This is more of a win for a corporation
It was announced that the infamous Zack Synder cut of the Justice League will be coming to HBO’s new streaming service, HBO Max. #ReleaseTheSnyderCut was a grassroots movement that gained steam on the internet. During the filming, there were many reports of Warner Brothers being unhappy with Zack Synder’s vision of the Justice League movie. Unforntually there was a personal tragedy in Synder’s life and he had to walk away from the film. Joss Whedon came in and finished the film. There was a lot cut and brought the film down to 120 minutes.
When the film hit theaters, it was considered a critical and box office flop, but there were still loyal fans of Synder that placed blame on the film’s performance on both the studio and Wheedon. Then the rumors started of a cut of Synder’s original vision. This quickly gained a lot of momentum, with many people, like actors Jason Momoa and Ray Fisher, backing this movement.
Well, now it seems like Synder fans get their dreams coming true with the Synder cut coming to HBO Max. Many fans took to Twitter claiming “they’ve won” against Warner Brothers.
Hate to tell you, but you didn’t.
My opinion on the Justice League film is very irrelevant in this discussion, but what’s bothering me is that people saw this as a David vs Goliath thing and that they won. No, it’s Warner Brothers who won.
In this new deal, this version of Justice League will be a 4 hr cut or split into 6 ‘chapters’ and will have a $20-$30M budget to finish VFX. That’s is a lot of money for Warner to shell out for something they already lost money on. So obviously they crunched the numbers and figured out how to make a profit on their investment. If Warner thought they could make money on it any earlier, they would have released it then.
Warner Brothers is a business and like any business, like to make money. Find me one business that likes to lose money. Especially in entertainment. I really don’t feel Warner gave in to pressure. They saw an opportunity, assessed the risk, and figured out they could make money.
This endeavor will be taking place on Warner’s new streaming service, HBO Max. Currently, memberships are about $15 a month (give or take special pricing). That means if you want to see the Synder cut, you have to buy a membership. So if you are giving Warner more money…please explain to me how you won? You didn’t.
Not only will there be a TV membership you have to buy, but now there will be more marketing materials out there. Toys, books, etc. And who owns the license to all those items? Warner Brothers. Just another way for them to make money.
Honestly I do hope you enjoy the Synder cut when it comes out. I’m curious myself about it. But just remember, you didn’t win. If you actually won, then Synder would have fronted the money himself, produced everything on his own, and released it free of charge.
Anthony Andujar Jr.
I generally like” extended Cuts “Etc. It satisfies the geek in me. I wonder what it will really add. I know I won’t be paying for it though.
Yes! All of this!
Except, I can certainly say that the opera business (theatres and singers alike) is a very good example of a business that seems like it does not want to make money (giving out their content for free all over the place and not even paying the singers and orchestra musicians for the content broadcast (to be fair, it would be hard to pay a few of those people as they have pulled down the curtain and joined the choir invisible)), but that’s a digression and discussion for another day and another site. Otherwise, spot on!
Well written and critically thought through. Bravo! It’s sad to think that people see this as a win for them.