Glen Powell claims movies on streaming platforms don’t make a “cultural impact”
Ever since his breakout role in Top Gun: Maverick, Glen Powell has enjoyed a significant Hollywood trajectory, cementing A-list status. Now, the actor has reflected on the impact of his romantic comedy Anyone But You, explaining why he and his co-star Sydney Sweeney wanted anything but to release it on the small screen.
The actors’ ideas surrounding the lighthearted romp were anything but foolish. In fact, Powell understood the challenge at hand thoroughly, using this knowledge to make a decision regarding the film’s release that could potentially be more detrimental than rewarding.
While Powell understands the difficulty of cinematic releases, he wholeheartedly supported the move to get the movie on the big screen in the hopes that the film would go further, wider, and hit harder than if it was given over to a screaming service, such as Netflix.
Alongside Easy A director Will Gluck, the team shunned any streamer offer in support of their vision despite being inundated with lucrative financial opportunities that would have provided security and a safe option. “We had offers from every streamer,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter. Continuing, “and it was guaranteed [paydays] and a much bigger budget, but Syd and I really have a very similar worldview about Hollywood.”
Explaining his thoughts on streaming services, Powell said that at the time, they felt that “if we make this on a streamer, it won’t have any cultural impact.” Knowing the risks and hearing from others that “rom-coms were dead,” they decided to “take the gamble” in the hopes that “we could bring them back.”
It wasn’t just as easy as that, though. In fact, opting out of streamers yielded another challenge – urging people to get out and go to the movie theatre. “It’s something we talked about all the time: How do you create an event and also justify that experience?” Powell said. Adding, “Even if it’s me taking my clothes off on the side of a fricking cliff, it’s like, you got to do some shit in here that makes noise.”
Powell’s newest movie, Twisters, is also scheduled for theatre release, in which the actor will start alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in a stand-alone sequel to the 1996 original.
The project was initially announced as a remake and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski was lined up to take the reins, but it was later confirmed that Minari director Lee Isaac Chung will be taking it on.
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