Since last Sunday, Steven Spielberg has been particularly outspoken in his criticism of Netflix’s Oscar wins. In his opinion, films that only launch on Netflix or have very limited theatrical releases should compete for Emmys, not Oscars. Spielberg, one of the Academy’s current governors, even confirmed he’d propose a change to the Academy’s eligibility rules.
Netflix then took to Twitter Monday night to defend their position. Without naming Spielberg directly, the streaming service replied to the comments with a list of “things they love” about their platform’s position. Most important of which is cinema.
We love cinema. Here are some things we also love:
-Access for people who can't always afford, or live in towns without, theaters
-Letting everyone, everywhere enjoy releases at the same time
-Giving filmmakers more ways to share artThese things are not mutually exclusive.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) March 4, 2019
The debate of Netflix’s Award eligibility has been a talking point since the streamer started producing their own content. With Roma winning three awards this year though it seemed like that debate was finally winding down. However, these latest comments from Spielberg reignite a fire that is stoked only by ignorance and refusal to change with the times. Netflix isn’t a horrible plague on the movie industry but a new way to share content for a new generation. The Oscars aren’t awarded on box office draw or ticket sales so the argument against films like Roma, clearly the best film made last year, being ineligible for not releasing in theaters is a strange angle to take here.
Regardless of how Speilberg and the ‘Old Academy’ feel about this, they may have no choice but to acknowledge Netflix next year. Fellow film legend Martin Scorsese is releasing his highly anticipated passion project, The Irishman, through Netflix in the fall. And, it’s rumored that the film could receive a full, or at least expanded, theatrical run to bypass whatever rules the Academy tries to implement against Netflix. It’ll be interesting over the next few months to see whether the Academy moves to embrace Netflix or continues to give them the cold shoulder.
