Steven Spielberg, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Look To Be Seeking Common Ground Over Awards Debate | THR News - video Dailymotion

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The two industry heavyweights — who have been on opposite sides of the debate over what constitutes an Oscar-qualifying movie — sat down with each other this week.

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00:00Director Steven Spielberg and Netflix's Ted Sarandos have been firmly on opposite sides

00:04with the Oscar debate, with Spielberg a staunch believer that movies from streaming services

00:08should not be eligible for Oscar nominations, but perhaps they are on the path to achieving

00:12common ground. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the two were seen dining together

00:16at the San Vincente Bungalows, a new private club in West Hollywood, leading to speculation

00:20that a truce may be in sight. Spielberg, a member of the Motion Picture Academy's

00:24Board of Governors, has been a leading voice in arguing that Oscars should be reserved for

00:28films that get their first major exposure in movie theaters. Speaking last year to ITV News,

00:33he said,

00:34"...once you commit to a television format, you're a TV movie. You certainly, if it's a good

00:38show, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar. I don't believe films that had just given token

00:42qualifications in a couple of theaters for less than a week should qualify for the

00:45Academy Award nomination." And in February, he elaborated further, saying,

00:50"...the greatest contribution we can make as filmmakers is to give audiences the

00:53motion picture theatrical experience. I'm a firm believer that movie theaters need to be

00:57around forever." While the iconic filmmaker has never specifically mentioned Netflix by name,

01:02under the leadership of Sarandos, the streaming giant has been aggressive in pursuing

01:06Oscar's glory over the past few years, with a push especially paying off at this year's

01:10ceremony as Roma took home three statuettes. Although originally Sarandos said

01:14Netflix would stick to a day-and-date formula, giving some of its films brief theatrical

01:18runs beginning the same day they were made available to its subscribers, Netflix released

01:22Roma in a limited number of theaters for a three-week run before the film appeared on the

01:26server showing that it was willing to alter its business model in a few cases in order to

01:30pursue Oscar gold. Reps for both Spielberg and Sarandos declined comment.

01:34For more on this story, head to THR.com. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

Steven Spielberg, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Look To Be Seeking Common Ground Over Awards Debate | THR News

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