If there was one narrative that gained steam this month, it was that Amazon was the savior of auteurs and the theatrical experience (underscored by Cannes Film Festival honcho Thierry Fremaux‘s praise for the company), and that Netflix was more concerned with making plays that would suit their global audience. Certainly, at a glance, that seems to be true. Amazon went to Cannes with projects from Woody Allen, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Jim Jarmusch, picked up Kenneth Lonergan‘s “Manchester By The Sea” at Sundance, and have already signed up to handle Lynne Ramsay‘s next movie. As for Netflix? There’s no doubt they are unleashing a torrent of content, but at least lately, there hasn’t been the same swell of cinephile approved activity, and with their commitment to day-and-date releases for some of their original feature film productions, some have suggested that Netflix is bad for the movie business. But as he did earlier this month, Netflix exec Ted Sarandos defends the company, and argues the current model — theatrical release, followed by an exclusive window before it hits VOD/streaming — doesn’t serve the best interests of the industry or customers.
“Whatever the theatrical component is, it’s going to be concurrent with the Netflix window, because I don’t believe it’s sensible to hold back 81 million people from watching a movie so that a couple of hundred people can see it in a theater,” Sarandos told The Los Angeles Times.
“Every director that I talk to that talks about the romance of cinema talks about the movies they saw on VHS tape when they were growing up,” he also said. “This gets spun around a lot that we’re somehow anti-theaters. I’m totally not. You are much more likely to find me at a movie theater Saturday night than most executives who are having this debate. I love the experience, and I think by preserving film – the economics of film – you will preserve that experience as well, and you will keep films relevant in the culture.”
So where does Netflix see its role in the current climate in Hollywood? Citing upcoming projects like the supernatural buddy cop flick “Bright” starring Will Smith and directed by David Ayer, and David Michold‘s satire “War Machine” starring Brad Pitt, Sarandos says the streaming service is taking on the kind of projects that increasingly risk-averse studios aren’t touching anymore.
“….these are really ambitious films that spook studios, that in the old model would just be very difficult to make. The studios gave up on a lot of films that viewers did not. We’re looking to fill that gap,” he said.
Even more, Sarandos counters the argument, recently made by Screen Daily, that Netflix may not be interested in the same kind of arthouse fare as Amazon. In fact, he points to Netflix’s powerful, worldwide data as a tool that can be used so that even the most niche filmmaker can reach their massive audience directly.
“There’s millions of John Sayles fans, but the problem is they’re dispersed around the world. We can pull those fans together, and using the algorithms we use to merchandise a film, we can make that film as prominent to the person who loves John Sayles as ‘Captain America,’ ” he explained. Maybe they can release “Django Lives!” then?
While its an easy narrative to continue comparing Netflix and Amazon, I think we’re going to see a sharpening of their distinct differences. It’s not a matter of one service being better than another. As a global company, with way more subscribers than any of their rivals, the purpose that content serves for Netflix is quite different than that of Amazon, a company rooted in an online store, who is eager to get people to sign up for their premium service. Nonetheless, it’s fascinating to see how both of these companies are shaking up the traditional way business is being done. Let us know what you think in the comments section.