Variety<\/a><\/em> when asked if streaming films should qualify. \u201cI think that\u2026 Look\u2026 none of us should be really squabbling with each other over what has a right to be seen or awarded or part of a conversation, I don\u2019t think. There are some people who only get their chance because of streamers.\u201d <\/p>\n\u201cThe world changed, I think, during COVID. Streamers became stronger. The tectonic plates have, the screening world shifted,\u201d Joel<\/strong> continued. \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily think something should be seen as lesser than. I think the point that James<\/strong> is making is there should be a more robust fight for the survival for cinema, but I don\u2019t think at the cost of saying that people whose only chance is to get their movie made on a streamer should not have a chance to also be seen and heard, or recognized.\u201d <\/p>\nHe shared that that is his opinion and it\u2019s a tough landscape. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are diving for scraps and some people have had a long history where it makes it a bit easier for them, and they\u2019re willing to fight harder and I really respect that,\u201d he added. \u201cJames<\/strong> is one of the greats and he\u2019s making movies on a big canvas. He\u2019s a pioneer. He\u2019s always been a pioneer. But independent filmmakers are kind of little birds in a nest fighting to be fed by their mother.\u201d<\/p>\nJoel<\/strong> then addressed his own fights as a producer and a director. <\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019ve died on the hill of cinema a few times over a few issues as a producer and as a director and as an actor,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time I fought for it, a friend of mine once said to me, \u2018How many of your favorite films did you actually watch at the cinema?\u2019 And most of my favorite movies were made in the 70s and I was either a toddler, or 5, 6, 7, 8 years old. I didn\u2019t get a chance to watch them until I was watching them on a VHS cassette on a sh-tty TV, and they\u2019re still my favorite films.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as people watch them, whether they\u2019re at the cinema or not, is a massive, good conversation to have,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd look, I would still semi-die on a hill for cinema. But I\u2019m also a pragmatist.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can watch the trailer for Joel<\/strong>\u2018s Netflix movie Train Dreams<\/em> here<\/a>, and catch the full film on the streamer now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n