If you’re reading this article, odds are, you go the movies fairly often. And, if you live in a major city, perhaps you’re a fan of supporting smaller releases, when you’re able. But where films are projected was once dubbed the Picture Palace for a reason; big movies cost big money and they are a product of privilege. Streaming possibilities have changed this significantly, however, and for hard-working women, in particular.
Ava DuVernay, creator, co-writer and director of the new Netflix series, “When They See Us,” has spoken in the past about the lack of opportunity for female filmmakers to direct big-budget drama films, and in a new New York Times article – featuring over 20 other respected industry professionals – she also claims that her Netflix documentary “13th,” was seen by far more people than her theatrically released film, “Selma,” a holiday release that received a big Oscar campaign, yet arguably underperformed from both a box office and awards perspective. DuVernay sees the potential outreach of a streaming platform like as more important than having a theatrical window.
“There is a privilege embedded in [a theatrical release] because I’ve had it, I’ve seen it and I know what it is,” said DuVernay. “It’s a lot of ego. I’m told by the system that this is what matters, but then people aren’t seeing your movies. Take the number of people who saw ‘Selma,’ a Christmas release with an Oscar campaign about Dr. Martin Luther King. Well, more than a quadruple amount of people saw ’13th’ [on Netflix]. If I’m telling these stories to reach a mass audience, then really, nothing else matters.”
DuVernay, was joined by Lena Waithe, Jessica Chastain, and several other successful artists in discussing the future of Hollywood. Waithe and Chastain also expressed their thoughts on the increased benefits of streaming.
READ MORE: Ava DuVernay Says Studios Don’t Offer Her Genre Films Because She’s A Woman
“I know there are people who can’t afford to go to big movies,” Waithe, the Emmy Award-winning actor/writer of “Master of None” and “The Chi,” said. “Some people live in small towns where the theater doesn’t play ‘Moonlight‘ or ‘An Oversimplification of Her Beauty.’”
Chastain also brought up the differences in artistic liberty, “I’ve seen a lot of female filmmakers get opportunities at Netflix and Amazon that they haven’t gotten through the studio system. So I’m very, very happy about the new shape our industry is taking.”
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Waithe made history when she became the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Writing In A Comedy Series (in 2017) for the excellent episode of ‘Master of None,” “Thanksgiving.” Odds are, a movie studio never would have green-lit the idea as a feature screenplay, but the material would still have played just as well, arguably; the problem is, its core audience likely wouldn’t have been afforded a convenient way to see it.
