From another comment on this on Reddit: This film is being released on 70mm IMAX film so it would literally cost money to make the credits longer.
From another comment on this on Reddit:
Typically the studio producing the movie tells the VFX studio how many lines they get for credits. The VFX studio then picks the names that fit into that number of lines.
If you go to DNEG's web page, they typically publish their artist list for each show, independent of what makes it into the credits in the film. In the case of Oppenheimer DNEG lists over 100 names. So DNEG didn't get the list wrong, they have a full accounting on their website, they were likely given a restrictive number of lines for their credits.
Yeah, reading the headline alone gave me the thought that of the long list of things a director is responsible for, proofreading or editing the credits is almost certainly not on that list.
Yeah, reading the headline alone gave me the thought that of the long list of things a director is responsible for, proofreading or editing the credits is almost certainly not on that list.
Oh you reminded me the YouTube video that I watched a day or two ago and learned that apparently this movie barely fit in the maximum length 70mm IMAX could handle. The spool is gigantic...
Oh you reminded me the YouTube video that I watched a day or two ago and learned that apparently this movie barely fit in the maximum length 70mm IMAX could handle.
If you watch the video of Oppenheimer being spliced together from its 53(!) component reels and spooled onto the projector platters, you'll see that those platters, once extended, barely fit...
If you watch the video of Oppenheimer being spliced together from its 53(!) component reels and spooled onto the projector platters, you'll see that those platters, once extended, barely fit within the constraints of the projector furniture.
So it looks like three hours is just about the upper bound for film IMAX.
And unfortunately there likely won't ever be any new IMAX projectors because of the cost associated with distributing films on the format. I'm still salty that all three of the real 70mm IMAX...
And unfortunately there likely won't ever be any new IMAX projectors because of the cost associated with distributing films on the format.
I'm still salty that all three of the real 70mm IMAX projectors in my state were mothballed over a decade ago, right before IMAX filmmaking started to take off. This is my punishment for living in a flyover state.
I'm not sure if this is at all related, but I just saw the movie last night and commented that the credits were about half of what I expected. I figured they just had less VFX so less to credit.
I'm not sure if this is at all related, but I just saw the movie last night and commented that the credits were about half of what I expected. I figured they just had less VFX so less to credit.
It looks like the article tries really hard to attack Nolan specifically for some reason, but (maybe I'm wrong) director doesn't have much to do with credits. I think that would be call of...
It looks like the article tries really hard to attack Nolan specifically for some reason, but (maybe I'm wrong) director doesn't have much to do with credits. I think that would be call of producer or the movie studio.
No, it's not. Different people have different roles and are responsible for different things. In this particular case (which names are credited), the decision is made by the actor and writer...
No, it's not. Different people have different roles and are responsible for different things.
In this particular case (which names are credited), the decision is made by the actor and writer guilds for opening credits and by the producer for the end credits. This is not a decision the director is making. And even that is oversimplifying it, as there are a bunch of contractual agreements (especially with the actors) so the producer can't take them out without massive lawsuits.
Directors are most certainly not CEOs (the CEOs of those movie studios are the actual CEOs). And CEOs themselves are not the kings with unlimited power.
People want everything to be simple and straight-forward, and to have a clear person they can blame or praise. But reality is complex. Big projects like this that involve thousands upon thousands of people, there simply isn't one person who is making all the decisions.
I kind of want the government to start running PSAs about how auteur theory isn't reality. Very few film directors demand as much micromanaging as Stanley Kubrick, and even if they did it doesn't...
I kind of want the government to start running PSAs about how auteur theory isn't reality.
Very few film directors demand as much micromanaging as Stanley Kubrick, and even if they did it doesn't make any sense to credit everything to the director when hundreds or thousands of people were involved in the making of the film.
There's certain corners of the internet that really dislike filmmakers like Nolan and Tarantino and will grasp on whatever they can to paint them in a negative light.
really hard to attack Nolan specifically for some reason
There's certain corners of the internet that really dislike filmmakers like Nolan and Tarantino and will grasp on whatever they can to paint them in a negative light.
I can’t vouch for the site specifically, but I work for the company that did the VFX and it’s certainly true - although I didn’t work on this movie specifically
I can’t vouch for the site specifically, but I work for the company that did the VFX and it’s certainly true - although I didn’t work on this movie specifically
It’s common to some extent, but this is an extreme case. Each studio that works on a movie get a a “budget” of people they can put in the credits. How each department handles their allocation is...
It’s common to some extent, but this is an extreme case.
Each studio that works on a movie get a a “budget” of people they can put in the credits. How each department handles their allocation is up to them. (The technology department I work in usually only get a few names). My company was the only VFX company to work on Oppenheimer, meaning all the VFX names were going to come from us - we weren’t “fighting” with other companies for the space allocation, but Oppenheimer had given the VFX house so little space that only a dozen or so (I think the number was 16?) names could go on.
