In the Heights on HBO Max?- Page 2

[BwayLB]

That’s great but I’m going to decide if my area improves in terms of decreasing COVID cases before June arrives. That way I’ll know how I’ll watch In the Heights. I want my parents to see it with me.

[Call_me_jorge]

Good to know this board remains to be wrong yet again.

[degrassifan]

Call_me_jorge said: "Good to know this board remains to be wrong yet again."

LOL right. I've just learned over the years that half the people on this board don't know what they're talking about. 

[teddy1996]

jon m chu said in an interview earlier this year that him and lin were adamant that the movie wouldn’t go to streaming

[SmoothLover]

NY Times opinion piece.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/opinion/warner-hbo-movies-theaters.html?referringSource=articleShare

[gleek4114]

teddy1996 said: "jon m chu said in an interview earlier this year that him and lin were adamant that the movie wouldn’t go to streaming "

While this may be so, they’re not the ones making this call, it’s the studio’s doing. 

[sabrelady]

Very annoyed. In Canada HBO is affiliated w CRAVE and they have already stated that we will not be getting this product on that service. GRRRR. I really enjoy the WW franchise, but even for her, I ain't going into a physical theatre b4 my vaccination.

[teddy1996]

lin manuel miranda and jon m chu are shocked and disappointed about the decision to put in the heights on HBO max. they wanted the movie to be a theatrical release only.

[teddy1996]

lin manuel miranda and jon m chu are shocked and disappointed about the decision to put in the heights on HBO max. they wanted the movie to be a theatrical release only.

[JBroadway]

teddy1996 said: "lin manuel miranda and jon m chu are shocked and disappointed about the decision to put in the heights on HBO max. they wanted the movie to be a theatrical release only."

 

Source?

[Islander_fan]

teddy1996 said: "lin manuel miranda and jon m chu are shocked and disappointed about the decision to put in the heights on HBO max. they wanted the movie to be a theatrical release only."

No, you’re incorrect. This past summer was the height of the first wave of Covid. Many studios pulled the plug on releasing some of their summer titles in theaters because seeing a movie in theatres was not an option. Some studios decided to go the on demand rental route, thinking that they could at least get some sort of revenue without theatres being an option. Lin and Chu did not want that for the Heights movie so they said that they were going to wait till summer 2021. Neither one of them commented on how they feel with the movie being available in theatres as well as streaming at the same time.

[JBroadway]

I'd be surprised Miranda and Chu were in charge of that decision, though I guess their opinion would have been taken into account. 

Plus, even if they were: who knows how their feelings on the matter might have shifted since March/April or whenever that was. It feels like we've all gone through a lifetime since then. The past 9 months have been a constant game of reassessing, recalibrating, recalculating, etc. etc. especially when it comes to the state of the entertainment industries. 

[gypsy101]

Jordan Catalano said: "No. "

lmao

[VotePeron]

Lin and Jon were not involved at all in this decision. It was a call made by AT&T, the parent company of WB/HBO Max. In fact, Warner Brothers did not inform the cast or creative members of any of the films. They all truly found out when the rest of the world did.

Read: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/christopher-nolan-rips-hbo-max-as-worst-streaming-service-denounces-warner-bros-plan

"According to a source, Emmerich tried to soothe In the Heights director Jon M. Chu by pointing out that the movie was still getting a “global theatrical release.” But industry insiders say the studio is pretending that pirates won’t pounce as soon as these films are streaming on HBO Max. As soon as one does, there's an “excellent version of the movie everywhere immediately,” notes one industry veteran.

WarnerMedia’s decision to attack without warning may be understandable given the blowback that was foreseeable. But to many insiders, blindsiding talent and their reps seemed like an insult. Sources say studio president Courtenay Valenti was the only Warner exec who dared to speak up about the need to reach out to key creative partners, but she was quickly hushed."

[Islander_fan]

Clearly what they did was a jerk move by not informing the creatives ahead of time. But, despite the fact that for all the Warner Brothers movies are coming out both in theatres and HBO Max at the same time, I do wonder how this will help them as far as revenue goes.

