The Cannes Film Festival is taking a stand against Netflix. Responding to a rumor that the streaming service's Okja, directed by Bong Joon Ho, and The Meyerowitz Stories, directed by Noah Baumbach, would be excluded from awards consideration after being included in the Competition lineup, the festival released a statement clarifying and adjusting its positioning going forward. The short version: From now on, if you want to compete at Cannes, your movie had better be released in French movie theaters—not just online.
There has long been a point of tension between Cannes and Netflix, to the extent where the inclusion of Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories came as a bit of a surprise. Netflix films had previously been snubbed and festival officials had advocated for "discouraging" the streaming service's online-first approach to release. The two movies included in Cannes' lineup this year are slated for theatrical bows stateside, but according to the festival's official statement, "no agreement has been reached" to get the moves into French cinemas and the effort to reach one was made "in vain." However, the statement does clarify that this rule goes into effect next year, so Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories will remain in competition and eligible for the Palme d'Or.
Seems the Cannes Film Festival is less about film and more about an outdated business model.
(Score: 2) by Celestial on Sunday May 14 2017, @03:20AM (2 children)
To be fair, the two "Guardians of the Galaxy" films are both really good IMO.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday May 14 2017, @05:20AM
And I like Chaplin's "Modern Times"... one hundred years after and they are still actual.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Monday May 15 2017, @11:54AM
Haven't seen the second one yet but the first is a strong combination of good cast, snappy writing, and a fun soundtrack that pulls everything together for me as a Gen-Xer the way Forrest Gump's soundtrack did for Baby Boomers.
Washington DC delenda est.