Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 11, 2018 16:59:00 GMT -6
variety.com/2018/film/news/netflix-cannes-rule-change-ted-sarandos-interview-exclusive-1202750473/
Netflix Pulls Out of Cannes Following Rule Change (EXCLUSIVE)
Ted Sarandos says Netflix won’t be going to Cannes this year.
In an exclusive interview with Variety, Netflix’s chief content officer says that the festival sent a clear message with a new rule that bans any films without theatrical distribution in France from playing in competition. Netflix could screen some of its upcoming movies out of competition, but Sarandos says that doesn’t make sense for the streaming service.
“We want our films to be on fair ground with every other filmmaker,” Sarandos says. “There’s a risk in us going in this way and having our films and filmmakers treated disrespectfully at the festival. They’ve set the tone. I don’t think it would be good for us to be there.”
Netflix made a big splash at the prestigious film festival last year with two movies that showed in competition: Bong Joon-ho’s “Okja” and Noah Baumbach’s “The Meyerowitz Stories.” But after the 2017 announcement, French theaters owners and unions protested the inclusion of these films to Thierry Fremaux, the artistic director of Cannes. Netflix was amenable to having their movies play on big screens in France, but a law in the country requires movies to not appear in home platforms for 36 months after their theatrical release.
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Netflix has had day-and-date theatrical releases for such titles as “Mudbound,” Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father,” “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”
Sarandos will not personally be attending Cannes in May, but some of his executives will be there. “It is not a coincidence that Thierry also banned selfies this year,” Sarandos says, of another new rule that doesn’t allow guests to snap pictures on the red carpet. “I don’t know what other advances in media Thierry would like to address.”
Here, Sarandos spoke with Variety about the Netflix rule change.
Are you deciding not to participate in Cannes this year?
Well, it was not our decision to make. Thierry announced the change in their qualification rules [that] requires a film to have distribution in France to get in, which is completely contrary to the spirit of any film festival in the world. Film festivals are to help films get discovered so they can get distribution. Under those rules, we could not release our films day-and-date to the world like we’ve released nearly 100 films over the last couples of years. And if we did that, we’d have to hold back that film from French subscribers for three years under French law. Therefore, our films they are not qualified for the Cannes Film Festival competition.
And you aren’t taking movies to the festival out of competition?
No. I don’t think there would be any reason to go out of competition. The rule was implicitly about Netflix, and Thierry made it explicitly about Netflix when he announced the rule.
Were you surprised by the rule? Netflix had the two biggest English-language releases at last year’s Cannes.
I would say not just on the English-language side. I think they were the biggest films in the world last year with Bong Joon-ho and Noah Baumbach and the star power we were able to bring — Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, it goes on and on. We loved the festival. We love the experience for our filmmakers and for film lovers. It’s just that the festival has chosen to celebrate distribution rather than the art of cinema. We are 100% about the art of cinema. And by the way, every other festival in the world is too.
Did you talk to Thierry before he made the rule change?
I believe it was not just Thierry’s decision. I think it was the decision of his board, which is made up of several exhibitors. I know we didn’t have any conversation with Thierry. I read about it in the press.
In interviews, Thierry said that “the Netflix people loved the red carpet,” but your “model is now the opposite” of what Cannes does. Do you agree with that?
No, obviously not. Do we love the red carpet? I love our filmmakers being on those red carpets. Of course. It’s a very glamorous, very fun event for filmmakers. That is beside the point. That is true of every festival. Last year we were jointly celebrating the art of cinema at Cannes. The divergence is this decision to define art by the business model. In that way, yes, we have diverged.
Will you or other Netflix employees be attending Cannes?
I personally won’t be attending myself. But we will have people there who are in the business of acquiring films, because many films will be there without distribution.
So you could end up buying a movie that’s in competition?
Yes 100%. We don’t discriminate that way.
Netflix acquires movies from film festivals all the time. Ultimately, this rule seems to be about preventing a movie from entering Cannes as a Netflix release.
It was a puzzle to me. Keep in mind last year at Sundance, we produced the film that won the jury prize [“I Don’t Feel at Home In This World Anymore”], and we acquired “Mudbound” in the biggest acquisition of the festival.
Have you had conversations with your filmmakers about Cannes?
We’ve talked to a lot of our filmmakers after the rule change. When we went into making these films and acquiring these films, that rule wasn’t in place. That was a change in dynamics.
Do you think Cannes might change its mind in the future?
Yeah. I do have faith that Thierry shares my love for cinema and would be a champion of changing that when he realizes how punitive this rule is to filmmakers and film lovers.
What is your message for the international film community?
We hope that they do change the rules. We hope that they modernize. But we will continue to support all films and all filmmakers. We encourage Cannes to rejoin the world cinema community and welcome them back. Thierry had said in his comments when he announced his change that the history of the Internet and the history of Cannes are two different things. Of course they are two different things. But we are choosing to be about the future of cinema. If Cannes is choosing to be stuck in the history of cinema, that’s fine.
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Me De says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:36 PM
Netflix be berry, berry boring. Where’s the cutting edge we were loving?
