Fox Chief Disses Netflix: "Churn-Like Environment" Doesn’t Appeal to Filmmakers

Megalith

Megalith

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The head of 20th Century Fox Film delivered a verbal beating to Netflix, saying that the streaming giant offers no advantages to filmmakers or movie-lovers, and that its days as a dominant force in Hollywood are numbered: the actual quote reads funny, but she seems to be saying that Netflix’s films are “rejects” that any movie studio would have passed on if offered the chance to produce. She also alleges that the service is padding their library with sub-par titles.

For the people who make movies, Snider said that “there’s nothing about the experience of making them in a churn-like environment that appeals to filmmakers. This is not conjecture on my part — I speak to them.” As for the consumer experience, Snider said consumers often have difficulty finding movies they want to see. “There’s nothing better about watching a film on Netflix or Amazon. There just isn’t,” Snider said. Her harsh words come as Netflix’s relationship with Hollywood has grown more tense.
 
Yeah cause im sure movie makers looooooooooooooooooooove to have less choices to take their movie proposals to... Yeah more control by the likes of fox, that is fucking exactly what they want... Seriously that's it.
 
You know, for some odd reason I don't really give a damn about what appeals to "filmmakers" but instead I do give a damn about what appeals to me.

I'm somewhat partial to new ideas, new actors, good story, good acting and good dialogue. It doesn't matter to me that "filmmakers" are too lazy to do something other than the same rehashed movie for the twentieth time or the fortieth sequel or using a big name actor in an attempt to make up for a shitty story, etc, etc, etc. The only thing I can say to them is to get over themselves. They're literally as bad or worse than the professional critics who seem to have little or no relation to the vast majority of people out there who are supposed to enjoy these movies.
 
Snider said consumers often have difficulty finding movies they want to see.

Certainly seemed true this summer. And I doubt Netflix had anything to do with that. And it seems a lot of movie studios do make movies in a 'churn like environment'. Where does she think all of the <Movie Title> Version# things are coming from?
 
Megalith said:
Netflix’s films are “rejects” that any movie studio would have passed on if offered the chance to produce. She also alleges that the service is padding their library with sub-par titles.
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She's one to talk. Didn't Fox produce Fantastic Four? That's not even a library padding quality.

A lot of the Netflix movies are films that wouldn't be made by mainstream theaters because they only want superhero movies these days. There's a lot of good gems in the NF catalog (Arq, Spectre, Little Evil and quite a few others). The Adam Sandler / Kevin James films do not represent the quality of the entire catalog.
 
Every time I look, Netflix has a much better selection of movies and shows I would watch rather than watch what is in the theaters or what is on TV and I also don't have to put up with 3 minutes of commercials for every 1.5 minutes of show.
 
Spidey329 said:
She's one to talk. Didn't Fox produce Fantastic Four? That's not even a library padding quality.

A lot of the Netflix movies are films that wouldn't be made by mainstream theaters because they only want superhero movies these days. There's a lot of good gems in the NF catalog (Arq, Spectre, Little Evil and quite a few others). The Adam Sandler / Kevin James films do not represent the quality of the entire catalog.
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they were also the ones that pushed the evironmental garbage agenda re-edit that happened in the movie behind the directors back. either way the industry is scared shitless of netflix and so is amazon. it'll be interesting to see if disney's attempt to create their own streaming service for their content is killed after the first year when it fails or if they attempt to drag it on a few years before marvel forces them to crawl back to netflix.

i can say though this is the first year so far that i've watched more netflix produced movies/shows than non netflix ones so they must be doing something right, lol.
 
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dark_reign said:
Sign of desperation from another rich studio exec that's out of touch with reality. People aren't flocking to theaters anymore because of the terrible experience, rehashed films and sheer greed.
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Granted most theaters are a shit show of crying babies, cell phone users, and dirty aisles. However, to be fair, some theaters have stepped up their game. Adult only theaters, with proper comfortable seating, that actually enforce the rules of courtesy that many have seemed to have forgot, with some even serving alcohol and real(ish) food, have been popping up in and around the bigger cities.
 
