The biggest bombshell dropped in last weekโs reportage surrounding Christopher Nolanโs next film wasnโt the film itself, but which studio heโd partner with. Up until recently, the high-concept director had maintained an extremely healthy โ and extremely profitable โ relationship with Warner Bros, producing every one of his films under its banner since Insomnia (2002) starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams. But now, after their marriage deteriorated in public fashion, Christopher Nolan has departed for a new home at Universal, which happily met the auteurโs demands.
Hereโs the list of topline demands Christopher Nolan will receive from Universal (all sums in USD):
- $100 million production budget
- $100 million marketing budget
- 20% of the first-dollar box office gross
- Total creative control
- 100-day threatrical run (minimum)
- Additonally, the studio will not release another movie three weeks before or three weeks after his next film hits cinemas (whatโs known as a โblackout periodโ)
โIt wasnโt a negotiation,โ writes Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter.
โIt was, rather, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish a relationship with one of the most successful and acclaimed filmmakers of the 21st century.โ
RELATED: Christopher Nolanโs Next Movie Will Be Another WWII Drama
Where exactly did it all go wrong for dear Christos and Warner Bros? As you may recall, the latter drew the formerโs outrage in 2020 by announcing a day-and-date simultaneous release plan for tentpole films through its streaming platform, HBO Max. And letโs be real, fumbling the rollout of Tenet certainly couldnโt have helped the matter.
โThereโs such controversy around it because they didnโt tell anyone,โ Christopher Nolan told ET Online.
โIn 2021, theyโve got some of the top filmmakers in the world, theyโve got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences.โ
โTheyโre meant to be out there for the widest possible audiencesโฆ And now theyโre being used as a loss-leader for the streaming service โ for the fledgling streaming service โ without any consultation. So, thereโs a lot of controversy.โ
And this was one wound time didnโt heal. Nolan would later double down on his stance with a statement that cut straight to the bone, denouncing the Warner Bros pandemic strategy.
โSome of our industryโs biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.โ
โWarner Bros had an incredible machine for getting a filmmakerโs work out everywhere, both in theatres and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak. They donโt even understand what theyโre losing.โ
โTheir decision makes no economic sense, and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction.โ
Warner Bros has since rectified the reactionary decision by confirming new movies will only be released theatrically from 2022.
Very little is actually known about Nolanโs Universal project right now, although industry whispers have indicated a few yet-to-be-fully-verified details. For one, itโll apparently be another World War II drama, this time following the story of American theoretical physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and his role in developing the atom bomb. Robert Oppenheimer was the principal leader of the Manhattan Project, earning himself the nickname: Father of the Atom Bomb.
RELATED: Cillian Murphy Almost Became The Nolan Trilogy Batman
For another, itโs believed that longtime collaborator Cillian Murphy โ who has appeared as Dr Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy, Robert Fischer in Inception, Shivering Soldier in Dunkirk โ is attached as a lead actor (portraying Oppenheimer himself or otherwise). Honestly, we wouldnโt be surprised if the involvement of the Peaky Blinders star or Michael Caine was another one of the Christopher Nolan demands.
โEvery time I see [Christopher Nolan] or every time we talk about doing something, we have a laugh about whether or not Iโm going to be wearing a bag over my head at some point in the story,โ jokes Cillian Murphy.
โSo it is a gag that has developed. I donโt know why he insists on doing that [Laughs].โ
Speculation has also pointed towards the cancelled Howard Hughes biographical picture Christopher Nolan had his heart set on before Martin Scorsese swooped in with The Aviator starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett. Often referred to as โthe best movie Nolan never madeโ, initially, it was set to star Jim Carrey as the iconic industrialist/business magnate/pilot/engineer/etc, exploring the lead up to his final years.
Weโll keep you updated about the forthcoming Christopher Nolan Universal movie โ whatever it may be โ as the developments come.
