A couple of days ago, we posted an article about how movie theater owners want Ted Sarandos’ head because of some comments he made about how they run their business. Since then, the controversy has escalated, and all we at TVWriter™ can say is:
“Go, Teddy, go, Teddy, go, Teddy, go!”
Bwahh…
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Defends Movie Theater Comments, Wants Longevity From Originals
by Michael O’Connell
Following controversial statements slamming film distribution, the exec says he’s not calling for a mandate on day-and-date VOD, details original-movies plan and expresses interest in longevity for “House of Cards,” “Orange Is the New Black” and “Arrested Development.”
Ted Sarandos had a lot of bases to cover… when he appeared at the Bloomberg and Tribeca Film Festival Business of Entertainment breakfast. Netflix’s chief content officer has been making the rounds of late, grabbing headlines with comments on a recent earnings call and saying theater owners “try to strangle innovation” at last week’s Film Independent Forum.
“The speech was to a group of independent filmmakers and it was in praise of TV,” said Sarandos, insisting he did not intend to offend. “Part of the really innovative distribution models [in TV] is that some of the most talent people in film [are going there]. Television is displacing movies in culture in a way.”
He was quick to point out that while he thinks there still should be a great deal of reform in film distribution, it’s a complicated scenario that will have to be approached differently with different kinds of films.
“Our business is hard enough. I wouldn’t want to try to run a theater, too,” he said. “It should be noted that I love going to the movies and the theater, and I wasn’t calling for a day-and-date video on demand.”
Thanks for this post, Larry. I’m a Netflix watcher and no longer a watcher at the movies. I got tired of the kids yelling and throwing popcorn and sodas.