Cinematic titan James Cameron has come out in opposition to Netflix getting Oscar nominations and called the streaming giant’s theatrical release strategy “rotten to the core.”
Speaking with World of Reel, Cameron said that Netflix should not be considered for Oscars unless they release a movie in “2,000 theaters for a month” as opposed to its fairly narrow release window in select cities to make basic qualifications. Cameron’s comments were spurred when Matt Belloni of The Town asked the Oscar-winning filmmaker his opinion on Skydance Paramount’s bidding war with Netflix to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Netflix would be a disaster. Sorry, Ted [Sarandos], but geez. Sarandos has gone on the record saying theatrical films are dead. ‘Theatrical is dead. Quote, unquote.’”
Belloni said that Sarandos is “promising theaters if he buys Warner Bros.,” but Cameron called it “sucker bait.”
“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,” he said. “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.”
Cameron agreed that Netflix should be considered for Oscars if the company actually competes in the theater market.
“They should be allowed to compete if they put the movie out for a meaningful release in 2,000 theaters for a month,” he said.
Cameron is hardly alone in his quest to keep Netflix from Oscar consideration. In 2019, for instance, Steven Spielberg said they should be considered TV movies.
“Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie,” Spielberg said. “You certainly, if it’s a good show, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar. I don’t believe films that are just given token qualifications in a couple of theaters for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination.”
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