Posted in: Max, Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: hbo max, max, opinion, warner bros discovery

Max Faces "Creators" Backlash from Writers, Directors: "An Oversight"

Warner Bros. Discovery's Max streaming service is cleaning up a bad self-inflicted PR blunder that insulted a lot of writers & directors.

When it comes to rolling out something as massive as a streaming service, it's understandable that there would be some bumps over the course of the first few days. So, Warner Bros. Discovery having some glitches as it rolls out Max this week (a combo streamer made up of HBO Max & Discovery+) isn't shocking – it's to be expected. But when you're in the middle of a WGA writers' strike representing the not-at-all sympathetic AMPTP, things like removing titles such as "director," "writer," and others from filmmakers and then lumping everyone under the vague, passionless title of "creators" is probably one of the worst (at best) "bad optics" situations or (at worst) some really petty s**t. Well, the new streamer must've heard the hard pushback from writers, directors, and the Directors Guild of America & WGA West, because Max released this statement: "We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized. 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." Okay, now while you're at it, Max? How about showing some "credit love" to television shows?

WGA West president Meredith Stiehm had this to say about WBD's move prior to the above statement being released: "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. 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." DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter 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. 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."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!