Since Netflix has dominated the streaming service with their top-rating programs such as “Stranger Things,” “House of Cards,” “Jessica Jones,” “Narcos,” and “The Crown” to name a few, many people have raised their eyebrows and expressed their concerns about whether they deserve to have an Oscar. One of them is the famous director Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg’s opinion

The renowned “Ready Player One” director said in a recent interview on ITV News that Netflix films should not be eligible for Academy Award nominations, even if they were shown in traditional theaters first.

He said that once a company has decided to commit to a TV format, they are considered as a TV movie. He added that if anything, Netflix deserves an Emmy Award nomination and not an Oscar. He also added that he doesn’t believe that films that are provided with only a week in the theaters should be qualified for a nomination for Academy Awards.

Steven Spielberg also said that with the advent of movie distribution by streaming services, filmmakers will be disheartened to raise money for their films from the traditional studios. Instead, they will choose either Amazon or Netflix after a brief theatrical stretch.

Another director who expressed his comments about Netflix is the “Dunkirk” director Christopher Nolan.

He said that the streaming service’s plans are mindless and bizarre. However, the director later apologized to Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, calling his own remarks 'undiplomatic.'

Netflix garnered 18 nominations for the 2018 Academy Awards, making them the first streaming service in the world to do so.

Netflix got booed in Cannes

“Okja,” another Netflix original was shown at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Just as when the Netflix logo was shown on the screen, the audience burst into loud 'boo' chanting. Cannes later made a rule the following year that the movies that are selected for the festival must also commit to theatrical release.

Cannes director Theirry Fremaux said in an interview with Variety that Amazon and Netflix represent something important that they will later agree with. However, in order for a movie to be remembered by history, it must be shown in theaters, get a box office receipt, be seen by moviegoers, studied by critics, award campaigns, directories, books, and filmographies. These things make up the tradition on which movie history is based.
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