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Jack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:20 PM
Tent-poles will soon be the only films shown in cinemas and Cannes doesn’t like them either.
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nerdrage says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:10 PM
Cannes should acknowledge digital disruption and embrace Netflix.
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Robert says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:51 PM
Film festivals (like Cannes, Sundance, and all the way down to the smallest regional ones) are nothing but elitist affairs…always have been. Reminds me of when movie theaters were frightened by the advent and growth of that new thing called television.
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Emily Lugo-Budrawich says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:48 PM
#stevenspielbergphobia seems to me
Netflix start your own Netflixfilmfestival
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Eric says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:45 PM
Hmmm….It seems Cannes is stuck in time. There are great talents that make up films on Netflix. I guess these are things we as filmmakers in a new world of technology and distribution have to deal with. Until it is recognized by all, that this is how people want to enjoy their entertainment experience in present times (by streaming) and most likely in the future because this demand is not going backwards, but very forward.. Maybe we should create a film festival for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and exclude traditional theatrical distribution. Wake up Hollywood and the rest of the world, this is only the beginning.
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Mark says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:34 PM
Maybe it is time to change Sarandos too. The #last selection of films and series is pretty shitty. No more useless comedians, politically correct family dramas and dross that you know from a mile away that won’t work entertaining people or bringing money 59 the Netflix platform
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Summer says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:03 PM
Cannes festival’s rule of 36 months after theatrical release for streaming will only encourage piracy. Filmmakers and the audience will suffer from this. You can’t stop the progress. When colour was introduced to cinema, there were many “protesters” too. History teaches us nothing.
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motionblurry says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:56 PM
Sarandos uses the word ‘cinema’ quite a bit, however cinema literally is defined as a movie theatre, which is the opposite of what Netflix does. Netlfix doesn’t want o be the future of cinema. They want to be the death of it. Happy to say Netflix does not get my money and I have no interest in watching TV shows in general. I’ll see you at the movies.
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Zadac says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:03 PM
Good for Cannes. The Flix’s days are numbered anyway; word on the LA sidewalks is a return to analog. Anyone 100% digital – we’re looking at you, OTTs and VODs – is going to suffer late 2018. It was a nice ride while it lasted.
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goodguy says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:57 PM
Great news. Cinema is about looking further away, both literally (in space) and metaphorically (in time, in thoughts). Not all films that are shown on the big screen deserve it of course but if you keep supporting it then the worthwhile stuff will appear. All kinds of technology is biologically toxic to living beings so keeping some distance is preferable anyway but watching something on a nearby small screen will just make you separate even more from other people. Netflix has bucketloads of money and this is exactly what too much money does, will make you feel sick and alone in the end. Even their name is disgustingly american: “net” “flix”? Come on, it’s lowest common denominator stuff. We don’t want you here, we don’t want to be stupid. Cinema is not “content”. Yes I’m a snob and am now going to watch a Tarkovsky flick. Keep resisting!
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:48 PM
Take your own advice “Tim”, and read what is types instead of changing the words or adding comments not part of the original article. #The Truth Speaks For Itself
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Adam says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:41 PM
Don’t be willfully obtuse, Richard. It was not their decision to make whether or not they could have their films in competition, and since Cannes has decided that they can’t have their films in competition (but are allowed in other sections of the festival), NETFLIX HAS DECIDED not to take any of its films to Cannes at all, in any section. The headline is entirely accurate.
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Pariah C says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:22 PM
Leave it to those Fwad Europeans to complain once sheit wasn’t going their way.
Boo fn who…
I’m boycotting french fries.
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Michael Wheeler says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:21 PM
The vast majority of people in the biggest market in the world for filmed entertainment would side with Netflix in this fight. In reality, Cannes is nothing but a runway show to parade out the “best” of the world of film. I rarely agree with Cannes or any other pretentious, self-important group or individuals who attempt to drown out the future. Continue to live in the past and before long you won’t have a business left at all.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:55 PM
Michael Wheeler,
Why exactly are they “pretentious”? Because they like a certain type of films that don’t appeal to you? Are you “pretentious” for liking films that don’t appeal to them? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course not, right?
Funny that you would think Cannes is trying to “drown out the future” (even though they repeatedly stated that they WOULD allow Netflix’s films if they distributed them in theaters). Do you not understand that Cannes gives a spotlight to films that would otherwise be forgotten in the shuffle of mega-budget blockbusters and franchise sequels? People like you honestly make me sick.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:57 PM
you know what I shouldn’t have used my extremely common name on here. Too many Johns.
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iconoclast says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:21 PM
Mark,
I think that you have missed a key point. Netflix would gladly release any film that would be shown in competition in French theaters as they now release them in countries outside of France. The problem is that in France, any movie shown in French cinemas cannot, by law, be shown on any home screening platform. This law is government intrusion into free enterprise which makes it very damaging to the Netflix business model. By siding with a special interest lobby, the Festival has chosen to discriminate against Netflix, its french subscribers, andthe artists who create its films.
