It’s been quite a while since there has been significant discussion about a Netflix film appearing at Cannes. The reason being that Cannes’ rules claim that a film that plays in competition at the event has to have a theatrical rollout in France. However, due to French law, a film that has a theatrical release can’t be seen on a streaming service for more than a year. That means, if Netflix wanted to debut David Fincher’s “The Killer” at last year’s Cannes, the film would still not be seen on the streaming service in France. That’s a wild rule, but it’s a rule made to help preserve the theatrical experience.
As you might guess, due to this situation, Netflix and the Cannes Film Festival don’t really get along. (Venice, on the other hand, loves Netflix, which is evident with its yearly lineup.) Taking it a step further, the Cannes director, Thierry Fremaux, is now saying that filmmakers, such as David Fincher, aren’t really doing Cannes-level work anymore since they make movies for streaming services. And that’s a statement that might ruffle a few feathers.
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Speaking at the Goteborg Film Festival (via Deadline), Thierry Fremaux talked about the situation between Cannes and streaming services like Netflix. That is to say, he basically said the same thing he’s been saying for years—unless Netflix plays by the rules, the films can’t play in competition. But he then went on to talk about David Fincher, a filmmaker who has made Netflix-exclusive work for a while now (and will continue to do so). According to Fremaux, what David Fincher makes now doesn’t really qualify as Cannes-worthy cinema. But if he wants to come back to the world of real cinema, then Cannes would love to spotlight his features.
“[Fincher’s] still a great filmmaker,” Fremaux said. “But he doesn’t exist at the same level in our hearts and minds as in the past. He wants to work alone, quietly, making his films for platforms. It’s a different world. We miss him. We want him back in our world.”
As a film fan, it’s understandable to be a little upset that Netflix (and other streaming services) will pay big money for a film and not really give it the theatrical release you would hope for. David Fincher’s “The Killer” did have a small theatrical run, but the vast majority of people watched it at home on Netflix. But to go on to say that because the film was released on a streaming service, the quality of his work is somehow beneath the cinema shown at Cannes is a bit silly, and it really screams of sour grapes.
While it’s all hypothetical, you have to assume Cannes would have been thrilled to show “Mank” or “The Killer” at the festival. Hell, nearly every year we hear about Cannes desperately going after one Netflix film or another behind the scenes, hoping the streaming service will relent. But when speaking to the general public, Fremaux is willing to stand there and say streaming movies aren’t as good as theatrical films, based on principle alone.
It’s just a wild thing to say, and it’s really understandable why Netflix, particularly, would rather just showcase its projects at the various other festivals. While Cannes still might be some people’s crown jewel of film festivals, there are plenty of other options that will draw just as much attention. Without the endorsement of Cannes, Netflix films still earned 18 Oscar nominations this year.
It’s just exhausting to hear this sort of discussion about streaming services in 2024. We all wish that every film got a theatrical release. We all wish that David Fincher was able to get another studio to pay him the money he needs to have the creative freedom he wants. But the reality is this—streaming services are here to stay. They will continue to pay high profile filmmakers lots of money to make exclusive films. But it’s not fair to those filmmakers if we sit here and say that their work is now lower quality just because it’s got a red ‘N’ popping up instead of a ‘WB’ at the beginning of the movie.
“The Killer” is available now on Netflix.
