When Christopher Nolan isn’t creating some of the most epic films of the modern age, he’s taking his position as the new president of the Directors Guild of America quite seriously. As Hollywood continues to struggle with AI regulations, an unreliable box office, celebrity cancellations, job losses, and more, Nolan is busy searching for answers to everyone’s burning questions about the industry’s future. In a recent address as president of the DGA, Nolan shared his thoughts on the pending Warner Bros./Netflix merger, the decline in job postings, and Hollywood’s uncertain future.
“We have very, very significant concerns about how this is all going to happen,” Nolan said in his first interview as DGA leader since being elected in September. “I think it’s a very worrying time for the industry. The loss of a major studio is a huge blow.”
Nolan on his concerns about technology in Hollywood
While speaking to a roundtable of reporters, Nolan warned that filmmaking is under attack by new business models that do not have the industry’s best interests in mind. There are no shortcuts when it comes to creativity, and if we allow machines to do the work of imaginative people, we could find ourselves in a worse position than we’re already in.
“We need to look at how the new models have created this disconnect between — frankly — the level of production and overall spending from the consumer,” he said, while expressing concern about technology becoming a dagger in Hollywood’s side. “That’s completely unacceptable.”
Nolan on possibly taxing film projects made overseas
Continuing to address his concerns, Nolan touched on President Trump’s proposed 100% tax on movies made overseas. While Trump continues to project an “America First” platform, his ideas to keep Hollywood in America could damage the filmmaking process in unforeseen ways.
“I don’t know how a tariff system would work,” Nolan commented. “I will say that since President Trump has started bandying these ideas around, there’s a much more serious conversation from the studios about how to improve the situation in the United States — to be perfectly frank about it.”
Nolan on how WB’s merger with Netflix causes concerns
Concerning the would-be merger between Warner Bros. and Netflix, Nolan says he (and, by extension, the DGA) needs more details about what the merger would mean for the industry overall. While Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has pledged to maintain a 45-day window for theatrical releases, the DGA would prefer a 60-day window. It’s only 15 days, but that time could make or break a movie at the box office and beyond. In other words, this window could be one of many sticking points when deciding how one of the most significant mergers in Hollywood history would work.
“There are encouraging noises, but that’s not the same as commitments,” Nolan said. “The theatrical window becomes a sort of easily graspable symbol of whether Warner Bros. will be run as a theatrical distributor or whether it be folded in as a streamer. But the reality is, the issues on the television side and the streaming side are far more important to our membership.”
Is AI a way to advance filmmaking or destroy it?
Finally, Nolan raised concerns about the growing use of AI, saying the tools used to manufacture content take control and vision away from filmmakers. AI also creates a grey area regarding “creative rights.” Who gets credit for AI content when that content is created using bits and pieces of other people’s work? Does the director have a hand in the content’s creation if a machine manufactures it? Who owns the content created from fractions of existing work? Yeah, it’s a nightmare.
Does Christopher Nolan raise some interesting issues about the state of the filmmaking industry? Let us know in the comments section below.
