The newly-relaunched Max streaming platform corrects a ‘mistake’ which discredited the hard working folks who make movies.
Oh, Warner Bros. It’s been a rocky few years for the company that were once known as ‘the filmmaker’s studio’. Once upon a time, the long-standing creative relationships forged with many a filmmaker was almost as much a part of the studio’s identity as the iconic logo that adorns its films.
Those days are long gone though and over the last few years we’ve seen the company make decision after decision that has appalled the filmmaking community, leading to the severing of some of those creative partnerships.
You don’t need us to recount them all here, but the acrimonious departure of long-time Warner Bros filmmaker Christopher Nolan, the decision to scrap completed films like Batgirl as tax write-offs and pop an entire year’s worth of cinematic projects onto its streaming platform incensed more than a few filmmakers.
It’s become a bad habit that Warner Bros seems to be struggling to break, and once again the studio seems to have annoyed the talented people that it relies on to make the films that bring in its profits.
The re-launch of its Max streaming platform (formerly HBO Max) decided for some strange reason to bundle directors and writers into one credit called ‘creators’ which made it unclear just who had fulfilled which creative role on a film.
Even in an era where the design of streaming platform user interfaces sometimes seem to be designed to be as unhelpful as possible (looking at you, Disney+) this was a strange move, especially during a rather incendiary period where studios and creators are already upset with each other to the point where strike action is taking place.
The company quickly corrected the blunder following outcry from creatives and platform users, stating: “We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognised. We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologise for this mistake.”
Apology or no, it hasn’t stopped people piling onto Warner Bros again, just as the company tries to repair its image with those that have become vary wary of its tendency to offer filmmakers the short end of the stick. But don’t worry, it was intentional, just an ‘oversight.’ Thank goodness for that.
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