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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 23 May 2017
With catcalls and applause, Cannes debates rise of Netflix

JAKE COYLE iera town hall that mea-
AP Film Writer sures the fluctuations of the
CANNES, France (AP) — movie industry. This year,
This year’s Cannes Film Fes- the seismic impact of Net-
tival has been a sprawling, flix and its swelling movie
international referendum ambitions have taken cen-
on Netflix, with votes reg- ter stage.
istered in catcalls and ap- The festival for the first time
plause, and some of the has two Netflix films in com-
biggest names in cinema petition for the coveted
staking out their positions. Palme d’Or top prize: South
As the world’s largest and Korean director Bong Joon-
most prestigious film festi- ho’s “Okja” and Noah Ba-
val, Cannes has often been umbach’s Adam Sandler-
a kind of glitzy, French Riv- led “The Meyerowitz Sto-

Jury members Will Smith, from left, Jessica Chastain and Pedro Almodovar pose for photographers
during the photo call for the Jury at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France,
Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
Associated Press

ries (New and Selected”). lead the streaming giant to him sort of cart blanche
Those selections sparked reconsider its festival strat- and the budget that he
an outcry from French ex- egies. Ted Sarandos, Net- needed to do it, where
hibitors, who recoiled at flix’s chief content officer, other people would not,”
the thought of one of cin- told Variety that a Cannes said “Okja” star Jake Gyl-
ema’s highest honors going return was “less attrac- lenhaal.
to a film that won’t play in tive” because of the rule New players like Netflix and
their theaters. change. Amazon have given film-
When an agreement The standoff begs the ques- makers a badly needed
couldn’t be reached be- tion: Who needs the other new outlet at a time of ev-
tween Netflix and French more, Cannes or Netflix? er-constricting Hollywood
theaters, the Cannes Film For much of its 70-year his- studios — which, notably,
Festival declared that next tory, Cannes has been an have virtually no presence
year, streaming-only films important and influential at this year’s Cannes festi-
will not be accepted for the place for stars, filmmak- val. And Netflix, which re-
competition. But that move ers and film companies to cently surpassed 100 million
has done little to pacify the stake their claim in the busi- subscribers (about half in
passions surrounding Netflix ness. Netflix, like its stream- the U.S.), is poised to keep
or the anxieties over the fu- ing rival Amazon Studios, picking up the studios’
ture of the theatrical expe- has made festivals a focus, slack.
rience. buying up films from Sun- Large theater chains have
Netflix’s logo, appearing dance to Venice, and using refused to play Netflix films
before the two films, has the media glare of places if they’re simultaneously
been met by competing like Toronto and Cannes to streaming, a move Netf-
cheers and boos. When the launch their films. The glob- lix has criticized. Amazon,
projection of “Okja” had al nature of Cannes makes which has several films at
to be stopped because of it ideal for Netflix, which has Cannes too, has been less
technical error, the festival expanded to 190 countries. disruptive, rolling its films
quickly put out a statement Netflix is also embarking out in theaters long before
promising that no anti-Netf- on its most ambitious, big- reaching Amazon Prime
lix foul play was at work. budget forays into mov- subscribers. Todd Haynes,
When it comes to Netflix, ies yet, too, including Brad whose Cannes entry “Won-
Cannes is far from chill. Pitt’s “War Machine” this derstruck” is an Amazon
“As long as I’m I alive, I’ll be Friday, “Okja” in June and release, said its film division
fighting for one thing that Will Smith’s “Bright” in De- is made up of “true cineas-
I’m afraid the new gen- cember. Smith, a member tes.”
eration is not aware of ... of Almodovar’s jury, spoke But the French, strict guard-
the hypnosis of the large up for Netflix. ians of tradition, mandate
screen for the viewer,” jury “In my house, Netflix has that any film, if it plays in
president Pedro Almodo- been nothing but an abso- theaters, must wait three
var declared on opening lute benefit,” he said. years before reaching
day. Others also praised it. streaming services.
Netflix’s Cannes experi- “Bong was able to do what “If you go to New York, you
ence, which culminated he did with this film — the have less theaters than
in a hillside villa party Sun- size of it, the scope of it — in the past. In Rome, you
day night, will undoubtedly as a result of them giving have very few theaters.q