In the battle of theatrical vs. streaming, Steven Spielberg always came down firmly on the side that movies belong on big screens before large audiences, not exclusively at home on viewers’ televisions. The maker of E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List obviously carries immense weight when it comes to defining what counts as a movie—and what doesn’t. So, his remarks years ago sparked intense debate and disagreement, especially about whether streaming movies should be eligible for Oscars.
Today, there’s a surprising detente: Spielberg’s production company, Amblin Partners, announced a new deal to supply multiple “feature films” to Netflix each year.
“At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways,” Spielberg said in a statement.
“Ted” would be Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos, who added: “Steven is a creative visionary and leader and, like so many others around the world, my growing up was shaped by his memorable characters and stories that have been enduring, inspiring and awakening. We cannot wait to get to work with the Amblin team and we are honored and thrilled to be part of this chapter of Steven’s cinematic history.”
Spielberg himself has not revealed plans to direct any of the Netflix movies, and he made it clear in the announcement that he still had a longstanding partnership with Universal Pictures to make theatrical releases. Still, a giant like Spielberg’s arrangement with Netflix feels like a landmark in the ever-present tension between movies and TV. Some might call it a capitulation, others merely a new alliance in a longtime battle for audiences. The filmmaker articulated that division himself in this 2018 interview with Britain’s ITV News, saying the debut of movies on streaming services are “a challenge to cinema, the same way television in the early 1950s pulled people away from movie theaters and everybody stayed home…”
“Hollywood’s used to that,” he added. “We are accustomed to being highly competitive with television.”
He even namechecked Netflix when talking about this subject, saying pointedly that smaller movies were losing ground at theaters, which he blamed on theatrical distributors focusing too much on spectacle and already well-known properties. “The difference today is a lot of studios would rather make tentpole, guaranteed-box-office hits from their inventory of branded successful movies than take chances on smaller films. Those smaller films, that studios used to make routinely, are now going to Amazon and Hulu and Netflix.”
Spielberg invoked his 2017 newspaper drama starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep as one such film: “I’ll still make The Post for audiences, asking them to please go to the movies and see The Post and not make it directly for Netflix.”
In the years since those comments, Spielberg’s contemporary and fellow champion of the theatrical experience, Martin Scorsese, has forged a productive partnership with Netflix, which released his 2019 gangland epic The Irishman, which collected 10 Oscar nominations, including best director and best picture. Meanwhile, Amblin has remained a powerhouse at the Academy Awards with films like 1917 and The Trial of the Chicago 7, as well as best picture winner Green Book.
But in that 2018 interview, Spielberg made himself clear: the Oscars should be for theatrical releases. “Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie. Certainly, if you’re a good film, you deserve an Emmy. But not an Oscar,” he said. “I don’t believe that films that are just given token qualifications in a couple of theaters for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination.”
About a year later, Spielberg soften his position in an email to The New York Times, which his representatives told Vanity Fair represent his current feelings: “I want people to find their entertainment in any form or fashion that suits them. Big screen, small screen—what really matters to me is a great story and everyone should have access to great stories. However, I feel people need to have the opportunity to leave the safe and familiar of their lives and go to a place where they can sit in the company of others and have a shared experience—cry together, laugh together, be afraid together—so that when it’s over they might feel a little less like strangers. I want to see the survival of movie theaters. I want the theatrical experience to remain relevant in our culture.”
Spielberg did not address any of his past remarks in today’s statement, but it’s reasonable to acknowledge that times change and so do perspectives. Those 2018 remarks were said well before the world spent more than a year locked-in at home. Even in those old comments, Spielberg, who began his career directing TV movies like the road-rage classic Duel, praised the current quality of at-home entertainment: “Television is greater today than it has ever been in the history of television. There’s better writing, better directing, better performances, better stories are being told. Television is really thriving with quality and art, but it poses a clear and present danger to filmgoers.”
Today, the danger to filmmakers might be trying to fight it to the death.
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Things Have Changed: Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Will Make Movies for Netflix - Vanity Fair
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