Francis Coppola, in a recent interview regarding his latest masterpiece, Megalopolis, shares his views on modern streaming services. Now, Coppola never shies away or minces his words. He mentions how streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ tend to lean more towards the business side of things. The director stated “streaming moves in the direction of a business model, where they are trying to get subscriptions.”
Francis Coppola has been in the industry for a really long time. The director has witnessed the evolution of the entertainment business, and while it is true that the shift in this “model,” which for Coppola is “anti-art,” as he stated, was also the driving force behind the rapid evolution.
We are witnessing a very peculiar phenomenon. The different generations are at odds with each other. Prior to this, another legendary director, Martin Scorsese, mentioned how he wouldn’t consider massive franchises like Marvel to be cinema. And even though somewhere along the lines they are on point, it doesn’t change the fact that the entertainment industry has evolved.
This won’t be the first instance of Coppola in opposition to the modern trends in Hollywood. While making Megalopolis, he had fired the entire VFX team. The same business model provides jobs to millions. Talking about the quality of art, it cannot be diminished by mere accessibility.
Certainly the movie going experience is unparalleled; however, the sensibilities are changing.
To deny the change would be wrong; while the “subscriptions” do objectify the viewers, turning them into mere numbers fueling the records, these services are the reason that the audience has a huge catalogue of movies of new and old, from the comfort of their homes.
Moreover, one can’t really stop the change of time. Coppola needs to understand that it is not 1972. Fifty years have passed and half a century is a very long time for things to change. The best way would be to adapt or come up with innovative alternatives. Crying like this is not something nice.