Christopher Nolan is one of the biggest advocates for the theatrical experience out there, so it's hard to imagine him making a movie for a streaming service, but Netflix's film chief Scott Stuber is doing everything he can to make it happen. Netflix has only been developing original films for the past six years, but during that time, they've managed to ink deals with major filmmakers such as Zack Snyder and Steven Spielberg.
In a recent Variety feature, Netflix's Scott Stuber reveals his hope to get Christopher Nolan to make his next movie with the streaming service; and that's not just idle talk either as Stuber has had "ongoing conversations" with Nolan about the possibility.
If and when he comes up with his new movie, it’s about can we be a home for it and what would we need to do to make that happen. He’s an incredible filmmaker. I’m going to do everything I can. In this business I’ve learned you need to have zero ego. I get punched and knocked down and get back up.
Christopher Nolan called Warner Bros. home for close to twenty years, but he may not work with the studio again after Warner Bros. announced that they would be releasing their entire 2021 slate in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day. "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 said last year. "Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak. They don’t even understand what they’re losing. Their decision makes no economic sense and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction." Given how passionate Nolan is about the theatrical experience, I wouldn't place any bets on him signing a deal with Netflix, but the streaming service was recently able to lure Steven Spielberg to the streaming side last month, which came as a surprise after the director's previous criticisms of the service.
Although Netflix's deal with Steven Spielberg and Amblin doesn't include an option to Spielberg to actually direct a film for the service, that's something Stuber hopes will change as they work together. "I would love him to make movies like ‘Goonies’ or ‘Indiana Jones’ for us," Stuber said. "He’s done those kind of great stories better than anyone." As for Christopher Nolan, his next film is sure to be an event, and I'm sure Netflix isn't the only studio courting the director after his falling out with Warner Bros,