Spielberg doesn’t think online movies deserve Oscars
Legendary film-maker Steven Spielberg thinks films released on online streaming platforms are “TV movies”, and shouldnt get Oscar consideration.
Since online platforms began distributing movies, the industry has been rife with contention about whether such films deserve the same recognition as traditional, theatrically released films, particularly when it comes to the Academy Awards. Spielberg shared his views in an interview.
“Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie. You certainly, if it’s a good show, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar. I don’t believe films that are just given token qualifications in a couple of theatres for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination,” Spielberg said.
Recently online streaming platforms started gaining awards recognition for films like Dee Rees’ Mudbound (2017), which received a oneweek theatrical release and Ava DuVernay’s 13th (2016), which did not release in theatres and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2016 Academy Awards.
Dunkirk (2017) director Christopher Nolan has also weighed in on the same issue, calling a streaming giant’s release plans “bizarre” and “mindless”.
He later apologised, calling his remarks “undiplomatic”.
The controversy has also spread to question the place of these films at film festivals, during the premiere of Okja (2017) at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival in France the film was met with boos as a streaming giant’s logo was displayed on the screen.
Cannes Film Festival established a rule after last year’s festival that in the future, any films that are selected for competition must also commit to a theatrical distribution.
In a recent interview, Cannes director Thierry Fremaux said that films from online streaming platforms do represent “something important” and that “we will eventually come up with a good agreement because in order for a film to become part of history, it must go through theatres, box office, the critics, the passion of cinephiles, awards campaigns, books, directories, filmographies. All this is part of a tradition on which the history of film is based.”