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:44 PM
Michael Wheeler explain to me how streaming is a step forward in technology and is better than watching a film in a World Class Cinema? It used to be that we all agreed movies were made for movie theatres. If you start showing them at home – you kill theatrical – same analogy with books – the hard back comes out BEFORE the paperback. So Michael do you have Dolby Cinema at home – cause if you DO – then I Would understand your hatred of theatrical…..
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:47 PM
Dude seriously. You need to reply to the correct f’n comment. Your supposed to hit the reply button next to the person’s name.
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:17 PM
If the article is accurate, then the title of this article is false and misleading. Since the rule change made Netflix ineligible to participate, Netflix did not “pull out” of anything.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:20 PM
They pulled out of showing their films out of competition at Cannes. I believe that is what the title was referring to.
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:29 PM
Please show me in the article above where it states Netflix “pulled out” of the festival. The article states, the rules were changed making Netflix ineligible to compete.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:39 PM
It is called reading the article before commenting. The rule change only applies to films that are in the competition for awards. You can still show any movie “out of competition” in Cannes during the festival even if it does not abide by the competition rules. The rules only govern movies “in the competition”. If you read the article you would know this and it is clearly stated thus:
And you aren’t taking movies to the festival out of competition?
No. I don’t think there would be any reason to go out of competition.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:33 PM
“And you aren’t taking movies to the festival out of competition?
No. I don’t think there would be any reason to go out of competition. The rule was implicitly about Netflix, and Thierry made it explicitly about Netflix when he announced the rule.”
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:36 PM
Are you deciding not to participate in Cannes this year?
Well, it was not our decision to make.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:41 PM
You are a very daft man Robert.
John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:40 PM
Sweet facking christ. I’m not talking about the you know what competition. I’m talking about showing out of competition. The author should have said “pulled out of non competition showings.”. I got the meaning sorry if you didn’t.
Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:00 PM
Hooray for Cannes!! Finally someone drawing a line in the sand. All this bullshit about Europe not going with technology! Really? The technology to see a film at home has been around since TV came along. Theatrical films are JUST THAT —THEATRICAL FILMS. If Netflix wants to bypass theatres then let’s call their films WHAT THEY ARE! MADE FOR TV MOVIES!!!! Nothing more! Netflix product is mediocre it has nothing to do with technology! You can make all the films you want Netflix but I WILL NOT support your MADE FOR TV offerings!!!
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NO FEAR says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:48 PM
Dude you sound like my elderly dad. With your thinking doesn’t that mean phones or telephones should only be for talking? Oh no! What is the world coming to with the smartphone?!?
Movie or motion picture – a series of moving pictures. Film is the medium they are presented from… strips of plastic wound around a reel.
You get too nostalgic about a feeling created by ‘movie magic’ and you lose sight of what really matters. We just want the delivery of what we want, when we want, and where we want.
Technology and future – words that just mean change and progress. Support for that ultimate goal of instant gratification.
You, old man, can keep believing that the 80s was the best years of our lives. Personally you are history to me and belong in some text book.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:50 PM
So you would agree that for a movie to be considered a movie it has to be shown in a french cinema and not released for home viewing for 36 months afterwards? How does this arbitrary line in the sand help us define what cinema is? So anything that is streamed at home within 3 years of being released cannot be considered a movie due to industry lobbyists trying to protect their own profit, and this makes sense to you?
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:24 PM
So for a film to be considered a “film”. It must be projected on a very large screen? What must the screens dimensions be in order for it to be a “film”?
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brian fantana says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:58 AM
Shouldn’t the headline read Cannes shunning Netflix? Cannes is sticking to their rules and not bending for TV movies – it doesn’t matter who is directing the TV movie – if it is playing on television and not in a movie theater it is a TV movie. What’s so hard to understand about that? Netflix should be happy to be competing and winning Emmys as opposed to trying to game the rules like they do the Oscars or threaten Cannes (like that will ever work). Not sure it is much of a story. Film festival won’t invite TV movies.
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:46 PM
John that is a good question? I prefer a minimum of 30 feet for 2.35:1
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:51 PM
You don’t even have the smarts to reply to the correct comments so I’m going to say your opinion is worth nothing.
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jay says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:57 AM
“I think they were the biggest films in the world last year”.
I think Ted Sarandos is wrong, they were the biggest films in the entire universe for the last hundred years… Orson Welles’s whole filmography looks like a cheap commercial compared to The Meyerowitz Stories ! Let’s praise Ted Sarandos for his talent and vision (his modesty prevent him to say it but he’s now the true master of the cinematic form).
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:04 PM
Love what you said Brian!!!!
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Joure says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:46 AM
No great loss. Netflix movies are crap.
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Pink pantheress says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:40 AM
Europe is so locked into traditions that its shot itself in the foot from making technological progress and snubbing the future isn’t going to help film as a whole. It’s obvious the older studios and executives are threatened by Netflixs bold moves so they resort to shutting them out versus adapting for the future of film. Sarandos is right and Cannes has always been out of touch with American cinema. It became more so an outlet for a glamorous vacation that can be tacked on to costs to be recouped but its film market and awards are a relic of the past.
