Netflix may conclude Hollywood invasion at Oscars
LOS ANGELES: This Sunday, Netflix Inc. will find out if it finally has a seat at the cool kids’ table. The company’s film Roma is the favourite to win the Academy Award for best picture, the highest accolade at Hollywood’s most prestigious awards show.
Roma has a 33% chance of winning, according to the
Hollywood Reporter, while the Gold Derby gives it a 4-1 shot.
A victory on Sunday would complete Netflix’s transformation from Silicon Valley interloper to the consummate Hollywood insider, and signal the dawn of a new era in the entertainment business.
Roma is the first nominee for best picture that was essentially a digital release— though it had a limited theatrical run—and Netflix would be the first technology company to clinch Hollywood’s top prize.
Whether or not Netflix wins, an online movie will certainly be crowned best picture sooner or later, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Llc, Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. are both spending billions of dollars on programming, and even Walt Disney Co. plans to release digital movies that won’t appear in theaters.
“This is an inflection point for the industry, showing you where the world is going,” Greenfield said.
Last year, Netflix earned the most Emmy nominations of any TV network.
Yet, Netflix has never mounted a campaign quite like the one for Roma .The company spent $30 million on its Oscar crusade, according to the New York Times ,apromotional push orchestrated by Lisa Taback, an executive whose sole job is to help Netflix win awards.
Movie-theater owners and filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg have attempted to block Netflix’s path to the Oscars. The company still insists on making most of its movies available on its service at the same time they appear in theaters, much to the chagrin of cinephiles and theater owners. The major studios release movies in theaters for months before they are available anywhere else.
The world’s largest movie theater chains have refused to exhibit Netflix’s films, and wouldn’t even show Roma after it received the most Oscar nominations of any picture.
“There is mild panic about Netflix possibly winning,” said Sasha Stone, editor of Awards Daily.
A victory for Roma would tilt the balance of power in Hollywood. ”