Controversial Cinema-Related Opinions

[allegate]

Christopher Nolan Slams HBO Max as Worst Streaming Service While Calling Out Warner Bros.

Nolan's the one with the controversial opinion here.

[blassster]

Christopher Nolan Slams HBO Max as Worst Streaming Service While Calling Out Warner Bros.

Nolan's the one with the controversial opinion here.

My view, many assumptions:

I think streaming simultaneously makes sense, even for post-covid. With the streaming generation, they're guaranteed monthly cash instead of getting a 50% (or less) cut of a ticket sale when one was to MAYBE decide to go to the theater (overall attendance has been falling for a few years, or so I've read). The theater takes the other 50+%, plus those expensive treats.

Taking the US household average of 2.5 people, they'd net about (9 x 0.5) x 2.5, or $11.25 for a household attendance. If we make an assumption that the usual household sees 1 movie a month, they're grossing a little more money this way with their $14.99 monthly streaming fee. People will pay that, but also still have the option to go to the theater for larger movies if they care about upping the experience. In that case, WB will have the potential to double dip, in a way, if one was a subscriber and still went out to see a WB movie. Also, more investors will show up if HBO manages to convert a lot of people.

Theaters can still be around for those who want that, they'd just cut down to a few screens for bigger movies, instead of having 20-30 screens for every living fart directors want to squeeze out.

[talkingnothing]

i'm interested in hearing more opinions about the warner bros streaming decision.

up until 2020, i mostly went to the theaters to catch the next big blockbuster i was pumped for and couldn't wait for home release, marvel, starwars, james bond, etc. Theaters have come a long way, reclining seats and all, but even still, i find most of their sound systems to be shit, either too loud or not loud enough, muddy dialogue, etc. and the picture quality doesn't even usually match up to my fairly cheap 5 year old 1080p 46" TV. I feel like some them had been getting better lately, but not like watching a bluray for picture quality (i have no experience yet with 4K). also you get idiots making noise, checking their phones, etc at the theater, it's just a hassle.

I would almost always choose to see a movie at home over in a theater. i have good tower stereo speakers (no surround) and an ok 1080 TV. I just don't subscribe to the "you gotta see this on the big screen" thing. i don't really find it more immersive, and frankly sometimes the screen is so big you cant see the whole frame with out swinging your head back and forth like a tennis match.

All this said, i find it odd that the big directors have this love affair with the theater. I mean, i bet christopher nolan has an amazing screening room, that's like being in a theater. Maybe these guys just have a romantic memory of going to the movies 30 years ago vs watching a betamax or vhs on a 13" tube at home and they can't get over that.

Also, maybe what i consider to be a modest, average set up isn't average at all. i mean, if people are watching at home with the sound coming though the awful factory speakers on their flat screen, that admittedly sucks.

[burnmotherfucker!]

i'm interested in hearing more opinions about the warner bros streaming decision.

up until 2020, i mostly went to the theaters to catch the next big blockbuster i was pumped for and couldn't wait for home release, marvel, starwars, james bond, etc. Theaters have come a long way, reclining seats and all, but even still, i find most of their sound systems to be shit, either too loud or not loud enough, muddy dialogue, etc. and the picture quality doesn't even usually match up to my fairly cheap 5 year old 1080p 46" TV. I feel like some them had been getting better lately, but not like watching a bluray for picture quality (i have no experience yet with 4K). also you get idiots making noise, checking their phones, etc at the theater, it's just a hassle.

I would almost always choose to see a movie at home over in a theater. i have good tower stereo speakers (no surround) and an ok 1080 TV. I just don't subscribe to the "you gotta see this on the big screen" thing. i don't really find it more immersive, and frankly sometimes the screen is so big you cant see the whole frame with out swinging your head back and forth like a tennis match.

All this said, i find it odd that the big directors have this love affair with the theater. I mean, i bet christopher nolan has an amazing screening room, that's like being in a theater. Maybe these guys just have a romantic memory of going to the movies 30 years ago vs watching a betamax or vhs on a 13" tube at home and they can't get over that.

Also, maybe what i consider to be a modest, average set up isn't average at all. i mean, if people are watching at home with the sound coming though the awful factory speakers on their flat screen, that admittedly sucks.

I have mixed feelings about all of this. On one level it does seem to me to be just a further degradation of the art form of cinema to throw everything on streaming. On the other hand I think the public at large doesn't, and hasn't, viewed cinema as art for a long time now. Its just mindless entertainment for most. I think my honest answer is that if I could just sit alone in a theatre then I'd prefer that but otherwise I'd prefer watching at home.

Last year alone was pretty hit or miss in terms of actually being able to enjoy a movie in a theatre. For example I saw Joker and this girl a few seats over talked through the entire first hour of the movie. I don't mean she talked off and on, I mean she was spouting bullshit into her dates ear the entire film. I actually went over to them and asked them to leave if they wanted to continue to talk as I had paid money to see the film. And that's not my personality at all to do that sort of thing, it was just that egregious. The guy she was with actually apologized immediately and seemed just as annoyed as I was and thankfully they were quiet after that, but the movie was ruined by then.

Earlier I had gone to see Midsommar which would have been great except that the multiplex played some spider man movie or whatever garbage marvel shat out that week right next door so throughout the entire movie there was the bass from all the loud explosion boom cgi effects and that kinda thing takes you out of the film you're trying to watch. I also saw the Lighthouse, which was great. Probably only 6 other people in the room and a great movie. It wasn't until I saw it again at home later that I really appreciated the cinematography because of how much better the picture was. And that's supposed to be where a theatre shines.

But on the flipside seeing Jordan Peele's Us and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in a packed house with the entire audience actually invested in the films made them a lot of fun.

One thing I will never be on board with though, is food at the cinema. When watching a film, picture and sound are the only things that matter, anything that distracts or detracts from that is sub optimal. So why did anyone ever think it was ok to have every other mouth breather in there slurping up sodas and shaking the ice and crinkling the rapper to the snickers and chewing milk duds and popcorn the whole goddamn time. I mean there was even a dude eating nachos one time for christ sakes. Its a fucking movie and these people sell the loudest foods possible.

At home it may be a smaller screen but the picture is better and I also have some speakers (which is probably more important than picture but most people don't realize it and use stock tv sound) so I'm pretty happy with it. Turn off all the lights and it feels more immersive than the theatre. Its more comfortable, cheaper, and no 30 minutes of adds to watch beforehand.

I mean I don't want to see cinema die, but one way or another its going to move to home viewing. Real film fans will invest in equipment that makes it as enjoyable as possible. The other 95% of people will watch it on their phones. The same people that talk and eat and snore in the theatre anyways and then claim the movie sucked. I for one won't miss them one bit. Maybe the future is theatres become niche and only films fans actually go to them. Maybe that would help the experience some but it does feel like change is already happening and there's no going back.