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Ben says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:07 PM
Please don’t assume that the decision of the board at one festival in one country represents the views of the whole of Europe. It’s a stretch to say it even represents the views of a whole country. Whilst Cannes is obviously very well known, there are hundreds of other festivals around Europe, and they aren’t taking the same stance.
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Rick R, says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:39 AM
I’m with Cannes on this one. Has nothing to do with star power, content or presentation quality, but whether or not you will rent a screen in Paris for a week. If you can’t follow a simple rule like that, then don’t be mad when you don’t qualify for a cinema competition.
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Ian says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:59 AM
Except it’s not just ‘rent a screen for a week.’ It’s ‘rent a screen for a week and then prevent every person in France from seeing the film for 3 years to comply with French law.’ You should probably read the article before making up your mind next time!
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Michael Wheeler says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:26 PM
Ian is correct. Netflix would have to forgo showing the film on the Netflix platform for three years if it puts it in a movie theatre in France for one night.
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Joure says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:48 AM
I agree. The Oscars has a similar requirement.
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Michael Wheeler says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:31 PM
Sort of but not really. The Oscars requires the movie to have played in an L.A. movie theatre for one week in the eligibility window. It may not release on a streaming platform prior to the run in L.A. But once it opens in L.A. it can immediately be streamed. There’s a huge difference in the rules.
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Jackie Malone says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:38 AM
This is a short-sighted decision by the Cannes Film Festival and I am thankful to Netflix, and to a lesser extent to Amazon, for bringing a choice of films right into my living-room.
Thierry Frémaux seems to believe there are easily-accessible cinemas everywhere in France, but this is far from the case when you don’t live in or near a city.
I think the last movie I saw on a large screen was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , way way back in 2004!
A trip to the nearest multiplex would involve over an hour’s drive. Once there, the choice of movies is limited and 90% of foreign movies are dubbed. Should I find something worth the trip, it would then take another hour to get back home. No wonder I watch Netflix!
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Linda Nelson says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:23 AM
The Cannes Film Festival is the most beautiful celebration of film on the planet and there is still much of the planet that does not benefit from broadband sufficient for streaming. Until we have great global internet, it makes sense to protect the theatrical experience. It is about people enjoying cinema in the presence of other people. Great cinema does not get enough of that type of exposure these days. I am assuming that the 36 month holdback from streaming is only in regard to the French theatrical release. If this is the case, it would seem to be worth it for Netflix to forego French streaming for 36 months, in order to participate in the granduer of having their films participate in this beautiful event. Nowhere in the world are the actual filmmakers honored as they are in Cannes.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:56 PM
Yep, they are really showing them. Caving to french industry lobbyists and missing out on some of the best movies of the year to prove a point that they are willing to go down with the sinking ship of modern movies. The industry is changing and they can adapt or die.
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:09 PM
Jackie if you had owned a theatre as I did and watched the theatrical window collapse not because people didn’t come out for second but because they studios released the film on DVD closer and closer to the first run window you would feel as I do. Netflix is an ass – I don’t want theatres to go tte way of the Dodo bird – apparenltly you do! Sad just sad
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:30 PM
Dude you keep hitting reply on the wrong comment.
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Sandra Milliner says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:11 AM
We adapt or die. #cinema #film
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KoKoTheKlown says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:07 AM
“Applauds Cannes”
F*** Netflix and America’s global domination fetish
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:58 PM
The cab companies were all abusing their monopoly and making large profits until someone came around with a better idea. Now they are dieing like all the other dinosaurs that have refused to change to the modern world. Cannes can adapt or lose relevance, in 15 years every movie will have a simultaneous home and box office release.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:14 PM
And now Uber and Lyft are abusing their monopoly by not having to pay employee benefits to their “drivers” (or shall I say, contractors). Let’s use critical thinking for a moment. It’s not because something is old or a “dinosaur” that it needs to necessarily be completely eradicated. I love streaming but I also love going to the movie theater. I believe that the two can have a healthy co-existence because the truth is, if movie theater culture dies I believe movies will pretty much die along with it. And yes, I think Netflix and other streaming services will do fine since they will always have television shows to depend on, but they still will be missing out on a huge chunk of revenue that they could have otherwise added to their portfolio. it seems ike a lose lose for all involved. This rule is in place so that Cannes can preserve movie theater culture (and honestly, I believe in the end it only helps Netflix as a business even if they can’t see it now.)
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Ian says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:03 PM
Yeah, how dare Netflix make a bunch of films and want to show them at a famous film festival? How dare they distribute those films without lining the pockets of the incumbents in the film industry? Any company who distributes movies via any mechanism besides overpriced theaters and optical disks must be a monster.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:25 PM
God, why are some of you so obtuse? There won’t be a cannes film festival if people stop watching films in theaters. That is the source of their revenue. Their economy is contigent on cinephiles who not only enjoy watching a film in theaters, but love it so much that they are willing to spend thousands of dollars to travel to France, book a pricy hotel, and do the same thing over there.
They never said Netflix can’t show their films at the festival. They simply said if they want to QUALIFY for a certain prize they will have to meet the QUALIFICATIONS (in this case, release the film in theaters). It’s really not complicated.
