Netflix Pulls Out of Cannes Following Rule Change (variety.com)

Netflix and Cannes are breaking up, at least for now. On Wednesday, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos said that the streaming platform won't be sending any films to the prestigious French festival, formally severing the strained relationship between the two power players. The decision was a long time coming, after Cannes established a rule that forbade films without a theatrical distribution plan from its competition. From, a report: In an exclusive interview with Variety, Netflix's chief content officer says that the festival sent a clear message with a new rule that bans any films without theatrical distribution in France from playing in competition. Netflix could screen some of its upcoming movies out of competition, but Sarandos says that doesn't make sense for the streaming service. "We want our films to be on fair ground with every other filmmaker," Sarandos says. "There's a risk in us going in this way and having our films and filmmakers treated disrespectfully at the festival. They've set the tone. I don't think it would be good for us to be there."

Netflix made a big splash at the prestigious film festival last year with two movies that showed in competition: Bong Joon-ho's "Okja" and Noah Baumbach's "The Meyerowitz Stories." But after the 2017 announcement, French theaters owners and unions protested the inclusion of these films to Thierry Fremaux, the artistic director of Cannes. Netflix was amenable to having their movies play on big screens in France, but a law in the country requires movies to not appear in home platforms for 36 months after their theatrical release.

Comments

Netflix will just build its own Cannes

[OzPeter]

If things like this preclude Netflix from attending places like Cannes, it only makes sense for Netflix (and every other non-traditional studio) to get together and build their own awards festival. It's not like Netflix is going away anytime soon, so this is a loss for Cannes.

Of course there'll be the obligatory Blackjack and Hookers.

This could get messy...

[hyades1]

"Netflix Pulls Out of Cannes"

So this year the Netflix "big splash" will occur somewhere else.

EP-101: How to Encourage Piracy

[jaminJay]

"[A] law in the country requires movies to not appear in home platforms for 36 months after their theatrical release" - customers want it now, not later, and they will probably get it now, or not at all. This kind of law ensures jobs for lawyers, though, I guess...