After Roma won three Academy Awards in 2019, legendary director Steven Spielberg made a very public move to prevent Netflix from competing at the Oscars ever again. It was one of the more high profile clashes in the ongoing streaming wars, which is why it’s very surprising to learn that Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment has entered into a game-changing deal that will see Amblin produce two movies a year for Netflix for the foreseeable future. Spielberg directing some of the films is reportedly in the mix.
According to Variety, the deal was hashed out by Netflix’s Head of Original Films, Scott Stuber, who had a relationship with Spielberg during his time at Universal. A theatrical release for the Amblin films is also on the table, but will be reviewed on a “case-by-case” basis:
“At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted [Sarandos] 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, and the entire Netflix team.”
The Netflix deal is also significant because, for a while, it seemed like Spielberg was forming a close bond with Apple TV. Whether that relationship will continue going forward will be interesting to watch.
(Via Variety)