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Jay Willingham says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 10:51 AM
Resustance is futile; France will be assimilated…into streaming…
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Netflix Pulls Out of Cannes Following Rule Change (EXCLUSIVE)
Ted Sarandos says Netflix won’t be going to Cannes this year.
In an exclusive interview with Variety, Netflix’s chief content officer says that the festival sent a clear message with a new rule that bans any films without theatrical distribution in France from playing in competition. Netflix could screen some of its upcoming movies out of competition, but Sarandos says that doesn’t make sense for the streaming service.
“We want our films to be on fair ground with every other filmmaker,” Sarandos says. “There’s a risk in us going in this way and having our films and filmmakers treated disrespectfully at the festival. They’ve set the tone. I don’t think it would be good for us to be there.”
Netflix made a big splash at the prestigious film festival last year with two movies that showed in competition: Bong Joon-ho’s “Okja” and Noah Baumbach’s “The Meyerowitz Stories.” But after the 2017 announcement, French theaters owners and unions protested the inclusion of these films to Thierry Fremaux, the artistic director of Cannes. Netflix was amenable to having their movies play on big screens in France, but a law in the country requires movies to not appear in home platforms for 36 months after their theatrical release.
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Netflix has had day-and-date theatrical releases for such titles as “Mudbound,” Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father,” “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”
Sarandos will not personally be attending Cannes in May, but some of his executives will be there. “It is not a coincidence that Thierry also banned selfies this year,” Sarandos says, of another new rule that doesn’t allow guests to snap pictures on the red carpet. “I don’t know what other advances in media Thierry would like to address.”
Here, Sarandos spoke with Variety about the Netflix rule change.
Are you deciding not to participate in Cannes this year?
Well, it was not our decision to make. Thierry announced the change in their qualification rules [that] requires a film to have distribution in France to get in, which is completely contrary to the spirit of any film festival in the world. Film festivals are to help films get discovered so they can get distribution. Under those rules, we could not release our films day-and-date to the world like we’ve released nearly 100 films over the last couples of years. And if we did that, we’d have to hold back that film from French subscribers for three years under French law. Therefore, our films they are not qualified for the Cannes Film Festival competition.
And you aren’t taking movies to the festival out of competition?
No. I don’t think there would be any reason to go out of competition. The rule was implicitly about Netflix, and Thierry made it explicitly about Netflix when he announced the rule.
Were you surprised by the rule? Netflix had the two biggest English-language releases at last year’s Cannes.
I would say not just on the English-language side. I think they were the biggest films in the world last year with Bong Joon-ho and Noah Baumbach and the star power we were able to bring — Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, it goes on and on. We loved the festival. We love the experience for our filmmakers and for film lovers. It’s just that the festival has chosen to celebrate distribution rather than the art of cinema. We are 100% about the art of cinema. And by the way, every other festival in the world is too.
Did you talk to Thierry before he made the rule change?
I believe it was not just Thierry’s decision. I think it was the decision of his board, which is made up of several exhibitors. I know we didn’t have any conversation with Thierry. I read about it in the press.
In interviews, Thierry said that “the Netflix people loved the red carpet,” but your “model is now the opposite” of what Cannes does. Do you agree with that?
No, obviously not. Do we love the red carpet? I love our filmmakers being on those red carpets. Of course. It’s a very glamorous, very fun event for filmmakers. That is beside the point. That is true of every festival. Last year we were jointly celebrating the art of cinema at Cannes. The divergence is this decision to define art by the business model. In that way, yes, we have diverged.
Will you or other Netflix employees be attending Cannes?
I personally won’t be attending myself. But we will have people there who are in the business of acquiring films, because many films will be there without distribution.
So you could end up buying a movie that’s in competition?
Yes 100%. We don’t discriminate that way.
Netflix acquires movies from film festivals all the time. Ultimately, this rule seems to be about preventing a movie from entering Cannes as a Netflix release.
It was a puzzle to me. Keep in mind last year at Sundance, we produced the film that won the jury prize [“I Don’t Feel at Home In This World Anymore”], and we acquired “Mudbound” in the biggest acquisition of the festival.
Have you had conversations with your filmmakers about Cannes?
We’ve talked to a lot of our filmmakers after the rule change. When we went into making these films and acquiring these films, that rule wasn’t in place. That was a change in dynamics.
Do you think Cannes might change its mind in the future?
Yeah. I do have faith that Thierry shares my love for cinema and would be a champion of changing that when he realizes how punitive this rule is to filmmakers and film lovers.
What is your message for the international film community?
We hope that they do change the rules. We hope that they modernize. But we will continue to support all films and all filmmakers. We encourage Cannes to rejoin the world cinema community and welcome them back. Thierry had said in his comments when he announced his change that the history of the Internet and the history of Cannes are two different things. Of course they are two different things. But we are choosing to be about the future of cinema. If Cannes is choosing to be stuck in the history of cinema, that’s fine.
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Me De says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:36 PM
Netflix be berry, berry boring. Where’s the cutting edge we were loving?
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Jack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:20 PM
Tent-poles will soon be the only films shown in cinemas and Cannes doesn’t like them either.
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nerdrage says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:10 PM
Cannes should acknowledge digital disruption and embrace Netflix.
