Steven Spielberg is continuing his campaign against Netflix, arguing that the streaming service should have no place at the Oscars. Has he even seen “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”?
The Western dramedy directed by the Coen brothers was one of two high-profile Netflix productions to nab Oscar nominations this year. “Buster Scruggs” earned three nods but no wins, and “Roma,” considered as a contender for best picture, instead won for best foreign language film, best director, and best cinematography.
All that noise for cinema created by a streaming service was too much for Spielberg, who may voice his complaints at Hollywood’s annual post-Oscar meeting.
“Steven feels strongly about the difference between the streaming and theatrical situation,” a spokesperson for Spielberg’s film and production company told IndieWire. “He’ll be happy if the others will join [his campaign] when that comes up [at the Academy Board of Governors meeting]. He will see what happens.”
The infamous director of “Jaws” and other classics meets with other film leaders at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this week.
Here’s the problem with his campaign: The distinction between streaming and “theatrical situation” is bogus.
Paul Schrader, director of Oscar nominee “First Reformed,” said in a Facebook post Saturday that the distinction is no longer relevant thanks to evolving technology and developing markets.
Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu original films, as well as films acquired by the streaming services, deserve just as much acclaim as films that run in theaters for weeks on end.
Of course, not all films distributed by streaming services are created equal. It doesn’t take more than a comparison of “Roma” to Amazon-released “Life Itself” to see that. If you couldn’t tell from the hackneyed headline, the script of “Life Itself” reads like one long string of cliches. But the same is true for mainstream films. Box-office bomb “The Darkest Minds” wasn’t much better.
Both streaming services and movie theaters host good and bad cinema. But platforms such as Netflix offer something else: more unique, low-budget, independent voices. Netflix itself even weighed in:
We love cinema. Here are some things we also love:
-Access for people who can’t always afford, or live in towns without, theaters
-Letting everyone, everywhere enjoy releases at the same time
-Giving filmmakers more ways to share artThese things are not mutually exclusive.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) March 4, 2019
There’s no magical artistry distinguishing traditional films from those associated with streaming services. To qualify for the Academy Awards, films must be released only in theaters for at least one week.
As long as they meet that standard, films such as “Roma” should continue to earn their awards.
