‘Oppenheimer’ Reminds Us Film Is an ‘Art Form’ and Not ‘Content’
“Where it is right now has blown the roof off of my projection,” Villeneuve said. “It’s a three-hour movie about people talking about nuclear physics.”
“When you make a film, you hope that you’re going to connect with an audience in some form or another,” Nolan’s longtime producer and wife Emma Thomas told AP. “But, particularly with a three-hour film that has a serious subject and is challenging in many ways, this sort of success is beyond our wildest imaginings.”
“The future of cinema is IMAX and the large formats,” Villeneuve said. “The audience wants to see something that they cannot have at home, that they cannot have on streaming. They want to experience an event.”
“There’s this notion that movies, in some people’s minds, became content instead of an art form. I hate that word, ‘content,’” he added. “That movies like ‘Oppenheimer’ are released on the big screen and become an event brings back a spotlight on the idea that it’s a tremendous art form that needs to be experienced in theaters.”
Paul Thomas Anderson also credited “Oppenheimer” with blostering interest in 70mm formats. Per the AP: “Domestically, the 25 IMAX 70mm screens [for ‘Oppenheimer’] have grossed some $20 million; standard 70mm locations accounted for over $14 million.”
“When a filmmaker as strong as Chris is pointing a finger at you and telling you where to go… you listen…and audiences have been rewarded for it,” Anderson said. “I know some film buffs who drove from El Paso to Dallas to see the film properly. That’s about 18 hours round trip.”
“I don’t think there’s anyone who could disagree — seeing ‘Oppenheimer’ on film is superior in every single way,” he added. “Not to mention, people are tired of asking, ‘Why would I go to a movie theater to watch TV?’ Good question… you don’t have to anymore… I would call this is nature’s way of healing.”
