here ya go MSN
I could see his point I mean they made hbo and others stick to the emmys …
Are direct-to-video movies “cinema”? I know they’re not up for Oscars by the same rules Spielberg is talking about. All Spielberg seems to be saying is that showing movies that are intended for small-format viewing in just the eligible LA theatres may be obeying the letter of the Oscar eligibility rules, but not the spirit. And that’s OK, I guess, but I think he’s pissing into the wind, personally. “Arguing with the weather only makes you wetter”
Also, he’s a hypocrite about TV competing with movies - if he really gave a damn, he’d stop producing so many series himself.
I thought it was weird that “O.J.: Made in America” won both Oscars and Emmys (before they put a special rule in place that says multi-part documentaries can’t win Oscars). Doesn’t that sort of defeat the purpose of having two awards?
Is Spielberg one of the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ?
I read somewhere that the official Oscar rules state that the film has to be shown in at least one theater in the U.S. to qualify. This would disqualify Netflix movies.
Unless they do what HBO has done in the past and screen the movie in the theater a few weeks before it airs on TV.
No it wouldn’t. Any film Netflix wants to be considered for Oscars would simply be shown in theaters. “Mudbound” played in NYC for a bit in December. I had no idea it even was a Netflix film at first.
I imagine that small-screen production differs in quite significant ways from big-screen production. I wouldn’t oppose the idea of limiting Oscar awards to those media that have been designed and produced for the big screen.
Ever since the 1940s, movie people have looked down their noses at TV people.
Ever since the 1910s, stage people have looked down their noses at movie people.
But . . .
It is quite common for a theatrical film to be edited with an eye toward TV commercial breaks.
When I was a kid, it was not uncommon for the pilot episode of a TV show to get a theatrical release.
The boundaries between the formats are a lot fuzzier than the snobs pretend.
90% of TV shows are dreck.
90% of theatrical films are dreck.
90% of stage plays are not as good as the performers think.
Can’t we all just get along?
Hey, the rules are 7 consecutive days in LA during the calendar year.
If Netflix or Disney shows a film for the 7 days, they’re eligible.
Why on Earth would Netflix be treated any differently from Disney?
(And a lot of films are played only in a few theaters in LA and NYC during the official year in order to qualify for various awards. Nevermind that they only get a wider release in the following year.)
If Spielberg is unhappy, all he has to do is not vote for a Netflix film! There, that’ll show 'em. Nyah-nyah-nyah.
Note that short films, documentaries, etc. typically don’t get much theater play ahead of time. In fact, films up for Best Foreign Film don’t even have to play in a US theater at all!
And I wonder if he’s also big on “film” awards being only given to movies released on … film! Released to digital projection theaters? No Oscar for you.
The thing is: TVs aren’t small screens any more. Netflix produces and serves its stuff in 4K resolution, which is the same resolution that digital cinema projectors use.
So, at that point, the difference is how good your sound system is and how much of your viewing angle your TV takes up.
The home viewing experience you can buy right now for ~$2000 is better than the vast majority of movie theaters at any time before, say, 1990.
You can say that part about “dreck” again. I get the local newspaper from my small hometown, and they have a “Back in history” column. They’ll list the movies from 75 years ago (1943) and I recognize perhaps 3 out of 10. Most of them sound just dreadful.
From what I recall , the movie has to be shown in a Los Angeles county theater to qualify for an Oscar. Of course I read that a while back so they may have changed that requirement to any US theater. - OK I noticed from a post above that the LA rule is still true.
Spielberg’s so wonderfully out of touch, his nostalgia is endearing, but he’s hardly a standard-bearer for “cinema.” Home theatres are theatres, and it’s a Golden Age for cinephiles.
How do you know he’s out of touch?
He may be expressing the opinions shared by members of the AMPAS.
Cardboard sock puppet stages are theaters as well but I wouldn’t mistake either for an actual cinematic movie experience.
AMPAS opinion is varied, and it’s about to get much more varied. Outside of AMPAS it’s even less unanimous, like Godard, for example.
Why not? Both are annoyingly infantilising.
Could you help me with an example, please?
I’m 99% sure they used to allow a week of screenings in NYC to qualify as well. I don’t know when that was dropped.
OK, they’re not pilots but they’re definately TV episodes:
Tammy and the Millionare
Multiple movies made from “The Man From Uncle”
And theatrical release of American TV Movie overseas was fairly common in the 70s. For example, Elizabeth Montgomery’s “Trial of Lizzie Borden” was released with a nude scene added for European theaters.