Will movie theaters declare war on online services?
It seems that lovers of the most important of the arts will face another round of heated debates about whether online movies should be allowed to compete for the prestigious film awards. Vue has issued an open letter to the management of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, in which it criticized the organization's decision to admit the drama "Roma" to the recent BAFTA Awards.Recall that last week, Alfonso Cuarona's tape won four British Film Academy awards, including the Best Film of the Year award. According to Vue Chairman Tim Richards, the organizers of the ceremony broke their own rules and set a dangerous precedent by giving the main award of the evening to a television movie. The picture was created for the online service Netflix. The streaming giant has met the minimum academic qualifications and has shown the tape in select cinemas. However, as Richards rightly pointed out, in the case of Roma, there was never any question of wide release of the film.  The debate about whether it is fair to group films of film studios and online services in one category has been going on for several years. Roma's brilliant performance in this season of prize-winning film prizes will surely force the entertainment industry to return to this sensitive issue. Richards threatened that his company would end its support for the BAFTAs unless the Academy tightens screening conditions for films on streaming platforms. Vue is one of the largest European cinema chains, and therefore British academics can hardly ignore these words. So far, representatives of the organization have got off with a standard answer that all participants in the recent ceremony have met the qualification conditions. Netflix currently has a deal with the British arthouse cinema chain Curzon, which is ensuring its films receive the minimum number of required screenings in the UK.  The further development of the situation will depend on whether other film chains support the Vue initiative. If the pressures from distributors continue to mount, the British and American Film Academies may start demanding online services to release their films on a much larger number of screens. The Topic of Article: Will movie theaters declare war on online services?. |
