I generally like Spielbergs films, even that stinker Ready Player One, but he's wrong here. It should not matter HOW a film is distributed. It should not matter whether it gets a theatrical...
I generally like Spielbergs films, even that stinker Ready Player One, but he's wrong here.
It should not matter HOW a film is distributed. It should not matter whether it gets a theatrical release. The quality of the movie/film will speak for itself.
This is Spielberg being the Old Man Yelling at the Cloud.
I'm going to copy a portion of a comment I made earlier on this site about Spielberg's statements. I really dislike the "old man yelling at cloud" label being attached to what he's saying here....
I'm going to copy a portion of a comment I made earlier on this site about Spielberg's statements. I really dislike the "old man yelling at cloud" label being attached to what he's saying here.
The argument here is simply that Netflix's business model is closer to that of television than one of a film studio, and their films are made with home viewing in mind, and Spielberg believes that makes their films closer to TV movies. This isn't entirely unreasonable in my opinion, since HBO for example qualifies for Emmys. He would of course have no leg to stand on if TV movies had always qualified for Oscars, or if there was no well known award show for TV movies, but neither of those things are the case.
For years TV movies got Emmy nominations, including HBO films, and nobody argued against it the way they have for Netflix. I mean of course the rules for Oscar eligibility are completely arbitrary, but nobody really cared to this degree about that fact. It's also worth noting that Spielberg is not against streaming services. He praised modern TV and never devalued the accomplishment of an Emmy nomination in the iTV interview where he first made these comments, and spoke of streaming as a great new avenue of independent film, just saying that he thinks they're TV movies because they're created with a home release in mind. He's worked with Netflix on Five Came Back and is working for Apple's service now.
You make a fair point. However, I would argue that people have argued in favor of Netflix's movies for two reasons. First, the vast majority of TV movies were low budget, low quality affairs....
You make a fair point.
However, I would argue that people have argued in favor of Netflix's movies for two reasons.
First, the vast majority of TV movies were low budget, low quality affairs. Using this list, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/top_100_television_movies/, from RottenTomatoes(take it for what you will), not even half of "Television movies" have the "Fresh" rating. Of those that are considered "Fresh", only 6 were made before the year 2000. Quite simply, TV movies being quality, or at least critically acclaimed, entertainment is a relatively new phenomenon compared to that of theatrical film.
Now here comes Netflix providing an ever growing, and near constant, source of movies and entertainment right to the television. Along with Hulu and Amazon, HBO Go, etc. Much of it rivaling the studios in quality. They're bypassing and supplanting the studios to a greater level than ever before and I think Spielberg is rebelling against it, to an extent.
Now I fully acknowledge these websites and their reviews being entirely subjective as all art and it's critique, ultimately, is.
Secondly, it feels like a form of gatekeeping on Spielbergs, and others who think like him, behalf. I have to wonder why Spielberg feels the need to draw a line between a theatrical film and a TV one. I suppose that my "Old Man Yelling At Cloud" comment was derived from this. The only major difference between the two is the delivery method. And streaming is the future. They may very well shut down theaters entirely. Even if theatrical films are made with the big screen in mind and TV/Streaming Service movies made for home viewing, why should that detract from the individual quality of the film itself? Schindlers List is one of the greatest films of all time no matter how it's viewed. Star Wars doesn't stop being epic because I watch it on a 60" TV instead of a film screen. Absolutely, the theater can enhance the experience. Seeing Titanic on the big screen gave you a true sense of the majesty of the ship but it didn't change the quality of the movie. The Battle of Helm's Deep was truly epic at the theater but just as good at home, especially with the Extended Editions we didn't originally see in the theater. The vast majority of the movies I've ever seen, I didn't see until they were on VHS/DVD/Blu Ray and now 4K. To be honest, the only films that I would say absolutely deserved to be seen on the big screen were the big budget 3D films like Avatar, as home theater systems are woefully inadequate to match that experience.
