The question of streaming movies’ eligibility for the Oscars is now a lot bigger than just (to put it simply) “Steven Spielberg vs. Netflix.”
The Department of Justice wrote to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to warn them that limiting the eligibility of Netflix and other streaming services for the Oscars could be against violate a competition and antitrust law that’s more than a century old.
Makan Delrahim, the chief of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, wrote to AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson on March 21. He expressed concerns that the Academy’s new rules would be written “in a way that tends to suppress competition.”
An Academy spokesperson confirmed to Variety that they received the letter and “responded accordingly.”
Delrahim cited Section 1 of the Sherman Act (that dates all the way back to 1980), which “prohibits anti-competitive agreements among competitors.”
He added, “if the Academy adopts a new rule to exclude certain types of films, such as films distributed via online streaming services, from eligibility for the Oscars, and that exclusion tends to diminish the excluded films’ sales, that rule could therefore violate Section 1.”
This all began with Spielberg’s comments that if a movie is on a streaming service, “[it] deserves an Emmy, but not an Oscar.”
His remarks were widely interpreted as a slam against Alfonso Cuarón‘s “Roma,” which briefly played theaters, but then went straight to Netflix. It was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 3, including Best Director.
The rule change the Academy is considering would increase the amount of time a film would have to play in theaters to be eligible for an Oscar. Currently, a “qualifying run” is if a film is shown in a Los Angeles theater for “at least seven consecutive days” during the year in question.
The Academy’s Board of Governors meets on April 23 for its annual awards rules meeting. Stay tuned.
Netflix is skipping the Cannes Film Festival for the second year in a row despite positive discussions between the two parties to include the streaming giant’s films.
Last year, Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux ruled that Netflix movies were ineligible to compete for the Palme d’Or, which led Netflix boss Ted Sarandos to pull the streaming company’s slate, including “Roma.”
“Roma,” “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” and others debuted at other film festivals instead, to great acclaim and eventual Oscar nominations (and wins).
With just a couple months to go until this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the two sides have been engaging in friendly talks, but no agreement has been made, according to Variety.
In any case, Netflix doesn’t have any films ready to enter the competition. Frémaux was reportedly keen to include Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which is likely to be a major awards contender. Scorsese previously won the won the Palme d’Or for “Taxi Driver.”
However, “The Irishman” will not be ready by May. The movie requires heavy special effects to de-age stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino so they can play their characters across decades.
Other possible Cannes players were Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat” starring Meryl Streep, an untitled Noah Baumbach film, and “The King” with Timothée Chalamet as Henry V — but none of them will enter the festival.
The contention between Netflix and Cannes began in 2017 after the streaming service debuted “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” at the festival. French theater owners made a fuss about Netflix’s day-and-date release strategy, and Frémaux bowed to the pressure.
Netflix is making its case for its films to continue to be eligible for Oscars consideration.
The streaming service had its first Best Picture Oscar nominee in Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” which ended up winning three trophies last week.
Not everybody was happy for Netflix, though. Director Steven Spielberg is pushing for an Academy Awards rule change that would rule streaming films ineligible. He reportedly champions a four-week exclusive theatrical release for all eligible films.
Spielberg has previously opined that movies debuting on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. should be considered TV movies. “The good show deserves an Emmy, but not an Oscar,” he said.
On Sunday, Netflix made a statement that is clearly a response to the issue, though the company did not mention Spielberg or the Oscars:
We love cinema. Here are some things we also love:
-Access for people who can't always afford, or live in towns without, theaters -Letting everyone, everywhere enjoy releases at the same time -Giving filmmakers more ways to share art
“Roma” had a limited, three-week theatrical release. Netflix did not report its box office take, which other studios found disturbing (and of course, the company almost never reports its streaming numbers).
But there are signs that Netflix is willing to be flexible about its rollout strategy for prestige films. Already, the company is reportedly considering a wide theatrical release (and Oscar bid) for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming gangster movie “The Irishman.”
Filmmakers who have released work through Netflix have stepped up to defend the streamer. Last year, Cuarón said, “I believe in the theatrical experience. But there has to be diversity. The multiplex theatrical experience is a very gentrified experience. You have one kind of product with few variations. It’s hard to see art-house films. It’s hard to see foreign films. Most theaters play big Hollywood movies.”
Netflix may have missed out on winning its first Best Picture Oscar with “Roma,” but the company is already gearing up for a second attempt with Martin Scorsese‘s upcoming “The Irishman.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the iconic director wants a wide release for his $125 million gangster drama — and Netflix is talking to theater owners about giving it to him.
