From BZ/dpa
US director Steven Spielberg (75) has criticized the simultaneous release of films in cinemas and streaming providers during the corona pandemic.
While streaming services have raised their subscription prices to “record highs,” some of his “best filmmaker friends” have been unceremoniously fobbed off without theatrical premieres, he said in an interview with the “New York Times“, which was published on Wednesday (local time).
“They got paid, and the movies, in the case I’m talking about, suddenly got moved to HBO Max,” Spielberg said, referring to the streaming provider’s release of Warner Bros productions. Warner Bros caused a stir at the end of 2020 with the announcement that all 17 films planned for 2021 would be released simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max. The film company announced that this was an exception because of the pandemic.
It changed everything for the audience, Spielberg said. “I think the older viewers were initially relieved that they no longer had to step on sticky popcorn.” However, it is the same older viewers who particularly benefit from the social experience in a cinema. “People used to leave the theater after a good movie and say, ‘Aren’t you glad we went out to see that movie tonight?'”
It is therefore the task of new films to be so good that viewers can say that to each other again. “I think cinema will come back. I really think so.”