I’ve seen posts on LinkedIn about people pushing to get their names out there or calls to unionise and complain about this, it’s become a big deal because of this movie. It’s worth noting that on the company page for Oppenheimer, they do list every name that worked on it (which as far as I can tell is SOP for dneg)
There is a great documentary about what happened with Rhythm & Hues Studios (VFX studio) as they were winning oscars for their work in Life of Pi. The model for VFX projects has been largely...
There is a great documentary about what happened with Rhythm & Hues Studios (VFX studio) as they were winning oscars for their work in Life of Pi. The model for VFX projects has been largely unchanged for years and is fixed bid but allows the studios to make an infinite amount of changes for an indefinite period of time.
From another comment on this on Reddit:
This film is being released on 70mm IMAX film so it would literally cost money to make the credits longer.
Yeah, reading the headline alone gave me the thought that of the long list of things a director is responsible for, proofreading or editing the credits is almost certainly not on that list.
Oh you reminded me the YouTube video that I watched a day or two ago and learned that apparently this movie barely fit in the maximum length 70mm IMAX could handle.
The spool is gigantic
https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/oppenheimer-platters.jpg?w=2589&h=1722&crop=1&resize=1024%2C681
Edit: a video with relevant part https://youtu.be/d5XqqylBW7M?t=592 (although watching the full thing is extremely interesting)
If you watch the video of Oppenheimer being spliced together from its 53(!) component reels and spooled onto the projector platters, you'll see that those platters, once extended, barely fit within the constraints of the projector furniture.
So it looks like three hours is just about the upper bound for film IMAX.
Yes. If I remember correctly "Watchmen" had some scenes and plotlines cut platted. post to make sure the film could fit onto an IMAX platter.
I read something about that too. They're literally hitting the upper limit of what you can do with current IMAX projectors.
And unfortunately there likely won't ever be any new IMAX projectors because of the cost associated with distributing films on the format.
I'm still salty that all three of the real 70mm IMAX projectors in my state were mothballed over a decade ago, right before IMAX filmmaking started to take off. This is my punishment for living in a flyover state.
Same for me. Checking this site shows me there's only 19 theaters in all of US playing in 70mm IMAX.
I'm not sure if this is at all related, but I just saw the movie last night and commented that the credits were about half of what I expected. I figured they just had less VFX so less to credit.
I’ve never heard of this news site before, I only saw this through a tumblr post. If this isn't true let me know and I'll delete the post
It looks like the article tries really hard to attack Nolan specifically for some reason, but (maybe I'm wrong) director doesn't have much to do with credits. I think that would be call of producer or the movie studio.
People always want to reduce everything about a film to the director, negative or positive.
I mean, that's literally the job though. You're responsible for everything, even if people under you are actually doing it. Same as CEOs of companies.
No, it's not. Different people have different roles and are responsible for different things.
In this particular case (which names are credited), the decision is made by the actor and writer guilds for opening credits and by the producer for the end credits. This is not a decision the director is making. And even that is oversimplifying it, as there are a bunch of contractual agreements (especially with the actors) so the producer can't take them out without massive lawsuits.
Directors are most certainly not CEOs (the CEOs of those movie studios are the actual CEOs). And CEOs themselves are not the kings with unlimited power.
People want everything to be simple and straight-forward, and to have a clear person they can blame or praise. But reality is complex. Big projects like this that involve thousands upon thousands of people, there simply isn't one person who is making all the decisions.
I kind of want the government to start running PSAs about how auteur theory isn't reality.
Very few film directors demand as much micromanaging as Stanley Kubrick, and even if they did it doesn't make any sense to credit everything to the director when hundreds or thousands of people were involved in the making of the film.
Technically it is negative or reversal.
There's certain corners of the internet that really dislike filmmakers like Nolan and Tarantino and will grasp on whatever they can to paint them in a negative light.
I can’t vouch for the site specifically, but I work for the company that did the VFX and it’s certainly true - although I didn’t work on this movie specifically
Is it a common occurrence, or unique to Oppenheimer?
It’s common to some extent, but this is an extreme case.
Each studio that works on a movie get a a “budget” of people they can put in the credits. How each department handles their allocation is up to them. (The technology department I work in usually only get a few names). My company was the only VFX company to work on Oppenheimer, meaning all the VFX names were going to come from us - we weren’t “fighting” with other companies for the space allocation, but Oppenheimer had given the VFX house so little space that only a dozen or so (I think the number was 16?) names could go on.
I’ve seen posts on LinkedIn about people pushing to get their names out there or calls to unionise and complain about this, it’s become a big deal because of this movie. It’s worth noting that on the company page for Oppenheimer, they do list every name that worked on it (which as far as I can tell is SOP for dneg)
Is this something that could be fixed for the streaming and blu-ray releases? Or is it set in stone now?
I can’t vouch for this particular story, but CartoonBrew has been around for a while.
There is a great documentary about what happened with Rhythm & Hues Studios (VFX studio) as they were winning oscars for their work in Life of Pi. The model for VFX projects has been largely unchanged for years and is fixed bid but allows the studios to make an infinite amount of changes for an indefinite period of time.