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Robert says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:51 PM
Film festivals (like Cannes, Sundance, and all the way down to the smallest regional ones) are nothing but elitist affairs…always have been. Reminds me of when movie theaters were frightened by the advent and growth of that new thing called television.
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Emily Lugo-Budrawich says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:48 PM
#stevenspielbergphobia seems to me
Netflix start your own Netflixfilmfestival
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Eric says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:45 PM
Hmmm….It seems Cannes is stuck in time. There are great talents that make up films on Netflix. I guess these are things we as filmmakers in a new world of technology and distribution have to deal with. Until it is recognized by all, that this is how people want to enjoy their entertainment experience in present times (by streaming) and most likely in the future because this demand is not going backwards, but very forward.. Maybe we should create a film festival for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and exclude traditional theatrical distribution. Wake up Hollywood and the rest of the world, this is only the beginning.
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Mark says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:34 PM
Maybe it is time to change Sarandos too. The #last selection of films and series is pretty shitty. No more useless comedians, politically correct family dramas and dross that you know from a mile away that won’t work entertaining people or bringing money 59 the Netflix platform
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Summer says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 2:03 PM
Cannes festival’s rule of 36 months after theatrical release for streaming will only encourage piracy. Filmmakers and the audience will suffer from this. You can’t stop the progress. When colour was introduced to cinema, there were many “protesters” too. History teaches us nothing.
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motionblurry says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:56 PM
Sarandos uses the word ‘cinema’ quite a bit, however cinema literally is defined as a movie theatre, which is the opposite of what Netflix does. Netlfix doesn’t want o be the future of cinema. They want to be the death of it. Happy to say Netflix does not get my money and I have no interest in watching TV shows in general. I’ll see you at the movies.
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Zadac says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:03 PM
Good for Cannes. The Flix’s days are numbered anyway; word on the LA sidewalks is a return to analog. Anyone 100% digital – we’re looking at you, OTTs and VODs – is going to suffer late 2018. It was a nice ride while it lasted.
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goodguy says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:57 PM
Great news. Cinema is about looking further away, both literally (in space) and metaphorically (in time, in thoughts). Not all films that are shown on the big screen deserve it of course but if you keep supporting it then the worthwhile stuff will appear. All kinds of technology is biologically toxic to living beings so keeping some distance is preferable anyway but watching something on a nearby small screen will just make you separate even more from other people. Netflix has bucketloads of money and this is exactly what too much money does, will make you feel sick and alone in the end. Even their name is disgustingly american: “net” “flix”? Come on, it’s lowest common denominator stuff. We don’t want you here, we don’t want to be stupid. Cinema is not “content”. Yes I’m a snob and am now going to watch a Tarkovsky flick. Keep resisting!
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:48 PM
Take your own advice “Tim”, and read what is types instead of changing the words or adding comments not part of the original article. #The Truth Speaks For Itself
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Adam says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:41 PM
Don’t be willfully obtuse, Richard. It was not their decision to make whether or not they could have their films in competition, and since Cannes has decided that they can’t have their films in competition (but are allowed in other sections of the festival), NETFLIX HAS DECIDED not to take any of its films to Cannes at all, in any section. The headline is entirely accurate.
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Pariah C says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:22 PM
Leave it to those Fwad Europeans to complain once sheit wasn’t going their way.
Boo fn who…
I’m boycotting french fries.
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Michael Wheeler says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:21 PM
The vast majority of people in the biggest market in the world for filmed entertainment would side with Netflix in this fight. In reality, Cannes is nothing but a runway show to parade out the “best” of the world of film. I rarely agree with Cannes or any other pretentious, self-important group or individuals who attempt to drown out the future. Continue to live in the past and before long you won’t have a business left at all.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:55 PM
Michael Wheeler,
Why exactly are they “pretentious”? Because they like a certain type of films that don’t appeal to you? Are you “pretentious” for liking films that don’t appeal to them? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course not, right?
Funny that you would think Cannes is trying to “drown out the future” (even though they repeatedly stated that they WOULD allow Netflix’s films if they distributed them in theaters). Do you not understand that Cannes gives a spotlight to films that would otherwise be forgotten in the shuffle of mega-budget blockbusters and franchise sequels? People like you honestly make me sick.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:57 PM
you know what I shouldn’t have used my extremely common name on here. Too many Johns.
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iconoclast says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:21 PM
Mark,
I think that you have missed a key point. Netflix would gladly release any film that would be shown in competition in French theaters as they now release them in countries outside of France. The problem is that in France, any movie shown in French cinemas cannot, by law, be shown on any home screening platform. This law is government intrusion into free enterprise which makes it very damaging to the Netflix business model. By siding with a special interest lobby, the Festival has chosen to discriminate against Netflix, its french subscribers, andthe artists who create its films.
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:44 PM
Michael Wheeler explain to me how streaming is a step forward in technology and is better than watching a film in a World Class Cinema? It used to be that we all agreed movies were made for movie theatres. If you start showing them at home – you kill theatrical – same analogy with books – the hard back comes out BEFORE the paperback. So Michael do you have Dolby Cinema at home – cause if you DO – then I Would understand your hatred of theatrical…..
