In an interview Monday with Deadline , Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard talked about the unique position of having his film test the waters of Warner Bros. 2021 HBO Max strategy.
The big-budget kaiju showdown the latest in Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainments series of Monsterverse films debuts in theaters and on HBO Max on Wednesday. It is one of the most prominent films to premiere on the service as part of Warner Bros. controversial decision to make its entire 2021 slate immediately available for streaming in order to circumvent lost theater revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I went through a whole saga, Wingard told Deadline of his reaction to the films same-day release on both big and small screens. If youd asked me in December, it would have been a different answer. The day HBO Max surprised all of us, it was December 3, my birthday. Here I am, going out of town to celebrate, and I get a text from my agent, Dan Rabinow. Immediately incoming: announcement that all WarnerMedia titles are going to HBO Max. I was like, What the hell?
Wingard, whose previous films were smaller productions like the 2014 thriller The Guest and the 2017 Netflix adaptation of the Japanese anime Death Note, said that the news from Warner Bros. initially devastated him.
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This was my first big movie, a big opportunity, Wingard said. More than that, this is a movie that is meant to be seen on the big screen. If any movie is that, its Godzilla vs. Kong. You want to fill up the size of the screen, this is the one to do it with.
I was depressed, upset, sad, he added. I couldnt be mad at them given the circumstances, but I was happy when Christopher Nolan spoke up on behalf of the filmmakers. That meant a lot to me.
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Warner Bros. Pictures","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjmJDM5pRKbUlVIzDYYWb6g","cache_age":86400,"description":"In theaters and streaming exclusively on @HBOMax* March 26.\n\n*Available on @HBOMax in the US only, for 31 days, at no extra cost to subscribers.\n\nhttps://www.godzillavskong.com/\nhttps://www.facebook.com/GodzillaVsKong\nhttps://www.instagram.com/godzillavskong/\nhttps://twitter.com/GodzillaVsKong\n\n---\n\nFrom Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes the long-awaited face-off between two icons, Godzilla vs. Kong, the next epic adventure in Legendarys cinematic Monsterverse, directed by Adam Wingard.\n\nLegends collide in Godzilla vs. Kong as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titansinstigated by unseen forcesis only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.\n\nThe film stars Alexander Skarsgrd (Big Little Lies, The Little Drummer Girl), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Rebecca Hall (Christine, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women), Brian Tyree Henry (Joker, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Shun Oguri (Weathering with You), Eiza Gonzlez (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), with Kyle Chandler (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) and Demin Bichir (The Nun, The Hateful Eight).\nWingard (The Guest, Youre Next) directed from a screenplay by Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok) and Max Borenstein (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Kong: Skull Island), story by Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields (Godzilla: King of the Monsters), based on the character Godzilla owned and created by TOHO CO., LTD. The film was produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Jon Jashni, Thomas Tull and Brian Rogers, with Jay Ashenfelter, Herbert W. Gains, Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira executive producing.\n\nThe directors behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Ben Seresin (The Mummy, World War Z), production designers Owen Paterson (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Godzilla) and Thomas S. Hammock (Blair Witch), editor Josh Schaeffer (Godzilla: King of the Monsters), costume designer Ann Foley (Skyscraper) and visual effects supervisor John DJ DesJardin (upcoming Zack Snyders Justice League).\n\nWarner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Present a Legendary Pictures Production, A Film By Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs. Kong. The film will be released nationwide in 2D and 3D in select theaters and IMAX on March 26, 2021 and will be available in the U.S. on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release. 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