streaming was changing Hollywood. La La
Land producer Jordan Horowitz admitted:
“I don’t feel particularly optimistic about the
traditional theatrical experience, especially for
independent films.”
Meanwhile, J. J. Abrams, who directed the
upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,
remarked: “Everyone’s trying to figure out
how we protect the smaller films that aren’t
four-quadrant mega-releases. Can they exist
in the cinemas?” Dark Phoenix actress Jessica
Chastain asked: “What happens to these
beautiful, small, dramatic stories? Are other
studios going to make them so that we don’t
lose part of our art form?”
However, streamers arguably could prove
the saviors here. Actress Elizabeth Banks,
director of the new Charlie’s Angels remake,
revealed: “For someone like me who grew up
on romantic comedies, watching them come
back on streamers has been really gratifying.”
She reflected that, when such output from the
big studios dried up, “the streamers picked up
the slack.” Still, the increasing elitism of studio
output could theoretically drive up its quality,
comic actor Kumail Nanjiani noted.
It’s also far from a foregone conclusion that
streaming’s rise is actually killing off theaters
instead of simply forcing them to adapt – as
indeed, they have done on several occasions
throughout cinematic history. Indeed, the
observers interviewed by The New York Times
did not appear to take sufficient account of
smaller art-house theaters; according to a 2018
Art House Convergence survey of about 22,
moviegoers, 65% deemed their local such
theater valuable to their overall quality of life.
Image: Andrew Eccl