Christopher Nolan Says Taylor Swift Is Teaching Movie Studios a Lesson

2023 has been a fascinating year at the box office, with films breaking box office expectations and drawing in massive audiences in increasingly-unexpected ways. Following the Barbie and Oppenheimer hype of this summer, the most recent success has been Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour, the filmed version of Swift's worldwide concert tour. The concert film has already become the highest-grossing concert movie of all time — and it looks like Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan is sharing his praise for the endeavor. In a recent panel discussion at City University of New York, Nolan highlighted Swift going directly through AMC Theaters to distribute the film, and hopes that it reflects a shift away from the traditional studio distribution in the future.

"Taylor Swift is about to show the studios, because her concert film is not being distributed by the studios, it's being distributed by a theater owner, AMC, and it's going to make an enormous amount of money," Nolan explained. "And this is the thing, [theatrical exhibition is] a format and a way of seeing things and sharing stories, or sharing experiences, that's incredibly valuable. And if [the studios] don't want it, somebody else will. So that's just the truth of it."

What Is Taylor Swift's Movie About?

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour will be a filmed version of Swift's landmark Eras Tour, which completed its first U.S. leg in August. Filmed across three nights of shows in Los Angeles' Sofi Stadium, the film will showcase Swift's performance of songs from all ten of her albums — Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore, and Midnights. In celebration of the movie's release, AMC upgraded its ticket-booking capacity by five times to account for fan demand. It also priced standard adult tickets at $19.89 — a reference to the year Swift was born, as well as her fifth album 1989 — with children's and senior tickets at $13.13, which is a reference to Swift's lucky number.

"The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I'm overjoyed to tell you that it'll be coming to the big screen soon," Swift wrote when announcing the film on social media. "Starting Oct 13th you'll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! ...Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged 1, 2, 3 LGB!!!! (iykyk)"

Is Taylor Swift Directing a Movie?

In addition to Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour, it was announced in late 2022 that Swift will direct a feature film for Searchlight Pictures. The currently-untitled film is based on a script written by Swift, but additional details have not been made public amid Swift's busy schedule, as well as the recent Hollywood strikes.

"Taylor has not consulted me about upcoming directing projects, but I think she has the makings of a hell of a director," Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy revealed in a recent interview. "Taylor, the depth of her vision for how she wants a creative piece to be, whether it's a lyric, a melody, a bridge, a concert tour, a video — it's profound. It's profoundly vivid and she has the strength of her convictions. Spielberg was on the set of a movie he produced that I directed, called 'Real Steel,' and I said to him, 'How do you know it's the right shot?' His answer was, 'The way you see it, that makes it right.' I feel like that's something Taylor Swift has figured out really well, because that's about trusting your instinct."

What do you think of Christopher Nolan's comments about Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!