But that means the streaming service will finally have to subject itself to something it’s never experienced before: outsider knowledge of viewership numbers. Netflix would have to allow theater owners to report box office figures, which it did not do for the limited theatrical release of “Roma.”
This led to grumbling on the part of some members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. A contingent of directors led by Steven Spielberg is advocating for a rule that would require a movie to have an exclusive theatrical window of at least four weeks to be eligible for major Oscars.
Netflix reportedly spent over $25 million on its Oscar campaign for “Roma” and still came away short, though the film did win Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Cinematography.
Still, a black-and-white non-English language film with no stars is a hard sell for Best Picture. “The Irishman,” however, comes from a legendary director and features Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Netflix already aired a first, footage-less teaser during this year’s Oscars ceremony.
If Netflix was willing to go so far with “Roma,” it may have to change its ethos for a film with the pedigree of “The Irishman.”
“Netflix wants a big footprint for The Irishman,” an industry source told THR. “They’ve put themselves in a position by supporting these kinds of filmmakers where they have to come to grips with the theatrical business model and how it works.”
Now there are rumors that someone else is responsible for the film’s stunning black-and-white cinematography.
In a thread on Resetera, someone who “works in the industry” claims that it’s well known, at least in the Mexican media, that Galo Olivares was the real DP (director of photography/cinematographer). In dispute, according to this thread, is whether Olivares was simply a camera operator (as he’s credited on IMDb) or the film’s real DP.
Some “Roma” call sheets shared on the Spanish-language site ZoomF7 official list Olivares as “Director de fotografia.”
Either way, Cuarón neglected to mention him in his acceptance speech. (The director did mention his regular DP, Emmanuel Lubezki, who was unavailable for the film.)
A 2017 Filmstage article credits Olivares as Cuarón’s “new DP.” The article said, “As for the cinematographer, Cuarón handled director of photography duties with Galo Olivares, who has been working on Mexican productions since the start of this decade.”
According to IMDb, Olivares is currently shooting “Gretel and Hansel” with director Oz Perkins.
In a pre-Oscars “anonymous Academy voter” article on IndieWire, Cuarón was also called out for taking an editing credit on the film. Said the unnamed editor:
“I haven’t seen ‘Roma,’ because Alfonso Cuarón took an editing credit without ever having touched the Avid and that offended me so deeply that I won’t go near the film. It was non-union so he, not being a member of MPEG, was able to get away with it.”
Best editing went to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is also not without controversy if you’ve been on Twitter since Sunday.
No comment yet from the filmmakers or the Academy.
“The Favourite” lived up to its name at the 2019 BAFTA Awards, winning seven out of the 12 categories it was nominated in.
Stars Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz won for lead and supporting actress, and the period dramedy won for Best British Film.
However, it was “Roma” who took home the night’s top trophy, Best Film. Alfonso Cuarón also won the director and cinematography awards.
Here’s the full list of 2019 BAFTA Award winners:
BEST FILM
BlackKlansman
The Favourite
Green Book Roma (WINNER)
A Star Is Born
LEADING ACTRESS
Glenn Close – The Wife
Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me? Olivia Colman – The Favourite (WINNER)
Viola Davis – Widows
LEADING ACTOR
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
Alex Bailey/Twentieth Century Fox
Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
Christian Bale – Vice Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody (WINNER)
Steve Coogan – Stan & Ollie
Viggo Mortensen – Green Book
DIRECTOR
BlackkKlansman – Spike Lee
Cold War – Pawel Pawlikowski
The Favourite – Yorgos Lanthimos Roma – Alfonso Cuaron (WINNER)
A Star Is Born – Bradley Cooper
COSTUME DESIGN
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Mary Zophres
Bohemian Rhapsody – Julian Day The Favourite – Sandy Powell (WINNER)
Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell
Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne
FILM NOT IN AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Capernaum
Cold War
Dogman Roma (WINNER)
Shoplifters
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Avengers: Infinity War – Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Kelly Port, Dan Sudick Black Panther – Geoffrey Baumann, Jesse James Chisholm, Craig Hammack, Dan Sudick (WINNER)
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Tim Burke, Andy Kind, Christian Manz, David Watkins
