He’s been the poster boy for the cinema exhibition sector for years now, shooting on film as everyone else flees to digital whilst also determined to see “Tenet” get a theatrical release even during a pandemic.
That commitment to the big screen experience, even in the face of studio pressure, has not only won him the hearts of cinema owners but has also seen the new film essentially being held up as a work that could save or kill an entire industry and makes Nolan the “Muad’Dib of movies”.
Speaking to CNA, Nolan was asked straight up about his thoughts regarding these messianic labels he and his film have garnered. Nolan answered with a nice bit of humility, saying it’s a title that he thinks is not applicable to himself or any film:
“All I can really take responsibility for is making the best film that I can. I think cinema is bigger than any one film one way or another, and I think people tend to simplify things a bit, particularly in a time like this. I’m just very pleased that the studio feels they can let the film play in places where theaters have been able to open.
Obviously, that’s not the release we imagined when we were making the film. But then, the world is not as we had imagined it would be when we made the film, and we had to adapt like everybody else. I’m just very, very pleased that audiences around the world are beginning to be able to respond to the film because, for me as a filmmaker, the film is not finished until the audience gets to see it and tell me what it is that I’ve done.”
Despite the comments, there’s still a lot of pressure on “Tenet” to perform in order for cash-strapped cinemas to once again be able to release blockbusters whilst facing off competition from the streaming sector whose power has only grown throughout the pandemic. It’s also facing Disney and the “Mulan” PVOD experiment happening the same weekend in the United States.
“Tenet” is now open in select markets across the globe and in the United States in sneak previews from Monday.
