While Warner Bros. finds itself increasingly torn between two potential new owners in Netflix and Paramount, one of Hollywood’s most powerful proponents of preserving the big-screen experience has spoken up (again). Director James Cameron‘s long list of box-office hits includes the smash-hit Avatar series, and he’s already made it clear that he’s here to keep movie theaters alive, something he worries Netflix won’t support.
For its part, Netflix—the early frontrunner in the race to acquire Warner Bros.—has tried to wave away those worries; co-CEO Ted Sarandos is full of assurances that, should the world’s biggest streamer close the deal, theatrical releases will still run 45 days. But theater owners remain skeptical about that promise. And now Cameron has doubled down on his concerns with a letter sent to Utah Senator Mike Lee, chair of the Senate subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights.
As reported by CNBC (via the Hollywood Reporter)—which obtained and published a copy of the letter, dated February 10—Cameron made his views very clear, arguing that allowing Netflix to take over Warner Bros. would spell disaster for Hollywood.
“My 44-year directing career has been focused on making movies for theatrical exhibition, and I believe strongly that seeing movies in theaters is an important pillar of our culture,” he wrote. (Later in the letter he calls himself “a humble movie farmer.”)
He asserted that “the proposed sale of Warner [Bros.] Discovery to Netflix will be disastrous to the motion picture business that I have dedicated my life’s work to. Of course, all of my films play in the downstream video markets as well, but my first love is the cinema … theatrical exhibition is a critical part of my creative vision. I believe in the big screen.”
He called out Sarandos’ remarks calling theaters “outmoded” and “outdated” and writes that because “the business model of Netflix is directly at odds with the theatrical film production and exhibition business,” that puts it directly at odds with the business model of Warner Bros.’ movie division.
He’s also doubtful Netflix would stick to its pledge about keeping movies in theaters for a set amount of time; his letter cited a 17-day theatrical window that was cited in an earlier Deadline report, rather than the more recently mentioned 45-day window.
“What administrative body will hold them to task if they slowly sunset their so-called commitment to theatrical releases?” he wondered.
He also wants Netflix to make it clear how many theaters will be involved in its big-screen rollouts: “Netflix has done only a handful of theatrical releases, and only then under pressure from prestigious filmmakers. But these are usually in a token number of theaters, and are mostly done to qualify for Academy Awards. These releases do not represent the bread-and-butter of the exhibition business.”
Read the full letter, including Cameron working a Titanic reference into his worry that “the theatrical experience of movies could become a sinking ship,” at CNBC.
After Cameron’s letter was published, Deadline picked up Sarandos’ response, given in an interview on Fox Business show The Claman Countdown: “I met with James personally in late December and laid out for him our 45-day commitment to theatrical exhibition of films and to the Warner Brothers slate. I have talked about that commitment in the press countless times. I swore under oath in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust that that’s what we would be doing.”
“So … I’m particularly surprised and disappointed that James chose to be part of the Paramount disinformation campaign that’s been going on for months about this deal,” the Netflix boss said. He emphasized, “I have never even uttered the words ’17-day window.’”
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