During an appearance onstage at this year’s CinemaCon, Helen Mirren looked to get the crowd of film buffs riled up. “I love Netflix, but f—k Netflix,” the legendary actress yelled out to a raucous crowd. Mirren was on hand to promote her upcoming film, The Good Liar.
Mirren is just the latest big-time Hollywood name to take a stance against Netflix. Following this year’s Oscars, Steven Spielberg penned a letter detailing his plan to lobby against Netflix for future awards shows. The streaming service responded directly to Spielberg, citing their similarities with those entrenched in Academy circles. I’d expect the service to follow suit here.
Interestingly, the U.S. Department of Justice also weighed in on the debate Tuesday. In a letter to the Academy, the DOJ warned the establishment against making eligibility rules directed at Netflix specifically. It’s unclear if the Academy had even moved to implement such rules yet. But, considering the DOJ’s letter, it is basically illegal for them to do now. Whether or not that will stop them remains to be seen though.
