“Drive” and “Only God Forgives” filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn has appeared at the Venice Film Festival to pay tribute to Italian filmmaker Ruggero Deodato and participate in a MasterClass session.
During the latter, the Danish helmer took a chance to take a swipe at streaming services whom he says (via Variety) are: “Overfunded and rotten with money and cocaine”.
Refn proclaimed “cinema is dead” a few years ago, but he’s now changed his tune and says he will fight for cinema to continue as streamers have “kind of saturated everything” and “devalued content to just a swipe”.
Refn, who has directed films of various sizes along with creating series for the two biggest streamers, goes on to say:
“Even though I projected it was dead a few years ago, it has changed into something we have to fight for. Theatrical movies are part of what makes us human and experience creativity.
It’s incredibly sad and terrifying because art is essentially the only thing – besides, you know, sex, water and happiness – that makes us exist.”
Refn last directed the series “Copenhagen Cowboy” for Netflix and “Too Old to Die Young” for Amazon. Refn also told the crowd that he was working on a new movie but wouldn’t share any details.
