Christopher Nolan is making light of the streaming wars for the Blu-ray release of actual war film “Oppenheimer.”
The director said during a Los Angeles screening of the blockbuster film November 13 that the importance of an at-home Blu-ray release is key for theatergoers to access the Universal film regardless of where it ends up streaming (Peacock) and inevitably being pulled from platforms later on. For audiences to own the tangible version of the movie is to have it forever, as Nolan pointed out, and not rely on “evil” streaming services that can “steal” the film back.
“Obviously ‘Oppenheimer’ has been quite a ride for us and now it is time for me to release a home version of the film. I’ve been working very hard on it for months,” Nolan said. “I’m known for my love of theatrical and put my whole life into that, but the truth is, the way the film goes out at home is equally important.”
The “Interstellar” director continued, “‘The Dark Knight’ was one of the first films where we formatted it specially for Blu-ray release because it was a new form at the time. And in the case of ‘Oppenheimer,’ we put a lot of care and attention into the Blu-ray version […] and trying to translate the photography and the sound, putting that into the digital realm with a version you can buy and own at home and put on a shelf so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.”
Nolan teased that the DVD extras “don’t reveal my secrets” to filmmaking but do in fact give more details on how the epic film was shot.
The “Tenet” director infamously parted ways with Warner Bros. in 2021 after the distributor shifted its entire film slate that year to a day-and-date hybrid release model with streaming platform HBO Max. Nolan said at the time, “Some of our industry’s 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.”
Nolan left his 20-year relationship with Warner Bros. to instead helm “Oppenheimer” for Universal. The filmmaker recently called the Warner Bros. feud “water under the bridge” and said he would “absolutely” work with the studio again.
Warner Bros. film group head Mike De Luca previously told Variety that the company is “hoping to get Nolan back.”
