Universal picked up Christopher Nolan’s new film despite Warner Bros.’ seven-figure ‘Tenet’ offer.

With the COVID epidemic raging and theatres closed, Christopher Nolan’s $200 million “Tenet” was in danger of not being released in 2020 and might be delayed indefinitely. Champion of the big-screen experience, the director wanted his espionage thriller to have the first big-screen premiere in refurbished theatres throughout that summer. Agreed to a theatrical release were former Warner Bros. Entertainment executive Ann Sarnoff and movie chairman Toby Emmerich, who agreed in exchange for some costs he would avoid.

Having defected to Universal nine months before their visit to make “Oppenheimer,” newly minted film studio heads Michael DeLuca and Pamela Abdy were more than happy to get Nolan back in the fold after the 2022 WarnerMedia merger with Discovery and the latter’s consequent change in governance. Nolan had a history with the studio going back to the 2002 “Insomnia.”

Warner Bros. had repaid the “Tenet” profits he gave up by penning him a seven-figure goodwill cheque.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to make Nolan return a call. A man who can live even now in his old little house in Hollywood Hills, and used to drive a 20-year-old Honda, did not care much for money; a few extra million would not make any difference. Rather, the Oscar winner and his producing partner and wife, Emma Thomas, chose to work on his next movie, which stars Matt Damon, Universal, and its strong boss, Donna Langley.

“What matters [to Nolan] is are you going to release this right? Will your marketing plan be the right one? Will you be getting the Imax screens? Are you leaving me alone to create the film I wish to produce? All these things he knows he got with Universal [on “Oppenheimer],” says Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts dean, Stephen Galloway. Why would he not visit Universal?

Still, Warners’s overture highlights Nolan’s special place in Hollywood, which has battled to produce the next generation of auteurs who land Oscars and occupy multiplexes. Nolan actually belongs to a dying type of director with name awareness that Small Pond includes James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino. While they have produced at a steady cost, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have borne declining box office returns.

While Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” cost $215 million but brought in $159 million worldwide last year, Spielberg’s $100 million “West Side Story” version took in $76 million worldwide at the end of COVID. With the new crop of directors, pickings are slim. With “Barbie ($1.45 billion) and “Black Panther ($1.35 billion,”) Greta Gerwig and Ryan Coogler have disparate visions and score megahits. Still, each of those films benefited from existing intellectual property rights. With “Oppenheimer,” Nolan did something truly extraordinary.

Though its R rating, three-hour run duration, and focus on a historical figure who is “the least likely subject to make money in the history of the entertainment business,” Galloway observes the best picture winner earned nearly a billion dollars – $976 million, exact. With Nolan, his name is the brand.

While maintaining a safe distance, the Hollywood filmmaking community waits for Nolan to decide what film he will produce: his next project. What it won’t be is “The Prisoner,” a Universal property with a long history that the director originally considered as a vehicle.

“Christopher Nolan is an IP unto himself,” says Jeff Bock, a box office observer. “He is presently at the top of the list; only a handful of directors are well-known to the general public.”. Sources say the latest from Nolan is not an intergalactic epic, though others say it could well fit into espionage. Since Nolan reportedly was interested in Bond one time, that is not shocking.

However, with Daniel Craig having ridden off into the sunset as 007 in “No Time to Die,” there is certainly room for something new to come along and fill that vacuum. Nolan is a final-cut director to boot, and Bond gatekeeper Barbara Broccoli never wants to give any director control.

Nolan is not any director, though. Apart from “Oppenheimer,” two of his flicks, “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” over $1 billion.

Says Galloway: “This isn’t some hack who happens to have delivered ‘Look Who’s Talking No. 38,’ or ‘Sharknado.” Christopher Nolan here is it.

Conclusion:

Universal’s decision to secure Christopher Nolan’s new film, despite Warner Bros.’ substantial seven-figure offer for Tenet, reflects the studio’s commitment to working with the visionary director. Nolan’s strong relationship with Universal and his desire for creative freedom likely influenced the move. This choice underscores the changing dynamics in the industry, with studios vying for the best talents. The partnership between Nolan and Universal is expected to deliver another cinematic masterpiece.

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