Movies made for Netflix shouldn’t qualify for Oscars, according to James Cameron.
The celebrated director made the comment on the podcast The Town With Matthew Belloni ahead of the release of his latest film, Avatar: Fire And Ash, next month.
Belloni asked Cameron for his thoughts on the news that Netflix is vying with Comcast and Paramount to acquire Warner Bros. – Cameron is hoping for Paramount and said that “Netflix would be a disaster”.
He added that “[Netflix CEO Ted] Sarandos has gone on the record saying theatrical films are dead”. Belloni replied: “He’s now promising theatres if he buys Warner Bros.”
Last week, Variety confirmed that Netflix pledged to continue releasing Warner Bros.’ movies in theatres as part of its offer to acquire the corporation.
“It’s sucker bait,” Cameron said, “‘We’ll put the movie out for a week or 10 days. We’ll qualify for Oscar consideration.’ See, I think that’s fundamentally rotten to the core. A movie should be made as a movie for theatrical, and the Academy Awards mean nothing to me if they don’t mean theatrical. I think they’ve been co-opted, and I think it’s horrific.”
When asked whether Netflix films should be eligible for Oscar nominations, Cameron said he doesn’t think so, unless it were to change its release strategy and have movies shown in 2,000 theatres for a month.
Check out the whole discussion on Spotify here:
In recent years, a number of Netflix films have been in the running for Best Picture at the Oscars. The first was Roma in 2019, with others including The Irishman, The Trial Of The Chicago 7, The Power Of The Dog and Emilia Perez.
None have won the prestigious award yet, though Alfonso Cuarón and Jane Campion have both won Best Director for Roma and The Power Of The Dog respectively.
This year, films including Frankenstein, Train Dreams and Jay Kelly could be in the running for awards. However, they only received limited theatrical releases before heading to Netflix.
Cameron, meanwhile, has won three Oscars – all for Titanic in 1998. Avatar was in the running for another three in 2010, while its first sequel, The Way Of Water, was up for one in 2023.
Fire And Ash, the second sequel, is set to have its world premiere at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on December 1, before being released in the US and UK on December 19. Two more sequels are currently projected to be released in 2029 and 2031.
NME gave Avatar: The Way Of Water a four-star review upon its release, writing: “Bigger, bolder and definitely better than the original, Avatar: The Way Of Water pushes the technical boundaries of cinema without feeling like a science experiment. It really does need to be seen on the biggest screen possible through a pair of awkward 3D glasses. Unlike its predecessor though, you won’t forget this experience in a hurry.”
Another James Cameron project, Billie Eilish’s concert film Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour, will be released in 3D on March 20 next year, the singer announced last week.