Separate credit for directors and writers of film and television shows will be restored on Max after backlash over the rebranded streaming service’s “Creators” heading, which consolidated writers and directors into one category without distinction.
“We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized,” a Max spokesperson told MovieMaker on Wednesday.
“We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologize for this mistake.”
The snafu came just one day after HBO Max officially gave way to the rebranded Max on Tuesday.
This Tweet Drew Attention to the Max Creators Heading
One tweet seemed to capture the rage amid the still ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, which has halted the creation of scripted content across Hollywood as the guild seeks to reach a new contract with eight major studios through the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The WGA is advocating for fair pay and job security for screenwriters in today’s changing streaming landscape.
Also Read: Writers Strike Dos and Don’ts for Pre-WGA Writers, Explained by the WGA
“The new HBO Max (MAX) has eliminated writer/director credits in their interface in favor of a vague ‘Creators,’” John Frankensteiner wrote, along with a screenshot of Max’s listing for Raging Bull. “It’s so f—ing over.”
Before Max made the decision to overhaul the brief “Creators” heading, the presidents of the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, West issued a joint statement condemning the “unilateral decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to change the long-standing individual credits of directors and writers in the new rollout of Max.”
“Warner Bros has lumped writers, directors and producers into an invented, diminishing category they call ‘Creators.’ This is a credits violation for starters. But worse, it is disrespectful and insulting to the artists that make the films and TV shows that make their corporation billions,” said WGA West president Meredith Stiehm said.
“This attempt to diminish writers’ contributions and importance echoes the message we heard in our negotiations with AMPTP — that writers are marginal, inessential, and should simply accept being paid less and less, while our employers’ profits go higher and higher. This tone-deaf disregard for writers’ importance is what brought us to where we are today — Day 22 of our strike,” she added.
“For almost 90 years, the Directors Guild has fought fiercely to protect the credit and recognition deserved by directors for the work they create,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “Warner Bros. Discovery’s unilateral move, without notice or consultation, to collapse directors, writers, producers and others into a generic category of ‘creators’ in their new Max rollout while we are in negotiations with them is a grave insult to our members and our union.”
Main Image: A still from Raging Bull.
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