First Man – Ian Hunter, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, J.D. Schwalm
Ready Player One – Matthew E. Butler, Grady Cofer, Roger Guyett, David Shirk
Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director or Producer
Apostasy – Daniel Kokotajlo (Writer/Director) Beast – Michael Pearce (Writer/Director), Lauren Dark (Producer) (WINNER)
A Cambodian Spring – Chris Kelly (Writer/Director/Producer)
Pili – Leanne Welham (Writer/Director), Sophie Harman (Producer)
Ray & Liz – Richard Billingham (Writer/Director), Jacqui Davies (Producer)
Cinematography
Bohemian Rhapsody – Newton Thomas Sigel
Cold War – Lukasz Zal
The Favourite – Robbie Ryan
First Man – Linus Sandgren Roma – Alfonso Cuaron (WINNER)
Supporting Actor
Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
Mahershala Ali – Green Book (WINNER)
Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell – Vice
Timothee Chalamet – Beautiful Boy
Original Screenplay
Cold War – Janusz Głowacki, Pawel Pawlikowski
The Favourite – Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara (WINNER)
Green Book – Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga
Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
Vice – Adam McKay
Original Music
BlackKklansman – Terence Blanchard
If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
Isle of Dogs – Alexandre Desplat
Mary Poppins Returns – Marc Shaiman
A Star is Born – Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Lukas Nelson –(WINNER)
Adapted Screenplay
BlackKklansman – Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel, Kevin Willmott (WINNER)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty
First Man – Josh Singer
If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins
A Star Is Born – Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters, Eric Roth
Rising Star
Jessie Buckley
Cynthia Erivo
Barry Keoghan
Lakeith Stanfield
Letitia Wright (WINNER)
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams – Vice
Claire Foy – First Man
Emma Stone – The Favourite
Margot Robbie – Mary Queen of Scots
Rachel Weisz – The Favourite (WINNER)
Makeup and Hair
Bohemian Rhapsody – Mark Coulier, Jan Sewell
The Favourite – Nadia Stacey (WINNER)
Mary Queen of Scots – Jenny Shircore
Stan & Ollie – Mark Coulier, Jeremy Woodhead
Vice – Nominees TBC
Editing
Bohemian Rhapsody – John Ottman
The Favourite – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
First Man – Tom Cross
Roma – Alfonso Cuarón, Adam Gough
Vice – Hank Corwin (WINNER)
Sound
Bohemian Rhapsody – John Casali, Tim Cavagin, Nina Hartstone, Paul Massey, John Warhurst (WINNER)
First Man – Mary H. Ellis, Mildred Iatrou Morgan, Ai-Ling Lee, Frank A. Montano, Jon Taylor
Mission: Impossible – Fallout – T Gilbert Lake, James H. Mather, Christopher Munro, Mike Prestwood Smith
A Quiet Place – Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Procter, Ethan Van der Ryn
A Star Is Born – Steve Morrow, Alan Robert Murray, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
British Short Film
73 Cows – Alex Lockwood (WINNER)
Bachelor, 38 – Angela Clarke
The Blue Door – Ben Clark, Megan Pugh, Paul Taylor
The Field – Sandhya Suri, Balthazar de Ganay
Wale – Barnaby Blackburn, Sophie Alexander, Catherine Slater, Edward Speleers
Production Design
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
The Favourite – Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton (WINNER)
First Man – Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
Mary Poppins Returns – John Myhre, Gordon Sim
Roma – Eugenio Caballero, Barbara Enriquez
Animated Film
Incredibles 2 – Brad Bird, John Walker
Isle of Dogs – Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord (WINNER)
Outstanding British Film
Beast
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite (WINNER)
McQueen
Stan & Ollie
You Were Never Really Here
The Directors Guild of America held its annual awards ceremony this past weekend, revealing its picks for the best in film and television direction. And while the night’s biggest winner has been earning plenty of accolades in recent weeks, victors in other categories proved that there are no guarantees when it comes to awards season.
Alfonso Cuaron took home the DGA’s top prize, claiming the Best Feature Film Director award for “Roma.” The Netflix film — loved by critics and tied for the most Oscar nominations in this year’s field — now has a decent shot at winning the Best Director prize at the Academy Awards later this month, since the DGA frequently overlaps with the Oscars.
Cuaron beat out an impressive field that included Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”), Peter Farrelly (“Green Book”), Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”), and Adam McKay (“Vice”). Cooper was also nominated in the Best First-Time Feature Film Director category, but in a stunning upset, lost the prize to Bo Burnham (“Eighth Grade“). Looks like his Best Director Oscar snub may not have been a fluke after all.
