According to Max, the newly rebranded platform formerly known as HBO Max, Patty Jenkins and Allan Heinberg were the creators of 2017. Wonder Woman. At least that’s how Max’s new “details” section refers to Jenkins, who directed the Gal Gadot lead, and Heinberg, who penned the script for the DC Comics movie.
The lack of specific details, and the lumping together of writers and directors simply as “Creators,” has already riled many creatives amid the ongoing writers’ strike and threats of labor unrest among actors’ and directors’ unions as the three guilds are in the midst of separate negotiations with the studios and streamers that make up the Alliance of Film and
The change — HBO Max’s previous credits pages provided more specific details about the writers’ and directors’ roles — was spotted Tuesday night, the same day the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed streamer was rebranded as Max in an attempt to reflect its larger content portfolio after the $43 billion merger that created a scripted and non-scripted powerhouse.
After being spotted on Twitter Tuesday night, writers, directors and other creatives expressed their disdain for the move, which comes as streamers including Netflix and HBO Max already have a “skip intro” feature.
Steven DeKnightReckless) nicknamed the “Makers” bundled an “absolute masterclass in how to screw up a streaming service” noting that the move “will be studied for years.” Poker face showrunner Nora Zuckerman marked the WGA, the DGA, and the Producers Guild of America and questioned how Max thought the various guilds “would even remotely agree” to the change. The notary Jorge Rivera disagreed with being nicknamed simply “Creators” and called is “Another move by studios to lessen the role of writers, directors, actors and other craftsmen.”
The issue applies to both movies and TV series, although the details for the latter are not found in the “Details” tab, like the movie credits are. Instead, the TV credits can be found in the “Episode Details” dropdown menu. (When you click on the pilot to Succession, for example, again groups the following people under “Creators” only: Regina Heyman, Frank Rich, Jesse Armstrong, Will Ferrell, Kevin Messick, Adam McKay, Dara Schnapper, and Ilene S. Landress. (Succession has a creator, Jesse Armstrong.)
the hollywood reporter has reached out to Max and WGA for comment and will update this story when there is a response.