The Netflix Thread

[Huey]

Netflix is getting so prolific with shows lately, and they really don't do much marketing for the shows that most of the time I find myself stumbling onto a show, rather than actively seeking it out. Figured I'd start a thread just for Netflix shows rather than having a bunch of single threads about Netflix shows. Steven Spielberg has been quoted as saying he didn't think Netflix movies should be eligible for Oscars, and I'm not sure I'd agree with him on that. Not that I've seen anything that's Oscar worthy just yet, but they'll get there

With that being said, anybody catch the remake of Lost In Space? Wife and I watched two episodes after finishing up the second season of Santa Clarita Diet, and we both liked it a lot. Surprised it's not in 4K, but it still looks good none the less. The one twist that they have introduced is that this isn't a happy, well adjusted family. There's some conflict within the family, mostly between the father and everybody else, and I think that conflict actually makes it a little more believable. Flint should be happy because his favorite girl in the world, Parker Posey is playing the part of Dr. Smith. Did I mention the Robot? He is a bad ass now, and I love what they have done with him. We haven't finished Altered Carbon yet, but I'll be honest, we'll probably finish this one first.

 

[Flint]

Parker Posey?


Gotta go, see you in a few days.

 

[Flint]

I think Spielberg is right on his stance about Netflix movies being eligible for Academy Awards. Netflix isn't making movies to compete in the movie theater economy, where the business model relies primarily on ticket sales. The competition should have a level playing field. If, like HBO did in 1990s, Netflix followed the traditional business model and made movies primarily for theatrical success, then had a long term revenue flow indefinitely for their streaming content, they could compete. Today Netflix only games the system with very limited theatrical releases never intended to make a production profitable solely to comply to the letter of the rules. It is kinda like the female trick skier representing Hungary in the 2018 Olympics who manipulated the rules to be in the games even though she was clearly absent of the skills all of the other athletes had mastered.

I like this thread. We may need one for Hulu and other services making original content.

 

[Huey]

I get that, but times change, and things aren't the same as when the Oscar's first came out. Not saying they have produced anything that is worthy of an Oscar, but eventually they will. Although I could see Netflix maybe changing the way they release things, maybe show a movie a week before it's released in a theater or something similar. Not sure what the rules are or if that would even get them to qualify to be in consideration for an Oscar. This seems to be pretty important to them, so I don't think we have heard the last of it.

I'm surprised that we already didn't have a thread like this before this. I think we had something similar over at S&V. Just thought it might make it easier to post about a movie or series that is exclusive to Netflix.

 

[Flint]

I was posting Netflix news in the TV providers section.

 

[Towen7]

I don’t have any data but i was under the impression that many Academy Award wining movies don’t make a ton of money at the box office, regardless... Why is it Netflix’s obligation to put movies into theaters rather than the other studios to make the best movie they can?

Perhaps we need a new, all inclusive award model.

 

[Haywood]

We are three episodes into the Lost in Space remake and think it is quite good. I personally liked Altered Carbon better, but this one is something we can watch with our daughter and I cannot find much to fault. The robot is definitely badass and the Dr. Smith character is suitably awful. I loved the way they established the relationship between Will and the robot.

 

[Haywood]

I don’t have any data but i was under the impression that many Academy Award wining movies don’t make a ton of money at the box office, regardless... Why is it Netflix’s obligation to put movies into theaters rather than the other studios to make the best movie they can?

Perhaps we need a new, all inclusive award model.

I agree. There are a ton of art films with very limited releases that are mainly seen by people in the movie industry and a handful of art-house film fans in a few big cities. This is how we end up with trash like Birdman winning best picture.

I think it should be based entirely on the merits of the film, rather than the economic model.

 

[Huey]

We are three episodes into the Lost in Space remake and think it is quite good. I personally liked Altered Carbon better, but this one is something we can watch with our daughter and I cannot find much to fault. The robot is definitely badass and the Dr. Smith character is suitably awful. I loved the way they established the relationship between Will and the robot.

I liked their first interaction as well, and I'm not sure I need to be careful of spoilers but I will, but I felt that the robot should have been able to help himself rather than need Will's help. There was a point a little later on when the robot first utters "Danger Will Robinson!" and my wife laughed. I said I though you didn't see the original series and she said she didn't. She had no idea that it was one of the best known phrases in the sci-fi universe.

 

[mcad64]

Watching Lost in Space remake with the kids. I told them that was the first show I remember seeing when we got TV in our house. First season was in black and white.
As far as reboot, so far so good, and as you said Huey they have changed things around a bit from original!!

 

[Flint]

The Academy Awards are for movies designed and intended to be enjoyed in Theaters, but which later are offered for home viewing. Their entire business model is based on ticket sales, as you see even in decades old movies their "success" is almost entire references by box office sales. The way they are written, filmed, produced, and even the pace of the action is based on people watching in a large, crowded, theater for 90 minutes to three hours. Then, the bonus revenue is the post theatrical business, which many directors give little attention to.

Netflix movies are designed specifically for TV viewers at home and all the artistic and production considerations take that into account. They don't need to be popular via theatrical release and often are intended to generate "softer" revenue over long periods of time where success is measured in continued and new subscribers, as shown through viewership data compared to Neilson streaming ratings of other services.

You can say the industry is changing, but those are two very different things. Calling something a "movie" because it is a stand alone 90 to 240 minute production with no commercial breaks doesn't make them anywhere the same. There are seemingly hundreds of entertainment awards for every possible category of entertainment where multiple productions can be compared and a winner chosen, so far Netflix isn't making productions which are directly comparable to traditional theatrical movies. That could change. Or, they could come up with a new category for content intended specifically for home viewing, but that would be a TV award, which the Oscar was never meant to cover.