In other surprises, both “Succession” (McKay) and “Barry” (Bill Hader) took home the top awards in the drama and comedy television categories, respectively, beating out buzzier fare like “The Americans” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
A list of winners in the major categories is below. The full list can be found here.
FEATURE FILM: ALFONSO CUARÓN
“Roma”
(Netflix)
Unit Production Manager: Ana Hernandez
First Assistant Director: Frederic Henocque Albino
Second Assistant Director: Patrick Heyerdahl
Second Second Assistant Directors: Luis Fernando Vásquez, Julián ‘Chico’ Valdés, Arturo Garcia
FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM : BO BURNHAM
“Eighth Grade”
(A24)
First Assistant Director: Dan Taggatz
Second Assistant Director: Vic Coram
Second Second Assistant Director: Evelyn Fogleman
DOCUMENTARY: TIM WARDLE
“Three Identical Strangers”
(Neon and CNN Films)
DRAMATIC SERIES: ADAM MCKAY
“Succession” – “Celebration”
(HBO)
Unit Production Manager: Regina Heyman
First Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
Second Assistant Director: Scott Bowers
Second Second Assistant Director: Nicholas Notte
Location Managers: Michael Kriaris, Patty Carey
COMEDY SERIES: BILL HADER
“Barry” –“Chapter One: Make Your Mark”
(HBO)
Unit Production Managers: Mark Tobey, Aida Rodgers
First Assistant Director: Dale Stern
Second Assistant Director: Michelle Gritzer
Second Second Assistant Director: Chris Riddle
Additional Second Assistant Director: Gary Cotti
MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND LIMITED SERIES: BEN STILLER
“Escape at Dannemora”
(Showtime)
Unit Production Managers: Adam Brightman, Bill Carraro
First Assistant Directors: Lisa M. Rowe, Lyda Blank, Phillip A. Patterson
Second Assistant Director: Kevin R. Shields
Second Second Assistant Director: Luke A. Crawford
Location Manager: Hyo Park
Fresh off its first ever Oscar nomination for Best Picture, Netflix is pursuing membership in the Motion Picture Association of America.
Politico Pro was first to report the news that the streaming giant is close to joining the MPAA, and is already in “advanced talks” with the organization. A source confirmed those talks to TheWrap, which notes that the move would help Netflix become more like a traditional film studio, and give it more lobbying power in Washington on issues that affect the industry, such as copyright.
While Netflix has always marched to the beat of its own drummer (see its current petty conflict with theater chains like AMC, which are refusing to include “Roma” in their Best Picture showcases), TheWrap reports that the streaming service has changed its theatrical release policies in recent years, mostly to make itself eligible for awards consideration. Joining the MPAA would align it more closely with the old school film industry, and cement its burgeoning status as a moviemaking powerhouse.
According to Variety, membership in the MPAA — which currently includes six other major film studios — means hefty annual membership dues, in the $15 to $20 million range. Guess Netflix’s upcoming price hikes have a purpose after all.
With the announcement of the 2019 Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning came the usual assortment of snubs and surprises. But “Roma,” tied for the most Academy Award nods this year, is being ignored in a different — and seemingly more deliberate — way.
Two of the largest theater chains in the country, AMC and Regal, will not include “Roma” in their annual showcase of Best Picture nominees. The Netflix film was the first feature from the streaming service to net the Academy’s most prestigious nomination.
But that status also means that “Roma,” like other Netflix releases, doesn’t follow traditional theatrical windows, opting for significantly shorter runs in multiplexes (usually just long enough to qualify for awards consideration) before reverting back to exclusive streaming availability. That makes the flick an outlier in this year’s field — and an outsider, as far as the big theater chains are concerned.
Several big chains — including Cinemark, AMC, and Regal — hold annual marathon screenings of all the Best Picture nominees, usually about two weeks before the Oscars ceremony. But as AMC explained in a statement, “Roma” won’t be in the lineup.
“For more than a decade, movie-lovers have enjoyed the AMC best picture showcase to catch up on the nominated films that played at AMC throughout the prior year,” the company said in a statement. “This year, Academy members nominated a film that was never licensed to AMC to play in our theaters. As such, it is not included in the AMC best picture showcase.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Regal will also exclude “Roma.” There’s no word yet on whether Cinemark will follow suit.
At least the film can console itself with its 10 Academy Award nominations, several of which it seems almost certain to win. The Oscars will air on ABC on Sunday, February 24.
