Netflix has made it pretty clear that they see streaming, not theatrical exhibition, as the future, even as they have been experimenting more and more with short-lived releases in cinemas.
Recently, Netflix was one of three major companies, alongside Paramount and Comcast, to submit bids for acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery. Those bids were due in on Thursday last week.
Little has been heard about them since, beyond Netflix supposedly saying that if they acquire WBD, then Warner Bros. Pictures films would get theatrical releases.
Now, speaking with The Town’s Matt Belloni, “Avatar” filmmaker James Cameron revealed that he’s hoping for Paramount to be the winning bid in that race and has little in the way of restraint regarding his thoughts on Netflix’s attitude to cinemas:
“Cameron: I think Paramount’s the best choice. Netflix would be a disaster. Sorry, Ted, but geez. Sarandos has gone on the record saying theatrical films are dead. ‘Theatrical is dead. Quote, unquote.’
Belloni: He’s now promising theaters if he buys Warner Bros.
Cameron: It’s sucker bait. “We’ll put the movie out for a week or 10 days. We’ll qualify for Oscar consideration.” See, I think that’s fundamentally rotten to the core. A movie should be made as a movie for theatrical, and the Academy Awards mean nothing to me if they don’t mean theatrical. I think they’ve been co-opted, and I think it’s horrific.
Belloni: You don’t think they should be allowed to compete for Oscars?
Cameron: They should be allowed to compete if they put the movie out for a meaningful release in 2,000 theaters for a month.”
Netflix has multiple titles vying for awards this year, including “Frankenstein,” “Jay Kelly”, and “Train Dreams” – all of which got brief rollouts on a few hundred screens for awards qualification. They launch “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” in cinemas this week ahead of its Netflix streaming debut on December 12th.
