End of the cinema age?
Movies’ future could be solely in homes, not in theatres
Planning a trip to the movies this weekend? Ready to kick back with your frozen coke and choc-top and watch some Black
Panther, LadyBird or 50 Shades? Well, enjoy it, because the classic movie-going experience could be about to meet its untimely end.
The team at Netflix have been making power moves in Hollywood recently; not content with having changed the way TV works, Netflix now looks to be hailing the end of cinema as we know it.
I’m in two minds here, because, fun fact: I hate going to the cinema.
I realise this is an odd admission for an entertainment journalist to make, but honestly: You have to leave the house (always an issue), make your way to a busy area, pay a million dollars and what’s left of your soul to get in and endure an hour’s worth of ads and trailers.
Then you get to sit there with a room full of strangers who are rustling lolly packets, kicking your seat, checking their phones, getting up to pee every 3.2 seconds and saying stupid things like “did you see that?” as if we’re not all sitting aimed directly at the same wallsized screen.
In short: Going to the movies is often a garbage experience.
This is why I’m on board with what Netflix is up to — and what they’re up to is impressive as hell. They’ve got an $8 billion plan to get to a place where 50 per cent of their content is original: We’re talking a tonne of
new TV and 80 new