Why Brad Pitt is “pretty grateful” for streaming services
Ever since the streaming era exploded into what it’s become today, debate has raged over whether it’s a positive or a negative for cinema as a whole. Brad Pitt is a lot more familiar with big screens than small, but he still appreciates what the age of on-demand has afforded certain creatives.
As an A-list superstar and powerhouse producer with Academy Award wins to his name on either side of the camera, Pitt hasn’t been in the ‘struggling artist’ bracket for decades. And yet, because he’s always so involved in his projects as either a performer or part of the production team, he knows how difficult it is to get a certain type of movie made.
The naysayers have a point in looking to streaming and VOD as being key factors behind the decline of cinema’s profit margins, thanks to the ability to catch major releases boasting huge stars either being available to watch at home from day one, or in a matter of weeks. There’s a balance to be struck, but it’s those much further down the pecking order than Pitt that he sees as being able to reap the rewards.
In a conversation with Anthony Hopkins for Interview, Pitt reflected on the release strategy behind the former’s biographical drama The Two Popes, which secured a limited theatrical release in November 2019 before streaming exclusively on Netflix less than a month later. Hopkins and co-star Jonathan Pryce both earned Oscar nominations for their work and while it never had the chance to make a splash at the box office, Pitt found the positives.
“I really like that we have these streaming services, because I’m seeing gutsy material. I’m seeing material that studios aren’t able to gamble on,” he said. “Through streaming services, artists are the ones who are able to gamble. I feel like cinema is being reduced more and more to spectacle, something more sensational. I don’t mean that as a negative, but I’m seeing more thought-provoking pieces like The Two Popes being done, and I’m pretty grateful for it.”
It’s a double-edged sword in honesty, although Pitt is right in what he’s saying. The absence of ticket sales being a barometer of success has allowed filmmakers the leeway to take more risks knowing there won’t be bean-counters lurking over their shoulder at every turn, but on the other side of the coin there are many films made solely for streaming that would undoubtedly be much better-suited to cinemas.
David Michôd’s satirical Netflix comedy War Machine is the only streaming flick Pitt has starred in, but he has lent his producing expertise to Andrew Dominik’s Blonde, Michôd’s The King, Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, and Gary Alazraki’s Father of the Bride among others, so it’s not as if he’s speaking from a place of complete ignorance about the differences between the two distribution models.
