Steven Spielberg’s production company, Amblin, has signed a deal with Netflix to make “multiple new feature films per year” for the streaming service. This is great news for fans of his work.
The deal covers at least two films per year, but we don’t know if Spielberg will directing any movies for Netflix. Amblin also has a deal with Universal. So it will produce films for both distributors, so Netflix won’t get every film Spielberg makes.
“At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted [Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO and Chief Content Officer] and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways,” Spielberg said in a statement. “This new avenue for our films, alongside the stories we continue to tell with our longtime family at Universal and our other partners, will be incredibly fulfilling for me personally since we get to embark on it together with Ted, and I can’t wait to get started with him, Scott [Stuber, Netflix’s head of global film], and the entire Netflix team.”
Spielberg at one time voiced opposition to streaming movies being eligible for Academy Awards, so this is a surprise. “Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie,” he said in a 2018 interview. The following year, reports suggested Spielberg lobbied to block streaming movies from Oscar eligibility, but that appeared to be false.
Still, signing him and Amblin to a deal is a big thing for Netflix. Netflix is releasing at least one movie every week this year, and it will be looking to keep up that pace. this will help with that.
Source Engadget