Maybe we need a whole new award invented specifically for studios like Netflix, Hulu, CBS, and others producing streaming specific content - content designed to be consumed for binge watchers and remain well received for years. They did it for YouTube videos, why not for streaming productions?

What's more, the relevance of the Oscar is fading. The power it once held isn't the same as it did a generation ago. So, why does it really matter? Netflix and Hulu want to compete to build their credibility and force people to subscribe in order to see the nominated content. HBO and MTV Pictures didn't do it that way. You could see their movies in theaters, on tape/disc, or broadcast on various TV channels, including their own. I you want to see a Netflix movie, you can only see it on Netflix. If you missed the very limited theatrical showings, often in remote locations for show periods, you cannot rent it at a Red Box, stream it on other services, catch it on HBO or Showtime, or even see an edited version on broadcast or classic cable TV. You can't even see it on a plane or in a hotel. Either you subscribe to the streaming service or you visit a friend who is a subscriber. It is a completely different model.

Well, that's my rant on why I agree with Spielberg about Netflix movies being nominated for Oscars.

 

[Flint]

I loved Santa Clarita Diet. It was just dark enough and comically insane to keep me sucked in for a weekend of binge watching.

 

[mzpro5]

The Academy Awards are for movies designed and intended to be enjoyed in Theaters, but which later are offered for home viewing. Their entire business model is based on ticket sales, as you see even in decades old movies their "success" is almost entire references by box office sales. The way they are written, filmed, produced, and even the pace of the action is based on people watching in a large, crowded, theater for 90 minutes to three hours. Then, the bonus revenue is the post theatrical business, which many directors give little attention to.

When the Academy Awards began in 1928 there was no alternative so to say they were intended to be watched in theaters and later offered for home viewing is at best misleading. The business model based on ticket sales was all there could be at the time. The movie industry shit their collective pants when it became obvious that TV's would become common place in homes and for the most part their opinion of TV hasn't changed. So it doesn't surprise me the Movie industry would be against made of TV viewing content.

 

[Flint]

When the Academy Awards began in 1928 there was no alternative so to say they were intended to be watched in theaters and later offered for home viewing is at best misleading. The business model based on ticket sales was all there could be at the time. The movie industry shit their collective pants when it became obvious that TV's would become common place in homes and for the most part their opinion of TV hasn't changed. So it doesn't surprise me the Movie industry would be against made of TV viewing content.

I really don't have a problem with it. There is no reason they all have to be lumped into one award. Industry awards are pretty silly to start with, but we have Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Tonys, MTV Awards, Nickelodeon awards, YouTube awards, International Press awards, Screen Actor Guild Awards, Cannes winners, Sundance, winners, SXSW winners, Toronto Movie Fest winners, and so on. They are so specialized that I don't see any reason the movie industry needs to change to give awards for a different product.

 

[Huey]

I loved Santa Clarita Diet. It was just dark enough and comically insane to keep me sucked in for a weekend of binge watching.

I try not to binge watch shows, especially with such short seasons these days, and sometimes the gore was a bit much with this show. My wife was disappointed to find out that we had watched the last episode yesterday as she thought there was more. Which kind of worries me about our collective viewing habits. We look forward to watching something, binge watch it over the weekend, and then are "depressed" because we get to see any more for many months if not years.

I also agree with Mzpro. When the Oscar's first came out, tv viewing wasn't a reality yet, so all they had to go by was ticket sales, but even that is misleading as someone pointed out, it usually isn't the best selling pictures that win an Oscar.

 

[mzpro5]

I really don't have a problem with it. There is no reason they all have to be lumped into one award. Industry awards are pretty silly to start with, but we have Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Tonys, MTV Awards, Nickelodeon awards, YouTube awards, International Press awards, Screen Actor Guild Awards, Cannes winners, Sundance, winners, SXSW winners, Toronto Movie Fest winners, and so on. They are so specialized that I don't see any reason the movie industry needs to change to give awards for a different product.

I pretty much agree with you on this (especially the plethora of silly awards) but the movie industry would not be changing to accommodate a different product. Movies are movies and premiering on a different platform does not make them any less a movie.

 

[Flint]

I pretty much agree with you on this (especially the plethora of silly awards) but the movie industry would not be changing to accommodate a different product. Movies are movies and premiering on a different platform does not make them any less a movie.

I respectfully disagree. I don't consider a made for TV or made for Streaming the same as a theatrical movie.

 

[Dentman]

I respectfully disagree. I don't consider a made for TV or made for Streaming the same as a theatrical movie.

I would argue that there is a massive difference between what for decades was considered a made for TV movie and a Netfix or Amazon made movie. Times have changed, it's time Hollywood caught up. Most of the best work be it series or movies is coming from the new platforms.

 

[Huey]

Not to mention that most homes now have a "home theater" in some fashion and not just a 19 inch tv. There was talk at one time, not sure whatever happened to it, but studios had discussed streaming newly released movies directly to your home, essentially cutting out the theater chain. Now I get that the movies would still be showing in the theater at the same time, at least at first, but it seems to me that they can infringe on the home viewing, but home viewing can't infringe on the theaters?

But at the end of the day, I could care less. If they are our aren't in the Oscars, it changes nothing for me either way.

 

[Huey]

I would argue that there is a massive difference between what for decades was considered a made for TV movie and a Netfix or Amazon made movie. Times have changed, it's time Hollywood caught up. Most of the best work be it series or movies is coming from the new platforms.

What will probably happen, is Netflix will finally throw enough money at a major director to do a movie, and that director will probably so well respected that the movie will be up for Oscar consideration. I don't consider a Lifetime movie of the week to be same as a Netflix movie.