The creators behind HBO Max’s Bat girl said that they were so stunned by the streamer’s decision to cancel the movie that they tried to log into the server and record their work on their mobile phones before their access was quickly revoked. return.
Director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah recount how they learned the “shocking” and “painful” news in One video posted to their personal Instagram accounts on Wednesday afternoon.
The film is one of two upcoming feature-length projects that have been sacrificed for Warner Bros.’s newly merged Discovery. is undergoing an extensive corporate restructuring. By canceling and pausing the film, the corporation was able to erase its losses and reduce its tax burden while focusing on sky high debt.
In an interview for the YouTube channel SKRIPT posted on Monday, the directors said Warner executives assured them “it’s not a matter of talent from our part or the actress, or even the quality of the film.”
The abrupt cancellation has disappointed fans who have been eagerly awaiting another event in the DC Extended Universe. Filmed entirely in Glasgow to the disappointment of some local businessesThe movie is also expected a media star for singer Leslie Gracewho appeared in the musical that was delayed by the pandemic In the heights for positive comments.
“I didn’t even realize it was a possibility,” El Arbi said of HBO Max’s decision. “As if we [making] cinematic history right there. “
As previously reported, the directors — who were born in Belgium — have in Morocco for El Arbi’s wedding at the time. In Wednesday’s video, Fallah pauses to admit bad timing: “Congratulations, man,” he told his creative partner.
“I didn’t even realize it was a possibility. It’s like we [making] movie history right there.“
When they received the call, Fallah was in Tetouan visiting his grandparents’ graves, while Fallah was in Tangier for an hour enjoying an on-site honeymoon with his wife.
El Arbi said: “Thank God for my beautiful superhero wife who has been with and supported me all this time.
They revealed that the duo was still working on the superhero movie, adding that they were missing all of the visual effects and hadn’t completed the necessary reshoots. With both of them overseas for what’s supposed to be an anniversary, they manage to get all of their footage back before the studio locks them off the remote server that houses their movie.
“I called right away, Martin Walsh, the editor, and said, ‘Yo, you have to clean up that garbage, you know, backup—let’s copy the movie,’” El Arbi said.
Bilal adds: “Then Adil called me and said, ‘Yo, yo, dial it into your phone!’ So I went into the server and everything was blocked.”
El Arbi quickly apologized for the unsuccessful “piracy” attempt.
“It wasn’t the right thing to do, but I panicked, you know,” he said.
When the incident first became public, a source close to the directors told The Daily Beast it was all about the money. The film is considered a live-action film, which means the production is less flashy, though not much less expensive, than a theatrical film. Its a strategy that the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, finds very little reason, argued that putting the film online would generate significantly less revenue than bringing it to the big screen. That’s a problem, because Zaslav is accused of reducing Warner’s $50 billion debt, a preference that has led to Mass layoffs at HBO Max and completely remove many programs from the platform as it pursues more tax relief and cuts the rest.
“That was the last time you made love to Jason Kilar. This is not about art, but about financial engineering,” a source told The Daily Beast earlier this month. “It’s not a $90 million movie, it’s $60 to $70 million,” he added, rebutting reports of the film’s total cost. “It was built as a mini-movie for streamers. To make it happen on stage, they would have to spend an extra $40 million on special effects and make it bigger, and even more money on marketing and distribution. “
For her part, Grace addressed the contract cancellation in an August 3 Instagram post.
“Following the recent news of our Batgirl movie, I’m proud of the love, hard work, and intentions of all the incredible cast and tireless crew that have poured into the set. this film over 7 months in Scotland,” she wrote. “To every Batgirl fan – THANK YOU for the love and faith that allowed me to put on my cape and be, as Babs best put it, ‘my own goddamn hero!'”
Some in the industry will be lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Bat girl was cut at a secret “funeral screening” on the set of Warner Bros. this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