Now, yes, HBO Max is a subscriber based service. But, the one thing I feel they did not really think through is this. If you already get HBO from a small list of cable providers (and they plan to add more) you can get HBO Max for free. I don’t know how by having their service given out to a lot of people for free will help them. Take Disney for example, there is no way to get it for free via a cable company etc. Mulan was supposed to be their big summer film this year, they tried to make up for that by charging extra to see it on Disney Plus (I still think they should have used this method for Hamilton instead, they’d have made a lot more that way.)

Basically I understand the logic behind it but I don’t think it was a fully well designed plan.

[Ahmy]

This sucks for people who live outside the US, and don't live close to a theatre. Canada has access to HBO stuff through Crave, but they've already said all the movies won't be streamable up here. 

Disney is the worst, but at least their streaming service is fully available in more than one country.

[jo]

The NYTimes weighs in on the controversial WarnerMedia release policy for 2021 film slate --

www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/business/media/warner-bros-hbo-max-movies-pay.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage
 

"The surprise move left agencies on a war footing. Representatives for major Warner Bros. stars like Denzel Washington, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie wanted to know why their clients had been treated in a lesser manner than Ms. Gadot. Talk of a Warner Bros. boycott began circulating inside the Directors Guild of America. A partner at one talent agency spent part of the weekend meeting with litigators. Some people started to angrily refer to the studio as Former Bros.

“For the longest time, Warner Bros. has been known as the best home for talent, and that has been a significant competitive advantage,” Michael Nathanson, a founder of the MoffettNathanson media research firm, said in a phone interview. “With this move, they alienated the very talent they have worked so hard to attract. These aren’t engineers you can just replace.”

 

Gal Gadot & the director of the new Wonder Woman movie were paid $ 10 million each for the dual opening screening ( theaters & HBO-MAX on Christmas Day).

 

[BJR]

^Yup all this.

In the movie world, this is a huge deal, with LMM being a far less bigger deal than the A-List talent that felt shafted by this move. None of the creatives were consulted apparently. It was a move made unilaterally by executives.

Christopher Nolan was explicit in his criticisms in Hollywood Reporter: "Christopher Nolan Rips HBO Max as "Worst Streaming Service," Denounces Warner Bros.' Plan""

"“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.”

Point is, what Chu and LMM wanted is pretty irrelevant.

 

[Babe_Williams]

Ledaero said: "Wonder Woman being released on HBO Max is a massive indication as to how studios will seek distribution going forward. This is the first time a studio has essentially succumbed to streaming, forfeiting potential box office revenue for consumer needs. It seems to be a milestone in how movies will be distributed going forward, and I anticipate all major studios following suit in some fashion. So yes, I think it's very likely that In The Heights will be released for streaming, likely simultaneous with a theatrical release.

As the head of Warner Bros said in the announcement, "We're not in Kansas anymore...""

I can't describe how much HBO Max botched their launch by not having an agreement with amazon and roku (I know they came to a deal with amazon). We have HBO Max by virture of our cable subscription, but since its not available on roku, we rarely use it because its too much of a PITA to plug in my ipad to the TV and stream.

 

For WW84 and other movies, i'll deal with it, but we would definitely watch HBO max more if it was on roku

[jo]

What happens when there is a dual release -  day/date opening for both theaters and streaming services. Are MPAA classifications generally observed for streaming? Or do they edit the movies ( like Disney+ did for an old movie, SPLASH)?  I am keen to see a forthcoming WB release ( part of the 17),  a movie called REMINISCENCE  ( a romantic sci-fi  thriller with Greatest Showman stars Jackman & Ferguson), via streaming if I could. It has received its MPAA rating, thus:

"MPAA : Rated PG-13 for strong violence, drug material throughout, sexual content and some strong language "

[Fosse76]

jo said: "What happens when there is a dual release - day/date opening for both theaters and streaming services. Are MPAA classifications generally observed for streaming? Or do they edit the movies ( like Disney+ did for an old movie, SPLASH)? I am keen to see a forthcoming WB release ( part of the 17), a movie called REMINISCENCE ( a romantic sci-fi thriller with Greatest Showman stars Jackman & Ferguson), via streaming if I could. It has received its MPAA rating, thus:

"MPAA :Rated PG-13 for strong violence, drug material throughout, sexual content and some strong language ""

The ratings requirement is a result of most movie theaters not showing unrated films. Streaming services can present anything they want. But most media is rated anyway,  and what isn't rated they tend to self-rate (mainly to serve as a guide).