Christopher Nolan apologises to Netflix: I was undiplomatic in the way I expressed it

Christopher Nolan’s apology to Netflix isn’t strictly a reversal of any of his opinions.

Few months back Hollywood director, producer Christopher Nolan had criticised the online streaming giant Netflix for the effect it has had on Hollywood. Now, in a recent interview with The Variety, the Dunkirk director has admitted that he wrote to Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos to apologise for his fierce criticism of the service.

The apology he sent to Sarandos isn’t strictly a reversal of any of these opinions. “I should have been more polite. I said what I believe, but I was undiplomatic in the way I expressed it. I wasn’t giving any context to the frankly revolutionary nature of what Netflix has done. It’s extraordinary. They need appropriate respect for that, which I have,” Nolan said.

However, the Interstellar director still believes the industry should respect the theatrical release model. “My entire adult life they have released straight-to-video films. As a filmmaker, when I was starting out in the ’90s, your nightmare was the straight-to-video release. There’s nothing new about it, what’s different and new about it is selling it to Wall Street as innovation or disruption,” noted Nolan in the interview with The Variety.

Nolan has said before he believes in the business model Amazon is working under for its original films. Unlike Netflix, Amazon releases its movies theatrically for 90 days, like last year’s Manchester by the Sea, before bringing it to Amazon Prime subscribers. Nolan has publicly refused to work with Netflix in the past.

“A scenario in which movies and television become more similar elevates television but diminishes movies,” he told in the same interview to The Variety. While talking about his last film, Dunkirk he said,”I didn’t view this as a war film. I viewed it as a survival story.”

(With inputs from Agencies)