while.

I disagree with this hard. Nolan can call Ted Sarandos tomorrow and get a $50m salary + $200m budget no questions asked if he agrees to direct a Netflix movie. He knew that Tenet wasn't going to do well in theaters, everyone was warning him and WB about that, and he probably knew he'd stand to benefit much more if he let it be delayed till after the vaccine.

He's doing this to save theaters, not because he wants money.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

IMO Nolan shouldn't be blamed too much for Tenet's failure. There was always going to be one blockbuster that had to be the test dummy, and Nolan volunteered. Tenet still made over 300M overseas; domestic was just a gigantic roadblock. It also feels like WarnerMedia was going to pull this stunt regardless since the layoffs/restructuring began before Tenet released.

 

[Tobias]

It's funny yah. Though this...



I disagree with this hard. Nolan can call Ted Sarandos tomorrow and get a $50m salary + $200m budget no questions asked if he agrees to direct a Netflix movie. He knew that Tenet wasn't going to do well in theaters, everyone was warning him and WB about that, and he probably knew he'd stand to benefit much more if he let it be delayed till after the vaccine.

He's doing this to save theaters, not because he wants money.

If one is trying to save theaters, I'd rethink the plan of releasing a film you know that wasn't going to do well in them. It was a big push that ended with a reality check.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Warners should have contacted theaters.

Nolan's a dork who is probably nice but often comes off as a meanie. His ancedote about his kids calling him Mr. Woodcock from Phantom Thread is particularly funny.

EDIT: Funny, did not know that was a swear.

 

[rageofthegods]

If one is trying to save theaters, I'd rethink the plan of releasing a film you know that wasn't going to do well in them. It was a big push that ended with a reality check.

On that, I agree.