Directors Speak on the Future of Movie Streaming

[MadVillainy]

http://www.indiewire.com/article/wh...ial&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=1443197868
Tarintino, Aronofsky, Kevin Smith, Liman among some of them.

My favorite part is:

Darren Aronofsky: Most people are going to watch my films on an iPhone. We talk about that. When we did a sound mix, we did an iPad or iPhone mix for Noah, so that hopefully it would be in stereo. "Look," I said, "there's a real audience there, and you have to be conscious of that. You can't control it."

Quentin Tarantino: That's the most depressing thing I've ever heard in my life.

That made me laugh.
I love streaming I think it's fantastic. I think Tarintino is just being is stubborn traditionalist self.

Also Ive never streamed a movie on my phone. Or at least Ive never watched a movie for the first time on my phone. I mean I guess people do it but I feel like the only time Ive seen that was at the airport/on planes

 

[Blind_Lawyer]

Seems like the people who don't like it are watching movies on their laptops and phones. Well, yeah, that's gonna suck.

But streaming to an HD TV with decent surround sound is a whole different thing. I'm not sure Tarantino, Alison Anders and Alex Ross Perry understand that.

Especially Tarantino who is like cinema's biggest fanboy ever. He should be loving this technology.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Tarantino is being just plain selfish now. There is more opportunity for more filmmakers to make movies and for better ways for movies to reach more people. I get preserving and having the choice to do film, which is fine, but you shouldn't shut these other things down.

 

[Teelie]

I have no interest in watching a movie or television show on an iphone or even an ipad but it's supposedly the "next big thing" though for the life of me I can't understand why people want to revert to watching a tiny screen instead of a bigger screen that allows you to see more detail and more clearly.

On the go or traveling I can see the appeal but for every day life? For sitting around casually at home? Why in the hell would anyone watch a tiny screen for a movie?

It's like the whole "mobile computing is the future" argument only I don't think it is. But that does not mean it won't exist and should not be taken into consideration. There will always be a demand for both the big screen and the little one but you can't just choose to only side with one and expect to have the same level of success.

Tarantino is ironically at risk of becoming the antithesis of what he became: A stodgy, old-fashioned director who could not keep with the times.

 

[MadVillainy]

I have no interest in watching a movie or television show on an iphone or even an ipad but it's supposedly the "next big thing" though for the life of me I can't understand why people want to revert to watching a tiny screen instead of a bigger screen that allows you to see more detail and more clearly.

Because it's portable.

I watch Netflix while i'm cooking. Whether that's on my phone or my laptop, but then again it's never new material that i ahvent seen before.

 

[Snow Queen]

Personally, I treat streaming like a rental service. I don't use it on phones or anything as that's just much too small, but I use Netflix on my TV and laptop. I'll watch a film on there and, if I like it and have the money available, I'll pick it up next time I want to watch it. I prefer having physical copies over digital, whether downloaded or streamed.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I can't stand watching anything on a small screen. I don't get the appeal. For me watching a movie is immersive, or I don't watch it.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I don't understand why folks always get mad at Quentin when he talks about digital content. The man is traditionalist. Let him be. His opinion ain't going to stop y netflix subscription, but at the same time I hate and loathe seeing films on my laptop or phone. I can't get into it.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I don't like watching films on my laptop either. A movie on a phone to me is just a horrible idea. Yet many people do it. I'm okay with it and it's not something I can stop and it's part of the future. Tarantino's problem is that he just isn't fair to it and doesn't consider the other side of things and the benefits of why it's a great thing for other people. Doesn't mean he has to change his mind at all, but he talks as if doom is coming and that it's the end of cinema when he talks about digital.

 

[C. Lee]

I bought a 70" screen Tv to watch my movies....why in the hell would I want to watch something on a phone.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I don't like watching films on my laptop either. A movie on a phone to me is just a horrible idea. Yet many people do it. I'm okay with it and it's not something I can stop and it's part of the future. Tarantino's problem is that he just isn't fair to it and doesn't consider the other side of things and the benefits of why it's a great thing for other people. Doesn't mean he has to change his mind at all, but he talks as if doom is coming and that it's the end of cinema when he talks about digital.

Yeah, he is unfair to it but who really cares? Does the GA care if he shoots on film over digital? Nope. He is a stubborn bastah and I love him for it. He will most likely retire before he is forced to go into digital anyway. What i'm trying to say is that he doesn't have to consider the other side of things, that is the perk of being Quentin Tarantino.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I bought a 70" screen Tv to watch my movies....why in the hell would I want to watch something on a phone.

Make and model?