I think the quality of the netflix produced movies is > the anything fox has done for quite some time. They have had a documentary nominated for an academy award every year for what 5 years now.

If FOX passed on movies like Beasts of No Nation (screen actors guild best supporting actor winner + 5-6 other awards) and The Siege of Jadotville (Irish film best director / actor / vfx) then they are morons.

Now sure I will admit the Sandler and Kevin james movies are pretty bad... but at least they didn't try and get me to go and drop $40+ to see them in a theater and then wine about rotten tomatoes when I didn't. Some people like that type of content all fine by me... Netflix is free to make the direct to video type crap as well.
 
She sounds like an ass, so for that reason I disagree and take the opposing side.
 
Gorankar said:
Granted most theaters are a shit show of crying babies, cell phone users, and dirty aisles. However, to be fair, some theaters have stepped up their game. Adult only theaters, with proper comfortable seating, that actually enforce the rules of courtesy that many have seemed to have forgot, with some even serving alcohol and real(ish) food, have been popping up in and around the bigger cities.
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Of course a night out with the wife to such an establishment can well pay for netflix for the entire year....

I invested in a 60" screen, a better then decent amp and a great set of speakers. My wife and I can watch whatever we want naked get sloshed and have $ in the bank.

Really its nice that the industry has opened some of the VIP type locations... they are nice and all I have been a few times. Still the value isn't exactly great.
 
ChadD said:
Of course a night out with the wife to such an establishment can well pay for netflix for the entire year....

I invested in a 60" screen, a better then decent amp and a great set of speakers. My wife and I can watch whatever we want naked get sloshed and have $ in the bank.

Really its nice that the industry has opened some of the VIP type locations... they are nice and all I have been a few times. Still the value isn't exactly great.
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No it is not a great value, spent about $80-100 the last time a I went to one with a lady friend, but it is at least an attempt at making a night out to the movies something of a higher class event than it has been. And you can certainly get a decent sound system and a big enough TV/projector screen, with blueray, and have an awesome in home theater setup for a not unreasonable amount of money these days. True HD streaming still is not really a thing yet, but I imagine it will be at some point in the not too distant future.
Netflix is good enough for me most of the time. Some of their originals have been pretty damn good as well.
 
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vegeta535 said:
Or when they do they still cancel it after one season because it didn't meet figure they had in their head before it was even produced.
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Firefly, Space Above and Beyond, and many more examples of how badly Fox handled some great shows.

What happened to the days when Fox had the guts to pickup a totally unknown producer who did a movie completely different from any tried before when nobody else would touch it(Lucas/Star Wars).
 
Harry Potter as well as many other things were rejected and made to be famous because one person finally saw what it was......stupid idiot. Besides I recall when they did shit like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf_(TV_series). Man, loved the series and wanted more...these idiots now, whatever
 
jedijeb13 said:
What happened to the days when Fox had the guts to pickup a totally unknown producer who did a movie completely different from any tried before when nobody else would touch it(Lucas/Star Wars).
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Mr. Ladd has long since left the building.

The man fought for Star Wars the whole way when the Fox board wanted to kill it before it finished production. He risked his own carer fighting for that film. He brought Fox Alien... then left and founded the ladd company which got Blade Runner made. He went to MGM for awhile after producing some actual quality films there... including a few academy award winners that actually deserved consideration. The Ladd company is still in business the last big one I think they did was Afflecks gone baby gone.

The people at Fox with Ladd being perhaps the only acception have always been Morons. (Caps intended)
 
jedijeb13 said:
Firefly, Space Above and Beyond, and many more examples of how badly Fox handled some great shows.

What happened to the days when Fox had the guts to pickup a totally unknown producer who did a movie completely different from any tried before when nobody else would touch it(Lucas/Star Wars).
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10 years in i am still sore about k ville.
 
but it's true.
Netflix original movies do suck. so far.

Just look at Reality High, the most recent netflix movie.
 
For the fashion people out there. Lets here some discussion on her outfit.
I can't believe that would be worn in 2017. What decade or century is that from?
 
