By The line between streaming and cinema is very clear for some filmmakers like Christopher Nolan or Martin Scorsese. For others however, it’s not so defined.
Case in point is David Fincher, the celebrated auteur behind the likes of “Se7en,” “The Game,” “Panic Room,” “Fight Club,” “Zodiac,” “The Social Network,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Gone Girl” and more.
Fincher helped kick start the streaming revolution as executive producer and director of the premiere episode of “House of Cards” a decade ago and created one of streaming’s most acclaimed series with “Mindhunter”.
His 2020 film “Mank” was a pure Netflix film, as was “The Killer” which released on the service on Friday. Speaking to Le Monde (via The Playlist), Fincher remarked on the state of the filmmaking industry and calls the streamer the best place in Hollywood to make movies right now:
“Let’s be honest. I have worked for most of the major film studios. When you tell them, ‘I have to do these special effects in 4K,’ their first response is, ‘Oh, gee, why do it so expensive?’ They balk at the slightest expense. Netflix has never quibbled with this type of choice. They adopted an industry standard that made sense to filmmakers. Netflix has by far the best ‘quality control’ in all of Hollywood.”
He adds that Netflix will be the ‘future of cinema’ no matter what those who believe in the magic of the theatrical experience may think:
“You know, we will not save cinema as a culture by restricting home distribution systems. For this to happen, the cinema would have to become a cutting-edge place, and not this damp, smelly, and greasy place that it still is with too few exceptions, skimping on all necessary expenses.
I loved certain theaters, like Grauman’s Chinese Theater or the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, but the technical conditions there were deplorable. We must move past all this nostalgia to finally ask ourselves the right question: who offers optimal representation today?”
Fincher doesn’t go into the advantages of the theatrical experience from communal audience reaction to superior technical presentation in the case of premium format IMAX and the like (as opposed to smaller suburban mall-style cinemas).
“The Killer” is available on Netflix now.
The post Fincher On Streamer Quality, Cinema Future appeared first on Dark Horizons.