 

[souvlaki]

I don't understand the appeal of watching on a phone but most people watching on a full size tablet are going to be using it on a plane or in bed where the screen is likely closer to your eyes than a tv is. The difference between watching a movie on an ipad on an airplane less than a foot away and watching a movie on a 40" screen in a living room is probably minimal as far as field of vision.

 

[C. Lee]

Make and model?

I bought a VIZIO Smart TV a couple of years ago.

 

[MadVillainy]

I wonder what's the estimate in terms of percentage of how many people use their phone for primary viewing.

I'd imagine not a lot

 

[Black Narcissus]

I bought a VIZIO Smart TV a couple of years ago.

I ain't paying two grand, sir. I will wait for my neighbors to go out of town and take their tv.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, he is unfair to it but who really cares? Does the GA care if he shoots on film over digital? Nope. He is a stubborn bastah and I love him for it. He will most likely retire before he is forced to go into digital anyway. What i'm trying to say is that he doesn't have to consider the other side of things, that is the perk of being Quentin Tarantino.

But him retiring has more to do with vanity more than anything. It's a different discussion, and he's allowed to have a preference and opinion, but I just think he's just misguided in his opinions and does things out of fear of what people will think of him if he makes a bad movie.

I don't care if he's Tarantino or not, he's still a human being capable of thinking of the other side. Especially since he's involved in the industry more than any of us are to make those opinions.

 

[Black Narcissus]

But him retiring has more to do with vanity more than anything. It's a different discussion, and he's allowed to have a preference and opinion, but I just think he's just misguided in his opinions and does things out of fear of what people will think of him if he makes a bad movie.

I don't care if he's Tarantino or not, he's still a human being capable of thinking of the other side. Especially since he's involved in the industry more than any of us are to make those opinions.

And i'm sure you saw that THR roundtable with him and the other directors. No one dared to correct him. I just find that funny. I like his old school way of thinking and approaching his films. Quentin cares about him and him alone, like he told that reporter ''that's not my job'' lol

 

[Boom]

To each their own, but I can't watch movies on small screens.

 

[MadVillainy]

But moving on from small screens does anyone have a particular problem with, legally, streaming?

Like Tarintino who seemed to be against streaming in general

 

[Black Narcissus]

But moving on from small screens does anyone have a particular problem with, legally, streaming?

Like Tarintino who seemed to be against streaming in general

Nope. I still have Amazon/Netflix.

 

[titansupes]

I've never downloaded a movie/TV show illegally, and I still prefer having physical items in my hand and on my shelf. But, since Netflix came to Australia earlier in the year... Yeah, it's great. I mean, I can promise with 1000% certainty that I'll never watch a movie on my phone... But my laptop has a nice big screen, and with the lights off and earphones in, it's just as immersive as a television, IMO.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I do think something is lost by watching a film on a small screen.

I think streaming's great, for entertainment purposes. But if I were a film director (or even just a guy who does the lighting for the film), I would definitely want people to see my stuff on the big screen as intended.

 

[Blind_Lawyer]

But moving on from small screens does anyone have a particular problem with, legally, streaming?

Like Tarintino who seemed to be against streaming in general

Are you kidding me? Thousands of movies available for a combined price of less than $20 month?

When I was a kid, I had a bunch of movie and sleaze magazines that had feature articles on slasher movies, blaxploitation flicks, grindhouse movies, obscure foreign horror movies, etc. Based on reading about these films, I wrote up a list of all the ones that appealed to me. It took years to find and watch one movie on that list. Now, between Netflix, Hulu, and even YouTube, not only have I blown through that list, I've seen tons of new movies.

As someone who likes classics and obscure exploitation movies--basically, the same types of movies Tarantino likes--and who sat up late at night because maybe Joe Bob Briggs was going to show Pieces and The Prowler some night when I had my tracking adjusted and a blank tape at the ready, I have NO clue why he doesn't embrace streaming.

Streaming movie services is seriously one of the great moments in entertainment history. Anyone can watch anything. We call all expand our cinematic horizons in ways previous generations never could. If you're young, you may not appreciate it, but when I was a kid, most of the movies I wanted to see, I'd only heard about. That's right, no streaming trailers back in the day either. Hence, subscriptions to Fangoria and Famous Monsters of Filmland.

 

[Doctor Jones]

And i'm sure you saw that THR roundtable with him and the other directors. No one dared to correct him. I just find that funny. I like his old school way of thinking and approaching his films. Quentin cares about him and him alone, like he told that reporter ''that's not my job'' lol

No one corrected him because he's shut their butts down. I'm all for preserving film but I just prefer Nolan who takes a much more sensible and respecting approach.