Christopher Nolan calls for action to preserve streaming films

Christopher Nolan is addressing the worry that if films are taken down from streaming services and made unavailable for viewing on tangible media, they would disappear from the world of filmmakers.

In an online interview with The Washington Post on Friday, the director of Oppenheimer talked about the impending home release of his movie.

Nolan explained that his remark at a recent Oppenheimer screening regarding the importance of a home release in preventing an "evil streaming service" from taking the project from audiences was merely a joke, although he does see a risk for films that are exclusively available on streaming services.

“There is a danger these days that if things only exist in the streaming version, they do get taken down,” Nolan told the publication. “They come and go — as do broadcast versions of films, so my films will play on HBO or whatever, they’ll come and go. But the home video version is the thing that can always be there, so people can always access it. And since the 1980s, as filmmakers, we’ve taken that for granted, and now we have to make sure that there’s a way that that can continue to happen, if not the physical media.”

Nolan clarified that he is in favour of modifications to the cinematic experience, stating that “the culture of film thrives with new innovations.” However, he is also aware that "the accessibility of your work" is a valuable asset that must be safeguarded.

“The danger I’m talking about with a filmmaker’s film just sort of disappearing from streaming one day and then maybe not coming back or not coming back for a long period of time, that’s not an intentional conspiracy,” he continued. “That’s just a way that with the particular licensing agreements, the way things are evolving. So it’s something worth pointing out because it will need to be fixed, but I’m very confident that it will be.”