On Wednesday, HBO Max officially launched its planned Max rebrand, and the streaming service’s transition has already been rough. In addition to the anticipated technical difficulties, credits on the platform showcasing the writers and directors behind the projects are buried in a hard-to-find sidebar on Max.
Moreover, at Max, directors, producers, and screenwriters of all titles are not referred to by these particular titles, but instead are all listed as “creative” straight forward.
In response to a storm of anger, Max apologized.
“We agree that the talent behind the content at Max deserves proper recognition for their work,” a Max spokesperson told The Daily Beast. “We will fix credits that were changed due to an error in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max, and we apologize for this error.”
The change sparked an outcry on social media as writers, directors, and movie fans lamented what seemed like the value of sophisticated filmmaking being reduced to content creation alone.
The “Creators” change has also triggered a backlash from syndicates representing Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes talent.
Director’s Guild of America president Lesli Linka Glatter said in a statement, “For almost 90 years, the Directors Guild has fought vigorously to maintain the reputation and recognition that the Directors deserve for the work they have created.” “Warner Bros. Discovery’s unilateral move to reduce directors, writers, producers and others to a general ‘creative’ category in new Max launches, without notice or consultation, while we negotiate with them, is for our members and our association.”
“This devaluation of individual artist contributions is a disturbing trend and the DGA will not stand for it,” Glatter continued. “In solidarity with the WGA, we aim to take the strongest possible measures to ensure that every artist receives the individual praise they deserve.”