Amblin and Netflix: What Does This Mean?
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Well, good old Steven Spielberg seems to have changed his tune a little bit. The American directing legend previously was quite against the idea of streaming services taking over from the theatrical experience, which I understand to a degree, since I love going to the cinemas (and have greatly missed these excursions during the pandemic; it has been a year and a half since my last film in a theatre). However, it’s Spielberg’s battle against awards ceremonies that honour streaming service originals that felt like he had gone too far. Nonetheless, it was announced yesterday that Spielberg and his company, Amblin Entertainment, would be joining forces with Netflix. I won’t roll around in this too often, because I’m not one to enjoy pointing out hypocrisies. I believe people can change their minds, and maybe it took a lot of time at home for Spielberg to see that, yes, we need movie theatres, but streaming services aren’t entirely evil or disingenuous, either.
So, what does this mean? First off, I think it’s worth mentioning that Spielberg is joining the Netflix family. Dreamworks Animation felt like the first major competitor of Pixar — who was in cahoots with Disney, and would subsequently be bought by them as well — and it was founded by Spielberg. In general, Spielberg makes films like Disney, but hasn’t really worked with Disney outside of a four film run: War Horse, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, and The BFG (Disney distributed these works). It goes to show that Spielberg isn’t anti Disney, but his connection with them isn’t all that strong. Netflix is also known for its original content. Other studios have their own as well, but Netflix has done a number of these multi film deals (one obvious example is whatever the hell Adam Sandler churned out). This would be beneficial for Netflix to stick out in a time when other services have (frankly) taken the lead in importance, and it would help Spielberg with whatever projects he wishes to have lined up.
This could also result in Netflix being the hub for Spielberg to varying degrees (depending on existing contracts, rights, and other fun legal issues). This includes Amblin releases overall, and maybe this can extend to sister companies (again, like Dreamworks). What sets this particular deal apart from what Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee got from Netflix is that this centres around Amblin itself, not specifically Spielberg himself. I feel like this is a little different from the other cases, and that there can be at least some minor impact caused by this. In the way that major studios are releasing their own services or are making deals, maybe this will be a turning point where other companies started by directors, performers, and other industry regulars will follow suit. What will happen with, say, Brad Pitt and a Plan B deal? What about something more new like Margot Robbie and LuckyChap Entertainment? There can be a film deal for the stars, and the bonus of having security for these companies. The same can be applied to directors. It basically is already happening with Spielberg.
If this happened eight or so years ago, I think I’d be more upset. Look. We already have this huge pool of streaming services now. Maybe these kinds of deals with establish more localization. If everything Spielberg (if possible) will migrate to Netflix, then you always know where you can find these titles. Same thing with other companies. The beauty is it doesn’t have to be this extreme, either. These are usually multiple film deals, and then everything wraps up. Things won’t get strained if a star wants to branch out after a few years, because the multi film deal will be finished by then. Still, a base can be established, and all parties can remain happy and not constricted. Even if these migrations don’t take place, these services funding these projects allow for greater imagination and creative control, so that is already a benefit (albeit a given). I may be thinking too far ahead, but I don’t see too much wrong with what Spielberg has done; in fact, there could be some great filmic partnerships created, and we all know the film industry — and its employees — could use some breaks right now.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.