Christopher Nolan Abhors Netflix’s Film Release Strategy, Vows Not to Work With Them
von Clayton Davis
Christopher Nolan (“Interstellar”) just took Netflix to task for their “mindless” film release strategy in an interview with IndieWire. The critically acclaimed filmmaker was making the rounds to promote his WWII drama “Dunkirk,” which stars Kenneth Branagh (“Valkyrie”), Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”) and Harry Styles, among others, when he spoke about Netflix. Nolan was frank with his thoughts, saying:
“Netflix has a bizarre aversion to supporting theatrical films. They have this mindless policy of everything having to be simultaneously streamed and released, which is obviously an untenable model for theatrical presentation. So they’re not even getting in the game, and I think they’re missing a huge opportunity.”
Nolan is known for his otherworldly theatrical cinematography, which captured our imaginations in "Inception," "The Dark Knight," and "Dunkirk," his latest hit. The tangible experience of the big screen is an important component to his storytelling, which explains his ire with Netflix. The streaming platform is known for releasing all their films via their platform. Not one of their films have been released in theaters. However, Nolan did praise Amazon's "terrific" model of release, which features their theatrical releases for three months in theaters before offering them to stream.
Nolan also critiqued Netflix's investment in projects, but refusing to feature them in theaters. The director alluded to Netflix's strategy as "being used as some kind of bizarre leverage against shutting down theaters."
"The only platform I'm interested in talking about is theatrical exhibition," he continued, noting:
"Your worst nightmare in the ‘90s as a filmmaker was that the studio would turn around and go, ‘You know what? We’re going to put it on video instead of theaters...Corporations are able to portray this kind of behavior to Wall Street as ‘disruptive...the idea that you’re disrupting the existing distribution mechanism has somehow assigned a kind of futuristic value to something that’s always been about lowest common denominator stuff. If Netflix has made a great film, they should put it in theaters. Why not?”
Nolan's points are particularly valid as his latest film "Dunkirk" rakes in a veritable mountain of critical acclaim, with The Sun calling the film "Christopher Nolan's best film." The war drama harkens back to the fantastic productions of Hollywood's Golden Age, with hordes of extras, a strong script and a narrative that hits a little too close to home. Its magic would truncated if it were released only on streaming platforms; a theatrical screen is almost required for the film's huge fight sequences to be fully appreciated.
“Dunkirk” premieres Friday, July 21. Watch the trailers below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UrQ4VvFO-c
Do you agree with Nolan’s views on streaming services disregard of theaters? Let us know in the comments below!
“Netflix has a bizarre aversion to supporting theatrical films. They have this mindless policy of everything having to be simultaneously streamed and released, which is obviously an untenable model for theatrical presentation. So they’re not even getting in the game, and I think they’re missing a huge opportunity.”
Nolan is known for his otherworldly theatrical cinematography, which captured our imaginations in "Inception," "The Dark Knight," and "Dunkirk," his latest hit. The tangible experience of the big screen is an important component to his storytelling, which explains his ire with Netflix. The streaming platform is known for releasing all their films via their platform. Not one of their films have been released in theaters. However, Nolan did praise Amazon's "terrific" model of release, which features their theatrical releases for three months in theaters before offering them to stream.
Nolan also critiqued Netflix's investment in projects, but refusing to feature them in theaters. The director alluded to Netflix's strategy as "being used as some kind of bizarre leverage against shutting down theaters."
"The only platform I'm interested in talking about is theatrical exhibition," he continued, noting:
"Your worst nightmare in the ‘90s as a filmmaker was that the studio would turn around and go, ‘You know what? We’re going to put it on video instead of theaters...Corporations are able to portray this kind of behavior to Wall Street as ‘disruptive...the idea that you’re disrupting the existing distribution mechanism has somehow assigned a kind of futuristic value to something that’s always been about lowest common denominator stuff. If Netflix has made a great film, they should put it in theaters. Why not?”
Nolan's points are particularly valid as his latest film "Dunkirk" rakes in a veritable mountain of critical acclaim, with The Sun calling the film "Christopher Nolan's best film." The war drama harkens back to the fantastic productions of Hollywood's Golden Age, with hordes of extras, a strong script and a narrative that hits a little too close to home. Its magic would truncated if it were released only on streaming platforms; a theatrical screen is almost required for the film's huge fight sequences to be fully appreciated.
“Dunkirk” premieres Friday, July 21. Watch the trailers below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UrQ4VvFO-c
Do you agree with Nolan’s views on streaming services disregard of theaters? Let us know in the comments below!
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Clayton Davis
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