Netflix, before the blood reached the river, tried intermediate solutions and pacts with the exhibitors: those important films that could, in their opinion, win an Oscar, would have a previous cinematographic exhibition, even minimal (one or two weeks) before be uploaded to the platform. So much so that he even opened his own cinema, in front of the Plaza Hotel in New York (he remodeled an old room from the 1950s), to adapt to the requirement of the exhibition.
But the scandal broke in 2019, when the film “Green Book” by Peter Farrelly, with Viggo Mortensen, won the Oscar for Best Picture, beating the favorite “Roma”, by Alfonso Cuarón, produced entirely by Netflix, of course. Rumors that Spielberg had been behind an alleged lobby to favor “Green Book” circulated in all the corridors and reached important media outlets, such as Variety. So much so that the conflict, until then purely commercial and artistic, became political: the Department of Justice of the United States government sent a letter to the Hollywood Academy expressing “its concern about possible changes in regulations of the Oscar”. The letter was signed by the head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim, and warned against “the possibility that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences introduces new requirements for a film to be eligible for an Oscar” in which encourage monopolistic practices. That is: that Netflix, after its outrage when it lost “Roma”, was not going to sit still, and raised its concerns with the government. The Justice Department cited the Sherman Antitrust Act which “prohibits anticompetitive agreements between competitors.” “If the Academy adopts a rule that strips certain films of Oscar eligibility, affecting their box office receipts, such a rule could violate antitrust law.” It was not exactly what Spielberg maintained, but the strength of Netflix was felt.
Among film directors, including the most seasoned in favor of the cause theaters vs. streaming, like Martin Scorsese, the change of positions was taking place for other reasons. For several years, traditional studios refused to finance his “The Irishman” project, a film in which he even had to digitally rejuvenate Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino. “Two hundred million dollars?” Netflix asked him. “Don’t worry, Martin. Here you have them. Make your movie for us.” Almost as if it were a scene from “Good Boys.” Such is art.
Source: Ambito
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