Yes, Steven Soderbergh is an Oscar-winning filmmaker with classic films like “Traffic,” “Erin Brockovich,” “sex, lies & videotape,” and the ‘Ocean’s’ franchise. However, he’s also one of the smartest minds in the film industry, and one of the more generous creators around. And he shows exactly why that’s not hyperbole in a new interview with Deadline.
Over the course of the lengthy (but great) interview, Soderbergh hits all the hot-button issues of the day, while also sharing some really fun stories. Netflix, theatrical releases, film marketing budgets, diversity, Harvey Weinstein, and more are discussed.
But first, we want to share a couple stories that the filmmaker covers that shows just how he helped Christopher Nolan begin a (massive) relationship with Warner Bros. and how he was the driving force behind Kevin Feige taking a chance on the Russo Brothers in the MCU.
As for the Russos, Soderbergh talks about how they met during the premiere of their unreleased first film at Slamdance, and from then on became fast friends. So, it wasn’t a shock that the brothers called Soderbergh to help land them a meeting with the head of Marvel Studios to pitch “Captain America: Winter Soldier.”
“So when they rang me up and said, ‘Hey, will you call Kevin Feige on our behalf?’ I said, ‘Yes, after you answer one question: Why do you want to make this?’ They said, ‘Oh, we have a $60,000 comic book collection, and this is literally our dream job,’” explains the filmmaker.
He continues, “‘It’s our dream job!’ I said, ‘That’s all I wanted to hear.’ That was the right answer. So I called Kevin and I go, ‘These guys are great. I think you’re going to like them. They’re hard workers. They’re good people.’ That was a big part of it, too. I liked them personally and that matters.”
Of course, we know how that story ends, with the Russos becoming the dominant creative force behind the MCU currently, and the directors of some of the biggest films of all time. Another massive current director is Christopher Nolan, and Soderbergh has a similar story about how he helped land Nolan a meeting with WB about “Insomnia.”
“When Chris Nolan became interested in ‘Insomnia’ and word got back to me from Dan Aloni that he couldn’t get a meeting at Warner Brothers, and that they wouldn’t meet with him to talk about it, I said that’s ridiculous,” says Soderbergh. “I called the person who wouldn’t meet with him and said, ‘You need to sit down with this guy. Whether it’s this project or something else, you need to meet this guy. You need to talk to him.’ Turns out he has the meeting, and it was a total love fest. He goes and makes ‘Insomnia’ and begins his relationship with Warner Brothers. So the only thing I did was get him in the room.”
Now, Soderbergh himself is no stranger to blockbusters, but lately, the filmmaker has taken more risks in terms of distribution (teaming up with streaming powerhouse Netflix) and marketing (taking the reins of marketing “Logan Lucky” and “Unsane”). Both of these topics aren’t something the filmmaker is shy to discuss at length.
With two films being released by Netflix this year, alone, (“The Laundromat” and “High Flying Bird”), the director isn’t afraid to enter the streaming fray. But he does understand it’s difficulties.
“Like I said, it’s a great time to be making stuff. It’s just harder and harder to be the signal in the midst of all the noise,” says Soderbergh about the sheer amount of content available to stream.
But even though the filmmaker is working with Netflix, he’s not worried about the typical theatrical release model, citing a recent Jordan Peele-directed horror movie as proof. “If you are somebody who works for a streaming platform and feel that theatrical is dead or is dying I would say to you, oh, really?” explains Soderbergh. “Why don’t you tell that to the makers of ‘Get Out,’ who in a typical streaming deal would have gotten somewhere in the teens for that movie. And that would be it, for the rest of their lives. Don’t tell me that there isn’t a business out there.”
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However, when you do release a film in theaters, you better market it correctly. With “Logan Lucky” and “Unsane,” Soderbergh attempted to take control of the marketing and cut costs.
He explains why that didn’t work out so well:
“I felt with a strategically targeted campaign, you ought to be able to [market a film] for $20 million. My concern was, the implications of skyrocketing marketing costs are dire for creative people. So I wanted to see if it was possible. It didn’t work on ‘Logan.’ I got the opportunity to do it again on ‘Unsane.’ It didn’t work again. The bottom line: 20 million dollars is not enough for a wide release film to generate the level of awareness that you have to have. It’s just not.”
He also mentions how there’s a psychological component on film marketing that can’t be ignored. Namely, people only believe you have a “real film” if they see ads on TV.
“Seriously. Real movies advertise on TV,” explains the filmmaker. “I think that’s how people think. So if they didn’t see your commercial, they’re like, that must be some off-market thing. Because I see ads on my favorite shows for real movies.”
If you’re a fan of Soderbergh, or the film industry in general, you should give the full interview a look. It’s fascinating and ultimately shows why we are lucky to have a mind like Soderbergh’s involved in an industry we love.