Video-streaming giant Netflix ruffled more than a few feathers in the Hollywood film industry this week when they announced they’ll be adding feature films to their ever-expanding universe of original content.
For those of you who missed the announcement, Netflix is producing four new Adam Sandler movies and a sequel to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
So why the hostility from Hollywood? Why, for example, are several major movie chains refusing to show the promised IMAX version of Crouching Tiger 2?
Well, as you might have guessed, all five films will be released directly to Netflix’s streaming customers, completely bypassing the natural order of the movie industry. It’s enough to leave a Netflix fan and film enthusiast completely perplexed on which side to take.
On the the one had we have the convenience and affordability of Netflix. No longer will you have to spend half of your paycheck for a night out at the movies. In fact, you won’t even have to go out…which leads us to the other hand.
While Netflix has many great attributes, one of its major sins is encouraging the continued isolation and increasingly anti-social tendencies of our technology-consumed society.
To be honest, I think it’s best that all Adam Sandler films go directly to online streaming, and I have no doubt that Hidden Dragon 2 is in good hands with the Netflix team, but the fact is a night out at the movies is not something that should be given up so easily. While we’ve seen plenty of films do a simultaneous release to theaters and rent/buy online, Netflix jumping into the ring makes this much more serious.
Although if none of the theaters are willing to show the Netflix films, it will make it hard to fight for their cause. AMC and Regal (the rest of you know who you are) you might want to rethink your strategy.
Stay strong fellow film-lovers, we will not be bought by convenience.
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More on the Story: Washington Post
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