Cannes : Committing Suicide

Cannes: Stuck in the History of Cinema

What are they thinking? Talk about being where the puck is and not where it's going. The honchos of the Cannes Film Festival came out and stated that movie content must have a French theatrical release to be eligible for their awards - and yes, they've  gone mad!

Aimed at eliminating the on-line content streamers from competition is literally shooting yourself in the foot (no head). Netflix is spending over $8b on original content this year. Amazon, Apple, and now, Disney are producing content for on-line consumption.  The key to all of this is that consumers want, and only want, content that engages them - and they don't care where is comes from.

The Cannes Fest, and others like it, must realize that they do not have the clout they once garnered. The once great and influential festivals have become  irrelevant in the greater entertainment industry, except by the people that run them and perhaps those that benefit from them. Getting an endorsement from the Cannes Fest gets a big shrug from movie goers - the same holds-true for Toronto. Tribecca, Sundance, Teluride, etc.

The movie industry is evolving, growing, and the new mantra is providing what the consumer wants and not what the industry decides they need. And, a big part of that want is going to come from the streamers. I've said it before, movie exhibitors must embrace the streamers and look to them as an adjunct source for quality content that consumers want to engage with. Screening day-and-date with a Netflix debut is a good thing for cinemas.

The Cannes folks are wrong and give much too much importance to their impact and relevance within the movie industry.  Their heyday is over. They need to see where the puck is going if they are to have any hope of surviving.

Just saying,

Jim Lavorato