After Christopher Nolan, director Denis Villeneuve speaks about Warner's decision to release all the films in his 2021 line-up simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. The filmmaker's next sci-fi film, Dune is concerned.
Warner Bros. Warner's decision to release all of his 2021 films simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max continues to garner ink. After Christopher Nolan and James Gunn, it is the turn of Denis Villeneuve - whose science fiction film Dune is one of those concerned by this decision - to express his dissatisfaction. Variety published a column in which the Quebec director claims that Warner " don't like cinema". Like Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve confirms having read this unprecedented decision in the press. The filmmaker condemns the studio." I learned on the news that Warner Bros. decided to stream Dune on HBO Max at the same time as the theatrical release. With this decision, AT&T (Editor's note: the telecom group that bought WarnerMedia in 2016) hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in movie history. There is absolutely no love for the cinema, nor for the audience here. This is a strategy that only benefits the survival of a telecoms mammoth that currently holds an astronomical debt of over $ 150 billion. With the launch of HBO Max having failed so far, AT&T has decided to sacrifice the entire 2021 line-up of Warner Bros. in a desperate attempt to gain public attention. "
If WarnerMedia says this is a one-year plan so as not to lose too much money, the director instead suggests that this decision would come from above and would be a way to bring in more subscribers. to pay off AT & T's substantial debts.
"Warner has just declared that they are no longer part of our team."
The director of Premier Contact adds " Warner Bros.'s sudden turnaround, from a retirement home for filmmakers to a new era of utter disregard, puts a clear line on me. Making a movie is a collaboration, built on mutual trust and teamwork, and Warner has made it clear that they are no longer on that team. "Words that suggest that Denis Villeneuve will never work with the studio again, like the statement of Christopher Nolan - who had worked with Warner since Insomnia in 2002.
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Dune by Denis Villeneuve
However, Denis Villeneuve does not castigate the streaming services. The latter is aware of the advantage that these represent: " Streaming services are a positive and powerful addition to the film and television ecosystem. But I want the public to understand that streaming alone cannot support the film industry as we knew it before Covid-19. "
"Warner Bros. may well have killed the Dune franchise"
He adds : " Streaming can produce great content, but not movies of the scale and reach of Dune. The decision of Warner Bros. means that my film will not have the possibility of being a financial success; piracy will eventually triumph. The Warner Bros. may well have killed the "Dune" franchise. This is for fans. "
Indeed, in addition to the remake of David Lynch's film, Legendary (which produced the feature film with Warner) had planned a sequel and a television series called Dune: The Sisterhood, centered on a group of women from the universe created by Frank Herbert in 1965. The series - whose pilot was to be directed by Denis Villeneuve - was commissioned by HBO Max. The director therefore specifies that if Dune does not work in the cinema because of its presence on the streaming platform and the piracy that will result from it, the sequels could simply not see the light of day.
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The director then claims that Dune is a " unique cinematic experience"and" by far the best film [qu'il a] never realized"." My team and I have dedicated more than three years of our lives to making it a unique experience to see on the big screen. The image and sound of our film were meticulously designed to be seen in movie theaters. "
Like Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve remains positive about the future of theatrical cinema: " I firmly believe that the future of cinema will be on the big screen, no matter what any Wall Street dilettante may say. Since the dawn of time, humans have had a strong need for shared story telling experiences. Big screen cinema is more than a business, it's an art form that brings people together, celebrates humanity, strengthens our empathy for one another - it's one of the very last collective in-person artistic experiences that we share as human beings. "The director adds:" Once the pandemic has passed, cinemas will once again be filled with moviegoers. It is my deep conviction. Not because the movie industry needs it, but because we humans need cinema as a collective experience. "
Dune was to mark the reopening of theaters in the fall of 2021
And that's why Villeneuve had agreed to postpone the release of Dune to October 2021 (September 29 in France). The director specifies that when it became evident that a second wave of Covid-19 would arrive this winter, he immediately agreed to postpone the release of Dune by almost a year: " The plan was for Dune to mark theaters reopening in October 2021, when vaccinations are advanced and hopefully the virus behind us.. "
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Denis Villeneuve concludes his column by asking AT&T to act by assuming its responsibilities: " So just as I have both a fiduciary and a creative responsibility to fulfill as a filmmaker, I call on AT&T to act quickly with the same responsibility, respect and consideration to protect this vital cultural medium. The economic impact on stakeholders is only one aspect of corporate social responsibility. Finding ways to promote culture is another. The cinematic experience is unlike any other. In these dark theaters, films capture our history, educate us, fuel our imaginations, lift and inspire our collective spirit. This is our heritage. "
But AT&T is unlikely to back down given the strong growth in its subscriber base. Last week, John Stankey, the CEO of the American operator, revealed that HBO Max had grown from 8.6 million subscribers to more than 12.6 million new subscriptions since the end of September. The launch of the HBO Max platform in France is scheduled for next year.
Dune Trailer - In theaters September 29, 2021
