Film & TV Friday: Netflix vs. Cannes

Netflix pulls its movies from Cannes, Broad City gets a final season, and Sacha Baron Cohen will play Israeli spy Eli Cohen in a future Netflix series. It's an odd little planet, and this is Film & TV Friday.

The News

Netflix pulls films from Cannes

Netflix is in an odd position in relation to the critical film establishment these days. While the company accounts for a significant percentage of the industry's profits, and has taken to "rescue" films without distribution, its habit of screening films in theaters briefly so they could be eligible for awards has drawn criticism, with Steven Spielberg recently saying they should not be eligible for the Oscars.

Now, after being told they cannot submit their films to competition in the Cannes film festival unless they have a theatrical release, the streaming powerhouse has pulled all of their films from being shown in the festival. Netflix couldn't (or wouldn't play the films in theaters, because French law does not allow films to be shown in streaming platforms unless 36 months have passed since they had their theatrical release. While Netflix certainly enjoys the prestige and pr bump from showing their films in festivals such as Cannes, the goal is to get people to subscribe so they could stream them. This appears to be an impasse unlikely to change unless the rules are changed. Which I suspect they will be. Netflix is too big a player right now. Bigger than Cannes, when it comes to commercial success.

Broad City Gets Last Season

Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, the stars and creators of comedy series Broad City will be getting a final season to air in 2019. However, this is not the end of their collaboration with Comedy Central, as the two have signed a First Look deal with the channel. While never a regular watcher of the show, I have enjoyed the bits I've seen, and also Glazer and Jacobson's work in podcasts. Both are brilliant, and I expect interesting things to come from this partnership.

Spy Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of Borat and Ali G, who has spent time in his youth as a volunteer in Israel, will play Israeli spy Eli Cohen in an upcoming Netflix show called "The Spy."

This is certainly an interesting casting choice. While Cohen has done some brilliant comedy work, it's been a while, and he has never shown great dramatic chops. I'll withhold judgement, as we've certainly seen many comedic actors excel in dramatic roles.

Wide Release Films Opening This Weekend:

Film	# of Theaters
Rampage	4,101
Truth or Dare	3,029
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero	1,685
Chappaquiddick	1,560

Source: BoxOfficeMojo
When I played the game Rampage, in which one destroys buildings playing as one of three giant animal monsters, I would not have bet a cent on it becoming a film. And looking at the reviews, this may be one film not even The Rock can save. Truth Or Dare is the required horror film released on Friday the 13th, but it's going up against the one week old - and much better reviewed - A Quiet Place for those horror fan dollars. I'm not optimistic about its chances.

TV Show Premieres This Week

Show	Season	Country	Network or Service	Day	Time
Fear The Walking Dead	4	US	AMC	Sunday	10:10PM EST
Supergirl	3b	US	The CW	Monday	8 PM EST
The Originals	5	US	The CW	Wednesday	9PM EST

Source: The Futon Critic
Zombies, vampires, and a superhero show? Could the premiere schedule BE more of a cliche? No. The answer's no. It could not.

Trailers

Two amazing looking heist movies top the bill for me. One of them is a Star Wars film.

The First Purge

This series has always been political, but this is ramping that up significantly. I'm not a horror person, so it's not for me.

Solo: A Star Wars story

I love a heist movie, and this looks super fun. Alden Ehrenreich actually does a passable Harrison Ford impersonation! And Donald Glover was BORN for this role.

Future World

I enjoy watching Milla Jovovich kick ass as much as the next person, but seeing accused predator James Franco leer at a female presenting robot in a cheap Mad Max ripoff is not my idea of a good time. Hard pass.

The Meg

Well, that sure is an innocuous name for a film in which Jason Statham fights a giant prehistoric shark.

Ocean's 8

So, remember how I said I love heist movies? Yeah. I am super into this. Amazing cast, film looks stylish as hell. HERE FOR THIS.

Dark Crimes

Welp, it sure looks dark and crime-y.

Incredibles 2

This feels... progressive for the 1950's? Stay at home dads are a thing! Still, it'll probably be great.

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