Okay, this is why you can never take guys like Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg seriously when they start waxing apocalyptic about the end of theatrical or something. Not only did Scorsese cut bait and start making movies for Netflix and Apple, but now Steven Spielberg is, too.
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin has teamed up with Netflix to produce multiple projects, according to Variety. Feature films will be part of this deal, too, with Spielberg possibly directing some of them.
“At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted [Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO] and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways,” Spielberg said. “This new avenue for our films, alongside the stories we continue to tell with our longtime family at Universal and our other partners, will be incredibly fulfilling for me personally since we get to embark on it together with Ted, and I can’t wait to get started with him, Scott [Stuber, head of Netflix Original Films], and the entire Netflix team.”
So I guess he’s all good with streaming now? He certainly didn’t think so back in 2019, and now he’s moving to Netflix at a time when theaters are struggling to recover from the pandemic, with many already having closed forever.
Spielberg is free to change his mind however he wants, whether it be for personal or professional reasons. However, he has to know he’s going to eat a lot of shit for this, too.