Shikami said:
Harry Potter as well as many other things were rejected and made to be famous because one person finally saw what it was......stupid idiot. Besides I recall when they did shit like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf_(TV_series). Man, loved the series and wanted more...these idiots now, whatever
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Strange Luck, Brimstone, and Firefly, are just a few of the many others that Fox screwed the pooch on. Fox does not really know what the people want. They are pretty much like MS, in that they believe they should be the ones to decide what you want.
 
Haven't seen one movie out of Hollywood in the last 5 years that I am actually willing to spend money to see in a theater.

On Netflix? I've seen plenty of Netflix Originals that were definitely worth my monthly payment, even if that was all I watched all month. All of Netflix's Marvel shows have been worth it to me, yes including Iron Fist. (I seriously don't see why people think it's a bad show.)

I'm glad Hollywood is pissed that Netflix is moving in on their turf. It gives them a reason to actually try now instead of getting fat on re-hashed movie formula garbage.
 
To be honest though, pretty much all the Netflix original stuff is indeed total shit that feels like it's been sausage factory created. Sometimes there's a real gem, like Stranger Things, but those are the exception rather than the rule. The percentage of "traditional" Hollywood stuff that is better is higher.

The worst part of this is the ominous "release their own streaming services" part. Fragmentation will fuck stuff up even more. I posted here recently, I have 10 difference sources of media I either pay for or have had to buy kit to provide now. This article implies it's only going to get worse.

Fragmentation will increase piracy, if only for convenience factors, not cost.
 
The filmmakers that Netflix rejects makes Netlfix the best. I for one got far more enjoyment out of Marvel on Netlifx then Marvel films in cinemas.
 
chenw said:
"Rejects of Hollywood"?
You know what? That's probably exactly why Netflix is so popular...
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I was just going to post this. This is literally the only thing from her whole comment that is true. Netflix picked up many of the shows passed by Hollywood and were handsomely rewarded when its stock prices soared.

Netflix is now a juggernaut and a threat to Hollywood that she chose to respond to that question in a drastically negative manner. Her comment says everything. If it weren't for Netflix, why are all the studios talking about streaming?
 
After a year of recycled movies from Hollywood and declining profits, they're saying the Netflix movies wouldn't make the cut with them. That's so hilarious....
 
Hollywood doesn't get it. Good riddance.

Netflix: yep, I subscribe.
Movie Theaters: nope, I don't go.
Amazon Prime: yep, I can watch.
Over The AIr: yep, free TV.
Sling: sure, because I can.
Gamepass: only to fill in the voids.
Cable: Cut. Even with all the above services, I'm still paying less than half of what I did.
Rotten Tomatoes: I'll look at that website sometimes, but they're not why I ignore Hollywood, the prima donnas, and the Theater "experience".

There's a shift in how people can watch entertainment. We now have choices. Hollywood needs to compete...and doesn't know how. They just regurgitate remakes or sequels. They spice 'em up with more "booms and boobs", but trash is trash.
 
Jim Kim said:
Fox be jelly
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Competition is doing their own thing and abandoning Netflix. Fox must not have that option. Fox always takes their negotiation issues public to try to get some public opinion on their side.
 
LOL Just another Hollywood idiot who doesn't see the world changing around her. While Hollywood churns out remake after remake because no one wants to take even the slightest chance on something original, companies like Netflix go right ahead and take those chances and give us content worth watching.
 
But then this is an opinion coming from a person who, it would seem, is a bit of a silver-spooner.

it's a bit of a quandary actually regarding Hollywood/Big Film (tm) these days. They seem to think that what we want is just flash and boom, and little to no character development.

Conversely, I think we're seeing a pretty golden age of entertainment - where series with movie-level production levels and incredibly well written and in-depth stories are beginning to trump wham, bam, thank you ma'am 'Blockbusters'.

Much as I prefer to read a book series, because it gives more chance to develop characters and stories, I much prefer to watch a good TV series as opposed to a one-off movie. Not that there are no decent standalone movies, far from it.

TL;DR Hollywood executive is terrified about the success and rise of DL/Stream services and vents her spleen, to the shock and surprise of precisely no-one.
 
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