Christopher Nolan's Plea to Help Theatres: "We Need What Movies Can Offer Us"

(03/23/2020)

THE DARK KNIGHT director Christopher Nolan, whose new film is the time-tweaking thriller TENET, has long been a champion of 35mm film and an outspoken supporter of the theatrical experience. Now he has written an open letter to remind us all of the community value of movie theatres — and to express the hope that any official aid to businesses affected by the economic fallout of the Coronavirus will include movie theatres.

In the Washington Post, Nolan writes in support of all the theatres that are currently closed based on what he calls "prompt and responsible decisions."

"As Congress considers applications for assistance from all sorts of affected businesses," Nolan writes, "I hope that people are seeing our exhibition community for what it really is: a vital part of social life, providing jobs for many and entertainment for all."

While the filmmaker notes that theatres are crucial partners for his work, his letter is community-oriented.

"When people think about movies," he says, "their minds first go to the stars, the studios, the glamour. But the movie business is about everybody: the people working the concession stands, running the equipment, taking tickets, booking movies, selling advertising and cleaning bathrooms in local theaters. Regular people, many paid hourly wages rather than a salary, earn a living running the most affordable and democratic of our community gathering places."

Many of you reading might have worked in a theatre at some point because love of movies made the job seem ideal. Perhaps you found friends at the theatre, or even family. Many of us developed lifelong relationships as we congregated in the theatre lobby before and after movies. These relationships will all continue, and once this crisis has passed, movie theatres will be places of community entertainment and unification once again.

All images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.