In an interview with the Associated Press, Christopher Nolan weighs in with his take on the essential role of franchises in Hollywood. While Nolan is best known for taking on daring and expensive original films, he recognizes that audiences are also drawn to well-known characters and storylines.
“[Sequels have] always been a big part of the economics of Hollywood,” Nolan said. “And [they pay] for lots of other types of films to be made and distributed….A healthy ecosystem in Hollywood is about a balance between the two things and always has been.”
Nolan was asked to give his opinion on comments made by fellow filmmaker Martin Scorsese in an interview published in GQ. Scorsese railed against Hollywood’s increasing reliance on movie franchises, claiming that increasingly the studio business model was to wind up movies in a way that allowed its characters to come back in a manufactured sequel.
“The danger there is what it’s doing to our culture,” Scorsese said. “Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those—that’s what movies are.”
Listen: Interview with Christopher Nolan on the Occasion of ‘Oppenheimer’ Home Video Release (Associated Press)
See Also: The Movies Are Back. But We’re Still Learning How to Love Going to Theaters Again (LA Times)