Dunkirk was generated strong buzz and great reviews but then came the question Warner Bros must have feared asked by IndieWire to director Christopher Nolan if he uses Netflix he said rarely preferring to watch films at home via Blu-ray. He went on to say, “Netflix has a bizarre aversion to supporting theatrical films,” “They have this mindless policy of everything having to be simultaneously streamed and released, which is obviously an untenable model for theatrical presentation. So, they’re not even getting in the game, and I think they’re missing a huge opportunity.”
Before I go on want to apologise to the one other person who probably reads my blog that I will go on a rant brought by Christopher Nolan and his above comment about Netflix. He is a fantastic director but must know why Netflix is as popular as it is for film fans and film makers as while he can ring up Warner Bros and make any film he wants and demands it to be released on film none of the filmmakers making films for Netflix can do this.
Will Smith said at Comic Con at the weekend Netflix allowed them to make the film he wanted to make. A year ago, he worked with director David Ayer on Suicide Squad but the end film was a lot different to the film he envisaged when starting on the project his latest Bright starring Will Smith again he could make the film he wanted.
Netflix and Amazon have become the United Artists of modern cinema which was launched in 1919 by filmmakers who wanted to control their own interests rather being controlled by a studio. But they found out as Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen found out decades later launching Dreamworks that it wasn’t as simple as that when they don’t own a way to distribute content directly to the audience which of course makes Netflix different. Spending $6 billion a year on content film and TV are spending more than most studios and by making so much content is becoming less reliant on studio content which makes studios become even more nervous about them.
Ten years ago, Netflix started streaming services (7 years earlier Blockbuster famously turned down a chance to buy Netflix for $50m now worth $67 billion while Blockbuster are no more their then owners Viacom now worth $17 billion) but was fully reliant on studio content. It wasn’t until 2013 when Netflix started making its own content House of Cards. Last year Netflix made 126 original films and TV series more than any other TV and film company.
Netflix is likely to continue this investment for many years to come to build up a library of content as big as any studio which will mean soon they won’t need them that thought must terrify studios as does each year their subscriptions growing now to 105m whilst cinema admissions will likely be flat again as they have been for the last 14 years (only growth over those years has been box office due to ticket price increases) so must just be coincidence cinema admissions are dropping the same time have been huge increases in Netflix subscribers? Sorry my pre-rant warning became a rant itself.
This was the sequel to Cannes Netflix controversy which occurred after two Netflix films were selected for the film festival. French exhibitors were angry that these films wouldn’t be given theatrical releases (in France is a 36-month window before theatrical films can be released on SVOD) but these films would have received very limited releases had they had a theatrical release in France. Both films suffering “technical difficulties” during their screenings at the festival. Cannes Film Festival organisers then decided that from 2018 all films screened in competition at the festival must have a French theatrical release.
Christopher Nolan’s comments, of course, generated a backlash online but as I have said many times before Netflix and Amazon aren’t the enemy they have been created to be this by exhibitors. Bad cinema presentation and price ar the real problem; when exhibitors announced their plans to convert cinemas from 35mm film to digital it was meant to be done to improve the cinema-going experience. Christopher Nolan shot Dunkirk in 70mm IMAX and he is one of only a few directors studios will agree to their demands as with Interstellar in 2014 he requested the film was to be shown in as many cinemas as possible in 70mm IMAX, 70mm and 35mm all of which give a far better quality than 2K or 4K DCP. Over the weekend Dunkirk was screened in 70mm IMAX and 70mm on about a dozen screens in the UK but over 100 in the US but for the rest of its 600 screens in the UK and 3,500 screens in the US audiences saw the film in inferior 2K and 4K.
Last week Netflix announced a 5.5 million increase to their subscribers now having 105 million globally the majority of whom are film fans and most would probably in the past go regularly to the cinema. 25 years ago, that would mean for me going every week the cinema either in the early years in the West End but as local multiplexes opened would go to local cinemas including Vue Harrow, North Finchley, and Finchley Road. But in the last 10 year, I like all cinemagoers have seen ticket prices dramatically rise over this time especially during the film to digital conversion which originally was claimed would cut prices. In recent years, I and I are sure many others have become much pickier with the film I see in the cinema and those I’m happy to wait 3 months to see. Only have to compare ticket prices to Dunkirk at the Cineworld Leicester Square in Laser IMAX £21.70 at the Odeon Leicester Sq.£18.50 in 70mm, Odeon Uxbridge £18.45, Swiss Cottage £15.50 both in IMAX Digital (Swiss Cottage is cheaper only probably because many prefer to go to the Vue Finchley Road which is £16.99) while BFI IMAX in 70mm IMAX is £22.