So I guess I feel like Spielberg is saying, in a nice way, that streaming service and TV movies are fine as long as they keep to their lane. They can be just as good as any cinematic film but they won't be recognized as such simply because of the delivery method. That streaming service and TV movies won't be recognized simply because that's just the way things ought to be.
I don't know....maybe I'm just reading too much in Spielbergs words. I work nights and it's been a long, quiet night. My mind is finding ways to keep active
I generally like Spielbergs films, even that stinker Ready Player One, but he's wrong here.
It should not matter HOW a film is distributed. It should not matter whether it gets a theatrical release. The quality of the movie/film will speak for itself.
This is Spielberg being the Old Man Yelling at the Cloud.
I'm going to copy a portion of a comment I made earlier on this site about Spielberg's statements. I really dislike the "old man yelling at cloud" label being attached to what he's saying here.
For years TV movies got Emmy nominations, including HBO films, and nobody argued against it the way they have for Netflix. I mean of course the rules for Oscar eligibility are completely arbitrary, but nobody really cared to this degree about that fact. It's also worth noting that Spielberg is not against streaming services. He praised modern TV and never devalued the accomplishment of an Emmy nomination in the iTV interview where he first made these comments, and spoke of streaming as a great new avenue of independent film, just saying that he thinks they're TV movies because they're created with a home release in mind. He's worked with Netflix on Five Came Back and is working for Apple's service now.
You make a fair point.
However, I would argue that people have argued in favor of Netflix's movies for two reasons.
First, the vast majority of TV movies were low budget, low quality affairs. Using this list, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/top_100_television_movies/, from RottenTomatoes(take it for what you will), not even half of "Television movies" have the "Fresh" rating. Of those that are considered "Fresh", only 6 were made before the year 2000. Quite simply, TV movies being quality, or at least critically acclaimed, entertainment is a relatively new phenomenon compared to that of theatrical film.
Even the HBO films you referred to, https://www.businessinsider.com/best-hbo-original-movies-all-time-critics-2018-5, only 13 were made prior to 2000.
Now here comes Netflix providing an ever growing, and near constant, source of movies and entertainment right to the television. Along with Hulu and Amazon, HBO Go, etc. Much of it rivaling the studios in quality. They're bypassing and supplanting the studios to a greater level than ever before and I think Spielberg is rebelling against it, to an extent.
Now I fully acknowledge these websites and their reviews being entirely subjective as all art and it's critique, ultimately, is.
Secondly, it feels like a form of gatekeeping on Spielbergs, and others who think like him, behalf. I have to wonder why Spielberg feels the need to draw a line between a theatrical film and a TV one. I suppose that my "Old Man Yelling At Cloud" comment was derived from this. The only major difference between the two is the delivery method. And streaming is the future. They may very well shut down theaters entirely. Even if theatrical films are made with the big screen in mind and TV/Streaming Service movies made for home viewing, why should that detract from the individual quality of the film itself? Schindlers List is one of the greatest films of all time no matter how it's viewed. Star Wars doesn't stop being epic because I watch it on a 60" TV instead of a film screen. Absolutely, the theater can enhance the experience. Seeing Titanic on the big screen gave you a true sense of the majesty of the ship but it didn't change the quality of the movie. The Battle of Helm's Deep was truly epic at the theater but just as good at home, especially with the Extended Editions we didn't originally see in the theater. The vast majority of the movies I've ever seen, I didn't see until they were on VHS/DVD/Blu Ray and now 4K. To be honest, the only films that I would say absolutely deserved to be seen on the big screen were the big budget 3D films like Avatar, as home theater systems are woefully inadequate to match that experience.
So I guess I feel like Spielberg is saying, in a nice way, that streaming service and TV movies are fine as long as they keep to their lane. They can be just as good as any cinematic film but they won't be recognized as such simply because of the delivery method. That streaming service and TV movies won't be recognized simply because that's just the way things ought to be.
I don't know....maybe I'm just reading too much in Spielbergs words. I work nights and it's been a long, quiet night. My mind is finding ways to keep active