Turns out filmmaker Christopher Nolan is a bit of a Swifty – at least in terms of admiring her business acumen.
The famed “Inception” and “The Dark Knight” filmmaker appeared at a recent City University of New York event during which he was interviewed by author Kai Bird.
Bird penned the work “American Prometheus” which served as the basis for Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” which has become the highest-grossing biopic in film history with $942 million at the worldwide box office.
The discussion, which took place last week and has now gone online, touched upon the about to open “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film which famously bypassed the studios and saw Swift partnering with AMC Theaters directly for promotion and distribution. Of that arrangement, Nolan says:
“Taylor Swift is about to show the studios, because her concert film is not being distributed by the studios, it’s being distributed by a theater owner, AMC, and it’s going to make an enormous amount of money.
This is the thing, [theatrical exhibition is] a format and a way of seeing things and sharing stories, or sharing experiences, that’s incredibly valuable. And if [the studios] don’t want it, somebody else will. So that’s just the truth of it.
Any time a film that isn’t expected to succeed, and we vastly exceeded our highest expectations for the project [Oppenheimer], it’s encouraging for the studios and the filmmakers. That tension, that reality… between commerce and art, that formula never changes in Hollywood.”
Swift made a deal with AMC Theatres in which she gets to take home around 57% of ticket sales, with theaters keeping the remaining revenues and AMC taking a small distribution fee.
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is in cinemas now whilst “Oppenheimer” will be available on digital platforms starting November 21st.
Source: The Graduate Center, CUNY, Variety
