Netflix tipped to buy Cannes' opening night film despite fallout
The streaming service are reportedly eager to purchase the Javier Bardem flick
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Your support makes all the difference.This year’s Cannes Film Festival starts today (8 May), multiple award-winning directors showcasing their potentially award-winning movies to journalists and studio executives.
According to Variety, Everybody Knows – the festival's opening movie, starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz – already has some potential buyers lined up: Netflix.
While their potential purchase should be unremarkable (Netflix has become a prolific purchaser of film festival features) the news comes just weeks after the streaming service pulled all their features from the line-up after Cannes organiser made an unfavourable rule change.
The saga began when French cinema owners put pressure on Cannes to make Netflix movies unable to screen in-competition. Due to government rules, movies that are screened in French cinemas cannot be placed on streaming services until three years after their initial run.
Cannes soon caved to the demands, announcing new criteria that would make Netflix movies unable to screen in-competition due to French – that, to compete, movies must have a theatrical run.
Despite having success with Okja and The Meyerowitiz Stories last year, Netflix quickly responded by pulling all their potential movies from the line-up, including out-of-comptetition movies.
However, as has now become abundantly clear, Netflix will still have a presence at the festival, hoping to scoop features that have yet to find distributors.
“We will have people there who are in the business of acquiring films, because many films will be there without distribution,” Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos said.
Whether they will purchase Everybody Knows remains unknown, but the news would surely be a not-so-subtle jibe at the festival.
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