Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has backed Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan in championing physical media amid controversial moves by streamers that have seen some films pulled from availability.
Last week, in an interview with IGN, Nolan went to bat for physical media, calling it a “scary” time for filmmakers. "If you buy a 4K UHD, you buy a Blu-ray, it's on your shelf, it's yours,” Nolan said. “No company is going to break into your house and take it from you and repossess it. It's yours and you own it. That's never really the case with any form of digital distribution.”
Last year, Warner Bros. was criticised for pulling six HBO Max original movies from the prestige streaming service they were created for. Warner Bros also made the shocking decision last year to not release Batgirl either in theaters or on streaming, even after the Leslie Grace-starring DC film had completed filming. Animated movie Scoob! Holiday Haunt was also scrapped, with Warner Bros. taking tax write-downs on both.
Warner Bros. not only faced massive backlash from fans, spawning a #ReleaseBatgirl movement, but from the creative community, with Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah apparently blindsided by the cancellation.
Then, earlier this month, it emerged that Coyote vs. Acme, a live-action CG hybrid that starred John Cena, would not be released despite finishing principal photography in 2022.
Speaking to IGN, Nolan expressed concern for directors of movies that do not have a physical media release and launch on streamers only. "I'm beginning to have conversations with filmmakers who have made successful films that have gone full streaming sites that have been taken off those sites and don't exist in any form and there's no control," Nolan told IGN. "It's scary for filmmakers who don't have that release right now. It's going to be an increasingly big issue for filmmakers, and it's something that we're going to have to address with the streamers at some point."
Physical media is almost a Fahrenheit 451 (where people memorized entire books and thus became the book they loved) level of responsibility. If you own a great 4K HD, Blu-ray, DVD etc etc of a film or films you love... you are the custodian of those films for generations to… https://t.co/ETGUNhKNoL
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) November 20, 2023
In a post on X/Twitter, Pacific Rim, Hellboy, and Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro called owning physical media a “responsibility”.
“Physical media is almost a Fahrenheit 451 (where people memorized entire books and thus became the book they loved) level of responsibility,” he said. “If you own a great 4K HD, Blu-ray, DVD etc etc of a film or films you love... you are the custodian of those films for generations to come.”
Nolan is doing the rounds promoting the physical release of blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer, which launches today, November 21 in the U.S. and tomorrow, November 22 in the UK.
Oppenheimer’s 4K Ultra UD, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital release has a long list of special features, including The Story of Our Time: The Making of Oppenheimer, a 70-minute film that showcases exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and extensive interviews with Nolan and his creative collaborators.
Image credit: Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
