|
 Everyone
has an opinion on the ongoing recent debate over the true definition of cinema.
Both Steven Spielberg to Martin Scorsese have weighed in on the topic of
direct-to-streaming films, theatrical windows, blockbuster vs. independent films
and the like. We are seeing fewer mid-budget films and more blockbusters. The
multiple streaming services are now taking risks the big studios have lost
interest in. While out talking about his upcoming Motherless Brooklyn
actor/filmmaker Edward Norton added his voice to the debate. While talking to
The Daily Beast he mentioned that the actual theaters themselves generally ruin
the presentation of films: “A lot of filmmakers and cinematographers that I know
that have really started to look into this say that more than 60% of American
theaters are running their projector at almost half the luminosity that they’re
required by contract to run it at. They are delivering crappy sound and a dim
picture, and no one is calling them on it. You want to train people. Like, go
get your money back. If the movie looks dark, it was – go get your money back! I
think we should rally around that. I really do.” He also doesn’t buy the notion
that streaming services are a threat and are ruining the theatrical experience:
“To be super clear, I would say that today, as a creative person who’s
interested in telling stories, there has never been more opportunity to get
original and diverse visions of a narrative across to other people – ever, in
the history of American cinema, television, whatever you want to call it… it’s
easier than ever to tell complex, long-form, character-driven stories. Netflix
invested more in ‘Roma’ theatrically – theatrically – than any boutique label at
any studio would have by a factor of five. They put a Spanish-language
black-and-white film all over the world in theaters. They put more money behind
it, in a theatrical context, than anybody would have. You can’t tell me there’s
a whole lot of people making black-and-white Spanish-language films and putting
that investment behind them. And you can’t tell me that there’s a lot of places
making five-part documentaries about the Central Park Five.” He said that if he
wanted to make Motherless Brooklyn for a streaming service he would have gotten
a deal in five minutes. That would have gotten him a bigger budget and he
wouldn’t have had to ask his actors to work for scale. Norton went the
traditional distribution method because he wanted to make a film similar to the
70’s films that influenced him.
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