Scott Stubber applauds ‘The Power of a Dog’ director Gael Campion
Will Netflix make history this year, becoming the first online streaming platform to win the Best Picture Oscar? That’s what Scott Stoper, head of the company’s global film division, dreams of.
The Oscars will be held next Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
In an interview with the BBC, Stober said: “We all grew up with that dream or hope: Can we make a first-class movie?”
Despite the recent era of Netflix in the film industry, 27 of its works were nominated for Oscars this year, surpassing other production companies.
Among Netflix’s best film nominations is “The Power of a Dog”, directed by Jane Campion. The work tells the story of two fighting brothers, set in the 1920s in the US state of Montana.
The director of the work, Jane Campion, was nominated for the best director category, as well as all his stars, nominations for the acting category.
Rome, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, won three Oscars in 2019, not including Best Picture.
Netflix has never won the Best Picture award, despite nominations in previous years for films such as “Roma”, “Monk” and “The Irishman”.
This year, Netflix is facing competition from another giant streaming platform, Apple, whose Koda movie is also in strong competition for the best picture award.
Scott Stoper is often described as “the most influential man in Hollywood”. As for him, in an interview with BBC culture editor Katie Razzal, he says: “I’m very nervous. Nobody knows what’s going to happen at the party. It’s going to be very exciting, I hope we win the prize. If we don’t win, we’ll be fine on All Situations”.
Having started broadcasting TV shows, Netflix started making original films less than seven years ago.
Stober joined Netflix in 2017, from Universal Studios, which is considered one of the oldest studios. Stober was given the task of bringing top screenwriters and directors to Netflix, as well as developing the platform, moving it from buying broadcasting rights to producing its own films.
Stober succeeded in attracting major directors such as Alfonso Cuaron, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Jane Campion.
Netflix is also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for “Don’t Look Up,” starring Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep.
Many filmmakers are more accepting of working with broadcast platforms, and the latest to sign with Netflix was director Steven Spielberg, who has a multi-year contract with her.
Spielberg once said that films made by streaming platforms should not be allowed into the Oscar competitions.
Some accuse Netflix and its sister broadcasting companies of killing cinema by depriving films of sufficient time to show in theaters before broadcasting them on their platforms.
Netflix has more than 200 million subscribers in regarding 190 countries around the world.
Regarding the movie murder charge, Stober believes that the best place to watch movies is “a movie screen or on a big screen at home”, and he thinks it will remain that way.
Netflix has announced production of regarding 90 original films this year. Stober expects that the requirements for online broadcasting will change the future of movie broadcast times, as the time difference between one movie and another will be smaller. As for the Tik Tok generation, Stauber says it’s essential to stay in love with cinema.
