Steven Spielberg has made a deal with Netflix. But don’t get excited, he’s still making movies for Universal Pictures.
Spielberg’s Netflix deal is so his Amblin Entertainment can release smaller films with less box office potential on the powerhouse alternative platform. Netflix needs content, and Spielberg is content to feed the beast.
But there will be no Jurassic features or that kind of thing going to Netflix. This gives Spielberg and Amblin opportunities to do smaller, more personal films and get them a wide audience on Netflix– as long as the filmmakers as okay with it.
One title in that category might “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper’s film about conductor Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia co-starring Cooper and Carey Mulligan. This would be a perfect Netflix release preceded by a theatrical awards qualifying run. Another might be “The Fabelmans,” an autobiographical picture directed by Spielberg starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, written by Tony Kushner.
So nothing has changed. If there’s ever a “Ready Player Two” or “Robopocalypse,” they’ll be going to theaters through Universal or whichever studio has the rights. Still, it’s a nice look for Netflix and Ted Sarandos to have Spielberg in the tent.