Have been a massive supporter of film was a projectionist in preview theatres at Rank Film Distributors and 20th Century Fox and locum for Polygram Films and Columbia TriStar for over 9 years showing 35mm films with changeovers. For many more years used to delivery 35mm prints to cinemas across West End using my trusty trolley. Had many nightmare experiences showing 35mm as I have mentioned before but was always something unique and special about it as seen in many films about cinema including Cinema Paradiso
Wouldn’t say by any means I was a brilliant projectionist as there were many with far superior knowledge and expertise but for me, it was all about giving the best presentation possible whoever was watching as you never knew who might be watching. I had my fair share of focus and missed changeovers the fear each time the reel was running down wondering was that the first set of dots and then the finding out that the dots you thought were first was actually the second having the realisation that there will either be a blank screen for a few seconds or the countdown leader showing and then the fear of what might be said or written about with the missed change over. Wrote before about how early in my career as a projectionist I did a national press show for a very forgettable Michael Madsen B movie released by Polygram The Final Combination missed a change over and Time Out said the best part of the film when he was woken by countdown leader on screen. After another missed changeover which was for Barry Norman for Film 9something went in to apologize and as many have recently said was a lovely man telling me not to worry as it wasn’t noticeable afterward he would often say hello when he came for screenings.
I always loved how West End cinemas would open their tabs to see the film logo appear as the curtains open with the cinema music fading out and the studio logo fanfare replaces it just those small personal touches that make you realise there is someone in the projection room rather than all being done by computer. Would always try to do similar every time I screened a film. Having done everything manually always strange watching from the box of a multiplex seeing all of this being done automatically I know that every film I screened wasn’t perfect but it was all me occasionally on the floor in tears when things went bad like that Mike Figgis incident I mentioned in about me but many times energised screening films seeing and hearing audience reaction via the intercom didn’t know was in the theatre. One thing I wouldn’t miss is double hand rewinding reels to check changeover dots as many prints we screened didn’t have dots or if they did they weren’t so easy to see. So, had to double rewind 2000-foot reels of film which was 20 minutes so a film was normally 6 reels. Sometimes the wind was loose and picked up the reel from the can and it just unwound across the room fortunately only happened to me a couple of times similarly the reel falls off the projector. Even after all these and many more nightmares don’t get me started on 16mm film to me will always be the cinema and why digital is no longer cinema for me.
When I was at 20th Century Fox was looked after many UK screenings for about 18 months going to cinemas in the West End and across the country for premieres q&a and press screenings always having a rehearsal before to make sure the film was screened the way it should be seen. Remember annoying the projectionist at Odeon West End rejecting several prints of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
Digital cinema to me isn’t cinema as my niece said on her first trip to the cinema earlier this year to see Peppa Pig she said looking at the cinema screen ‘look a big TV’. Which is what Digital has turned cinema into it used as film and TV have swapped places it used to be cinema where you saw a mix of original content and sequels while we moaned about TV being all repeats now it’s switched with so much original content on TV thanks to Netflix Amazon Sky Channel 4 and BBC cinemas are now full of repeats sequels, remakes and reboots it feels like Groundhog Day.
So, my comments are more out of sadness as I remember the 90s when there was tremendous growth year on year especially in 1996 when to celebrate the 100th anniversary of cinema we had National Cinema Day in June a day when all cinemas were £1 this had a massive impact on admissions for the year and was repeated the following year. In 1994 and after the massive success of Jurassic Park the year earlier box office experts in Screen International, January preview were predicting by 2000 admissions would top 200m. Admissions didn’t get that high by the year 2000 but in 2002 they were the highest since the 70s had they continued to grow admissions would be over 250m. But then was when exhibitors got greedy and started dramatically increasing prices and the years since despite the films getting bigger and box office doubling admissions have stayed the same. I never understand how admissions can stay flat but box office double as this must mean the average price being paid isn’t the price that is being claimed?
What I was surprised last year was the 120th anniversary while Irish Cinemas held a National Cinema Day the rest of the UK didn’t I contacted BFI and others in the months before asking if there would be any celebrations but there was none. A yearly National Cinema Day would be a fantastic way to get people excited about going to the cinema again make them realise that they might have Netflix and 50-inch 4K TVs in their home but none of that compares to watching the same film in a cinema.
Netflix 105 million subscribers are film fans who previously would regularly go to the cinema but now far more selective with the films they pay to see and those they wait to see. With the current Groundhog Day slates studios are churning out film fans are choosing to stay at home and watch in their mini cinema some with 4K HDR Dolby Vision 50-inch TV with Dolby Atmos same technology in cinemas to have a month of content for less than the cost of one cinema ticket.
Cinema is the natural home of film but instead of worrying about extending food ranges exhibitors need to deal with the reason why these 105m cinema fans have gone to Netflix and this is not parking or the weather it is and has always been the price. NATO announced the average cinema price in the US has gone up to $8.95 making some excuse that inflation increased 1977 price would be $9.24. But as exhibitors might claim average is only $8.95 to see Dunkirk in 70mm IMAX at AMC Lincoln Square New York $25.29 plus $2 tax $27.29; at Chinese Theatre in IMAX in Los Angeles $21.75 plus $2 tax $23.75. While New York and Los Angeles costs far more than local cinemas close to West End to local in the UK but Dunkirk in an AMC Florida cinema is still $15.29 plus $3.09 tax $18.58 which is still almost double claimed average ticket price
As with the UK claimed the verage of £7.41 by BFI when most paid almost double and some close to triple the claimed average at the weekend to see Dunkirk and Andre Rieu’s 2017 Maastricht Concert. How can we possibly trust what they said after it took them over 100 years to admit there was a ‘culture of nepotism in the film industry’ anyone working in it knows this and organizations like BFI and UK Cinema Association are part of the establishment which keep it going on.