It’s pretty cool that we can stream pretty much anything we want, anytime we want, but let’s face it, subscribing to multiple outlets can be a burden on the wallet. With Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Mubi, FilmStruck and more all offering compelling reasons to sign up (if you haven’t already), the last thing you want is yet another service to consider. So, when Nicolas Winding Refn announced he was going to launch his own online destination for movies, we braced ourselves a bit….until we learned it’s going to be free.
That’s right, the director’s upcoming byNWR.com (sign up now!) will cost you absolutely nothing, because as Refn says, in the future “all entertainment will be free.” So, he’s being the change he wants to see in the world. Or something.
At any rate, it does sound like it’ll be pretty cool. The “unadulterated cultural expressway of the arts” will have fresh content quarterly, starting with exploitation films from the American South, guest edited by Russ Meyer biographer and Jimmy McDonough, who recently worked with Refn on the movie poster book “The Art of Seeing.” Initial selections include 1965’s hard to find “The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds” and 1967’s “Shanty Tramp.” The second quarter of programming will be curated by Little White Lies, and focus on lesser known works from American independent cinema, including a newly restored (paid by Refn out of his own pocket) “Night Tide” starring Dennis Hopper and 1967’s “Spring Night, Summer Night.”
Honestly, this sounds pretty rad, and we’ll be happy to throw byNWR into our mix of binge-watching viewing. The site will launch in February, and in addition to films, will include essays, music, video, photography, and more. [THR]