Netflix Movies ‘Shouldn’t Qualify for Oscars’
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Award-winning movie maker and traditional film veteran Steven Spielberg said things like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, all represent a ‘clear and present danger’ to film as a whole. He said that Netflix movies should not qualify for the Academy Awards.
Speaking to ITV News, Spielberg said TV today is better than it has ever been. The writing, direction and performances are incredible, and this is the threat it poses to film. While competition is healthy in the industry, Spielberg thinks Netflix and Amazon are picking up some of the smaller films that may not make it at the box office.
‘The difference today is a lot of studios would rather make branded, tentpole, guaranteed box office hits from their inventory of branded, successful movies than take chances on smaller films. Those smaller films, which studios used to make routinely, are now going to Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix.’
Some movies that air on Netflix or Amazon have limited theatrical runs, just so they can apply for Academy Awards. Spielberg is obviously opposed to this small loophole. He stated, ‘once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie’.
‘You certainly–if it’s a good show, you deserve an Emmy. But not an Oscar. I don’t believe that films that just given token qualifications in a couple of theatres for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination.’
Spielberg’s next movie Ready Player One is out very soon in the US on 29th March and in the UK a day before.