Director Christopher Nolan says AT&T's HBO Max is "the worst streaming service"

Christopher Nolan at the AFI Fest 2017 in Hollywood.

Presley Ann / Getty Images

Director tenet Christopher Nolan Denounced the two AT&TPlan for Stream all Warner Bros. New movies until 2021 On HBO Max On the same day they hit theaters.

But on Tuesday, AT&TThe CEO called the backlash like Nolan “too much hype.”

Nolan, from Known for being especially protective of the theatrical experience of movies, In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros.The strategy is ineffective and will damage the studio’s relationship with talented filmmakers.

“Some of the biggest filmmakers in our industry and the hottest movie stars went to bed last night before thinking they were working in the biggest movie studio and woke up to discover that they were working at the worst broadcast service,” he said.

“Warner Bros. had a great machine to get a director’s job everywhere, in both theaters and at home, and they break it down while we talk. They don’t even understand what they’re losing. Their decision doesn’t produce economic results and even the most casual investor on Wall Street can see.” The difference between disorder and dysfunction. “

Nolan has maintained a long-term relationship with Warner Bros., beginning in 2005 with his film Batman Beginning and continuing with his latest film. Tenet. But this sci-fi thriller was the first Hollywood movie to open in theaters in September after a movie pandemic The shutdown, and in the US it was a failure. Tenet grossed less than $ 60 million at the US box office; By comparison, the 2010 Nolan film Starter, by comparison, earned more than $ 290 million domestically. Tenet’s first theaters release plan was hampered by the closure of theaters, and capacity limits in which cinemas actually work she was Open-minded, and lurking doubts among moviegoers about the dangers of going to see a movie on the big screen at all. Tenet reportedly lost Warner Bros as $ 100 million.

But on Tuesday, John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, appeared unfazed by criticism such as Nolan and defended the plan as the best strategy in exceptional circumstances. Both HBO Max and Warner Bros. Telecom giant owned through Warner Media Entertainment unit.

“I know there is a lot of hype in the market that different people have different perspectives,” said Stankey on Tuesday, speaking at the UBS Global TMT Virtual Conference.

“Basically, one of the unfortunate effects of the epidemic is the lack of stage productions. This is painful for a lot of people,” said Stankey. “We feel that there is some kind of solution that everyone wins. There is a win for us. There is a win for our clients, and there is a win for our partners. Anytime you change a model, it creates the degree of noise – this is definitely no exception.”

Last week’s WarnerMedia decision was the latest in a series of giant changes to movie releases, thanks Coronavirus pandemic. Studios and movie theaters experimented with new release strategies unimaginable a year ago, especially for expensive movies like Wonderful womanAnd the Dune And the The matrix. But Warner Bros. The decision to release an entire year from his movie roster on the Internet at the same time as in theaters is the most seismic transformation yet.

The streaming service via HBO Max, AT&T, and WarnerMedia that launched in May faltered a bit, as it struggled to get customers to understand the HBO Max proposal and was hampered by its failure to get its application to major streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire TV gadgets.

Nolan has been forthright with his reaction to Warner Bros. Decision, give an indictment In an interview with ET.

He said, “Oh, it means disbelief,” describing his answer. “Especially the way they did. There’s such an argument about it, because they didn’t tell anyone.”

“In 2021, they got some of the best filmmakers in the world, and they have some of the biggest stars in the world who have worked for years in some cases on these projects so close to their hearts that are supposed to be great screen experiences. Possible by the crowd … And now it’s being used as a loss leader for the broadcast service – to its fledgling broadcast service – without any consultation. “

Nolan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.