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:47 PM
Dude seriously. You need to reply to the correct f’n comment. Your supposed to hit the reply button next to the person’s name.
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:17 PM
If the article is accurate, then the title of this article is false and misleading. Since the rule change made Netflix ineligible to participate, Netflix did not “pull out” of anything.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:20 PM
They pulled out of showing their films out of competition at Cannes. I believe that is what the title was referring to.
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:29 PM
Please show me in the article above where it states Netflix “pulled out” of the festival. The article states, the rules were changed making Netflix ineligible to compete.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:39 PM
It is called reading the article before commenting. The rule change only applies to films that are in the competition for awards. You can still show any movie “out of competition” in Cannes during the festival even if it does not abide by the competition rules. The rules only govern movies “in the competition”. If you read the article you would know this and it is clearly stated thus:
And you aren’t taking movies to the festival out of competition?
No. I don’t think there would be any reason to go out of competition.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:33 PM
“And you aren’t taking movies to the festival out of competition?
No. I don’t think there would be any reason to go out of competition. The rule was implicitly about Netflix, and Thierry made it explicitly about Netflix when he announced the rule.”
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Richard says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:36 PM
Are you deciding not to participate in Cannes this year?
Well, it was not our decision to make.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:41 PM
You are a very daft man Robert.
John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:40 PM
Sweet facking christ. I’m not talking about the you know what competition. I’m talking about showing out of competition. The author should have said “pulled out of non competition showings.”. I got the meaning sorry if you didn’t.
Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:00 PM
Hooray for Cannes!! Finally someone drawing a line in the sand. All this bullshit about Europe not going with technology! Really? The technology to see a film at home has been around since TV came along. Theatrical films are JUST THAT —THEATRICAL FILMS. If Netflix wants to bypass theatres then let’s call their films WHAT THEY ARE! MADE FOR TV MOVIES!!!! Nothing more! Netflix product is mediocre it has nothing to do with technology! You can make all the films you want Netflix but I WILL NOT support your MADE FOR TV offerings!!!
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NO FEAR says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 3:48 PM
Dude you sound like my elderly dad. With your thinking doesn’t that mean phones or telephones should only be for talking? Oh no! What is the world coming to with the smartphone?!?
Movie or motion picture – a series of moving pictures. Film is the medium they are presented from… strips of plastic wound around a reel.
You get too nostalgic about a feeling created by ‘movie magic’ and you lose sight of what really matters. We just want the delivery of what we want, when we want, and where we want.
Technology and future – words that just mean change and progress. Support for that ultimate goal of instant gratification.
You, old man, can keep believing that the 80s was the best years of our lives. Personally you are history to me and belong in some text book.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:50 PM
So you would agree that for a movie to be considered a movie it has to be shown in a french cinema and not released for home viewing for 36 months afterwards? How does this arbitrary line in the sand help us define what cinema is? So anything that is streamed at home within 3 years of being released cannot be considered a movie due to industry lobbyists trying to protect their own profit, and this makes sense to you?
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:24 PM
So for a film to be considered a “film”. It must be projected on a very large screen? What must the screens dimensions be in order for it to be a “film”?
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brian fantana says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:58 AM
Shouldn’t the headline read Cannes shunning Netflix? Cannes is sticking to their rules and not bending for TV movies – it doesn’t matter who is directing the TV movie – if it is playing on television and not in a movie theater it is a TV movie. What’s so hard to understand about that? Netflix should be happy to be competing and winning Emmys as opposed to trying to game the rules like they do the Oscars or threaten Cannes (like that will ever work). Not sure it is much of a story. Film festival won’t invite TV movies.
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:46 PM
John that is a good question? I prefer a minimum of 30 feet for 2.35:1
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:51 PM
You don’t even have the smarts to reply to the correct comments so I’m going to say your opinion is worth nothing.
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jay says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:57 AM
“I think they were the biggest films in the world last year”.
I think Ted Sarandos is wrong, they were the biggest films in the entire universe for the last hundred years… Orson Welles’s whole filmography looks like a cheap commercial compared to The Meyerowitz Stories ! Let’s praise Ted Sarandos for his talent and vision (his modesty prevent him to say it but he’s now the true master of the cinematic form).
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:04 PM
Love what you said Brian!!!!
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Joure says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:46 AM
No great loss. Netflix movies are crap.
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Pink pantheress says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:40 AM
Europe is so locked into traditions that its shot itself in the foot from making technological progress and snubbing the future isn’t going to help film as a whole. It’s obvious the older studios and executives are threatened by Netflixs bold moves so they resort to shutting them out versus adapting for the future of film. Sarandos is right and Cannes has always been out of touch with American cinema. It became more so an outlet for a glamorous vacation that can be tacked on to costs to be recouped but its film market and awards are a relic of the past.
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Ben says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:07 PM
Please don’t assume that the decision of the board at one festival in one country represents the views of the whole of Europe. It’s a stretch to say it even represents the views of a whole country. Whilst Cannes is obviously very well known, there are hundreds of other festivals around Europe, and they aren’t taking the same stance.
