The fallout continues regarding WarnerMedia’s controversial move to have simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max debuts for its entire film slate in 2021.
Following in the wake of yesterday’s talk of Legendary Pictures potentially taking legal action and Christopher Nolan’s vocal upset comes word today via The New York Times and THR that numerous directors are said to be highly upset with the decision.
A big part of the problem is that, unlike with say “Wonder Woman 1984” where director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot discussed the plan for their release before announcing it, WarnerMedia made the decision for their 2021 films without consulting any of the key major talent involved and so many learnt about this when it all hit back on Thursday last week.
Specifically “The Suicide Squad” director James Gunn and “Dune” helmer Denis Villeneuve are both said to be unhappy with the move, the pair helming two of the three biggest movies across the release slate. In addition, WarnerMedia will have to now try and buy out backend deals with talent that were expecting to get a cut of box office grosses including much of the “Dune” cast.
That’s not all though as the Directors Guild of America is said to be looking into a possible boycott of WarnerMedia due to this move while numerous talent agencies are apparently quite mad about this decision.
HBO Max has added another four million subscribers to reach 12.6 million as of early December – snagging a 36% increase in the past month due mainly to “The Undoing” and “The Flight Attendant”.
