Streaming giant Netflix has had a pop at Stephen Spielberg over the legendary director’s attempts to block it from competing for Oscars in the future.
Spielberg is one of a number of filmmakers who has questioned whether Netflix films should be in the running for the Academy Awards as they receive very limited cinematic releases.
Last month, the 72-year-old said Netflix should compete in the Emmys, the awards for TV shows, arguing that the company creates TV movies.
He said he loves television but insisted that "the greatest contribution we can make as filmmakers is to give audiences the motion picture theatrical experience."
In a thinly-veiled response overnight, Netflix tweeted: “We love cinema” before listing off the benefits of its offering compared to the traditional Hollywood model.
We love cinema. Here are some things we also love:
-Access for people who can't always afford, or live in towns without, theaters
-Letting everyone, everywhere enjoy releases at the same time
-Giving filmmakers more ways to share art
These things are not mutually exclusive.— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) March 4, 2019
The Netflix film Roma got 10 Oscar nominations and won three at this year’s Academy Awards.
It was beaten to the best picture award by Green Book.
Spielberg, who is currently a governor of the Academy director’s branch, is reportedly set to propose a change to the awards eligibility rules, which would mean that films that debut on streaming services or are only handed a short run in the cinemas should be considered for Emmys rather than Oscars.
The Academy Board is due to consider the proposals in April.