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Rick R, says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:39 AM
I’m with Cannes on this one. Has nothing to do with star power, content or presentation quality, but whether or not you will rent a screen in Paris for a week. If you can’t follow a simple rule like that, then don’t be mad when you don’t qualify for a cinema competition.
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Ian says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:59 AM
Except it’s not just ‘rent a screen for a week.’ It’s ‘rent a screen for a week and then prevent every person in France from seeing the film for 3 years to comply with French law.’ You should probably read the article before making up your mind next time!
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Michael Wheeler says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:26 PM
Ian is correct. Netflix would have to forgo showing the film on the Netflix platform for three years if it puts it in a movie theatre in France for one night.
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Joure says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:48 AM
I agree. The Oscars has a similar requirement.
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Michael Wheeler says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:31 PM
Sort of but not really. The Oscars requires the movie to have played in an L.A. movie theatre for one week in the eligibility window. It may not release on a streaming platform prior to the run in L.A. But once it opens in L.A. it can immediately be streamed. There’s a huge difference in the rules.
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Jackie Malone says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:38 AM
This is a short-sighted decision by the Cannes Film Festival and I am thankful to Netflix, and to a lesser extent to Amazon, for bringing a choice of films right into my living-room.
Thierry Frémaux seems to believe there are easily-accessible cinemas everywhere in France, but this is far from the case when you don’t live in or near a city.
I think the last movie I saw on a large screen was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , way way back in 2004!
A trip to the nearest multiplex would involve over an hour’s drive. Once there, the choice of movies is limited and 90% of foreign movies are dubbed. Should I find something worth the trip, it would then take another hour to get back home. No wonder I watch Netflix!
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Linda Nelson says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:23 AM
The Cannes Film Festival is the most beautiful celebration of film on the planet and there is still much of the planet that does not benefit from broadband sufficient for streaming. Until we have great global internet, it makes sense to protect the theatrical experience. It is about people enjoying cinema in the presence of other people. Great cinema does not get enough of that type of exposure these days. I am assuming that the 36 month holdback from streaming is only in regard to the French theatrical release. If this is the case, it would seem to be worth it for Netflix to forego French streaming for 36 months, in order to participate in the granduer of having their films participate in this beautiful event. Nowhere in the world are the actual filmmakers honored as they are in Cannes.
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:56 PM
Yep, they are really showing them. Caving to french industry lobbyists and missing out on some of the best movies of the year to prove a point that they are willing to go down with the sinking ship of modern movies. The industry is changing and they can adapt or die.
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Mark Brack says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:09 PM
Jackie if you had owned a theatre as I did and watched the theatrical window collapse not because people didn’t come out for second but because they studios released the film on DVD closer and closer to the first run window you would feel as I do. Netflix is an ass – I don’t want theatres to go tte way of the Dodo bird – apparenltly you do! Sad just sad
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:30 PM
Dude you keep hitting reply on the wrong comment.
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Sandra Milliner says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:11 AM
We adapt or die. #cinema #film
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KoKoTheKlown says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 11:07 AM
“Applauds Cannes”
F*** Netflix and America’s global domination fetish
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Tom M says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:58 PM
The cab companies were all abusing their monopoly and making large profits until someone came around with a better idea. Now they are dieing like all the other dinosaurs that have refused to change to the modern world. Cannes can adapt or lose relevance, in 15 years every movie will have a simultaneous home and box office release.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:14 PM
And now Uber and Lyft are abusing their monopoly by not having to pay employee benefits to their “drivers” (or shall I say, contractors). Let’s use critical thinking for a moment. It’s not because something is old or a “dinosaur” that it needs to necessarily be completely eradicated. I love streaming but I also love going to the movie theater. I believe that the two can have a healthy co-existence because the truth is, if movie theater culture dies I believe movies will pretty much die along with it. And yes, I think Netflix and other streaming services will do fine since they will always have television shows to depend on, but they still will be missing out on a huge chunk of revenue that they could have otherwise added to their portfolio. it seems ike a lose lose for all involved. This rule is in place so that Cannes can preserve movie theater culture (and honestly, I believe in the end it only helps Netflix as a business even if they can’t see it now.)
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Ian says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 12:03 PM
Yeah, how dare Netflix make a bunch of films and want to show them at a famous film festival? How dare they distribute those films without lining the pockets of the incumbents in the film industry? Any company who distributes movies via any mechanism besides overpriced theaters and optical disks must be a monster.
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John says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 1:25 PM
God, why are some of you so obtuse? There won’t be a cannes film festival if people stop watching films in theaters. That is the source of their revenue. Their economy is contigent on cinephiles who not only enjoy watching a film in theaters, but love it so much that they are willing to spend thousands of dollars to travel to France, book a pricy hotel, and do the same thing over there.
They never said Netflix can’t show their films at the festival. They simply said if they want to QUALIFY for a certain prize they will have to meet the QUALIFICATIONS (in this case, release the film in theaters). It’s really not complicated.
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Jay Willingham says:
APRIL 11, 2018 AT 10:51 AM
Resustance is futile; France will be assimilated…into streaming…
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