LOS ANGELES -- Quebec director Denis Villeneuve is angry with parent company AT&T, accusing it of sacrificing production company Warner Bros. by announcing the online broadcast of his new film 'Dune' at the same time as the theatrical release of the work.

In an opinion piece published on Variety magazine's site, the filmmaker accused AT&T of having no interest in cinema or in one of the biggest production companies in history, Warner Bros. nor for cinephiles, who appreciate film.

Villeneuve said AT&T is only seeking to save its online viewing platform HBO Max from failure as well as its own skin as the telecommunications giant stumbles.

"With this decision, AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history," wrote Villeneuve. "There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here. It is all about the survival of a telecom mammoth, one that is currently bearing an astronomical debt of more than $150 billion."

The director said he heard about the business decision in the media. He added that he has also noticed that HBO Max is using the images from his film to boost its platform.

He claims that 'Dune' is his best film by far and that it is a unique experience whose images and sound have been created to be fully appreciated in a movie theatre.

"'Dune' is by far the best movie I’ve ever made," he wrote. "My team and I devoted more than three years of our lives to make it a unique big-screen experience."

For Villeneuve, although 'Dune' is a cinematographic work dedicated to moviegoers, AT&T is only thinking about its performance on Wall Street. The parent company would therefore, he said, have no problem sacrificing the entire 2021 Warner Bros. launch schedule "in a desperate attempt to grab the audience’s attention."

The filmmaker had harsh words for Warner Bros. too, which, according to him, has completely changed his view.

"Warner Bros.’ sudden reversal from being a legacy home for filmmakers to the new era of complete disregard draws a clear line for me," he wrote. "Filmmaking is a collaboration, reliant on the mutual trust of team work and Warner Bros. has declared they are no longer on the same team."

While acknowledging that online broadcasting is a powerful addition to content delivery, he insisted that these platforms alone cannot support the film industry, especially not films of 'Dune's scale.

"Warner Bros.’ decision means 'Dune' won’t have the chance to perform financially in order to be viable and piracy will ultimately triumph," he said.

Villeneuve said he understands the dangers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and agreed to postpone the theatrical release of 'Dune' to Oct. 2021. hoping that vaccines would be deployed and some normalcy would return by then.

He added that the future of cinema is on the big screen, no matter what Wall Street financiers may think of it because it is first and foremost a human collective experience.

-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2020.