/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/business/opinion/2020/12/26/streaming-content-benefits-canadas-entertainment-industry-as-diversity-proves-profitable/christopher_nolan.jpg)
Warner Bros. announced early in December that it would show its entire slate of 2021 movies, including blockbusters “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Matrix 4,” in the United States simultaneously on its HBO Max streaming service and in theatres, and rely on a video-on-demand model for some titles. The announcement sparked an outcry from the entertainment industry establishment.
In particular, Christopher Nolan, director of several blockbusters at Warner Bros., including the “Dark Knight” trilogy and “Inception,” severely criticized the studio’s decision.
Nolan stated the studio’s move was a “real bait and switch” as “some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.”
While there’s been no announcement of what Warner Bros. will do in Canada in terms of showing its 2021 catalogue of films (no Canadian streaming service has yet been selected), what is apparent is that Warner Bros. has merely accelerated the transition to streaming services that was already happening since Netflix came to dominance in the last decade.
The move to streaming content is good business. For example, Disney saw its stock price hit a new all-time high and is up 20 per cent in 2020 despite the pandemic shutting down its theme parks and theatrical screenings. Disney is raising its streaming prices by $3 per month in Canada with its financial performance largely driven by its rapidly growing base of 120 million global subscribers.
In Canada, streaming productions have been beneficial to the Canadian film industry, creating numerous jobs and opportunities for diverse actors and stories, and reflect the preference for serialization, binge viewing, and series over one-off films.
Canada’s broadcast regulator, the CRTC, estimated Netflix revenue from Canada at $1.6 billion in 2019, with Netflix having committed to spend $500 million on film and television production in Canada over five years. Canada is also proposing to tax streaming services to the tune of $1 billion per year to finance Canadian film, music and TV productions.
The insatiable demand for streamed content has had a positive democratizing impact on culture, creating more accessibility for diverse voices and stories, and providing entertainment choices for everyone.
Instead of being held hostage to an auteur’s vision and elitist stereotypes, streaming allows anyone to share their talents and stories with the public. This is better than relying solely on the narratives of the Hollywood establishment, which fostered and shielded powerful members of the elite like Harvey Weinstein, and marginalized some groups or simply ignored their stories.
For instance, it was disappointing to see director Quentin Tarantino, in his 2019 film “Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood,” resort to the old racist trope of the white male character of Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) handily beating the fictionalized character of Bruce Lee, treated as the weak Asian male. It was particularly sad since the real-life Lee experienced racism when the TV show treatment he had developed went to a white actor, David Carridine, because executives felt the audience wouldn’t want to see an Asian male lead.
Today, there are now several streaming series with predominantly ethnic casts, including “Warrior,” based on Bruce Lee’s original treatment, starring an all-Asian cast in leading roles.
Streaming services have helped push societal envelopes so non-traditional stories and lives can be told, making them culturally mainstream, as opposed to dying in the writers’ room.
For example, “Star Trek: Discovery,” filmed in Toronto, and in its third season, is a stark contrast to the male bravado and swagger of Capt. James T. Kirk and the objectification of women of the 1960s; the series now showcases stories related to non-binary characters and same-sex couples.
Research has also shown that diversity in films is profitable, providing a lesson for businesses everywhere.
The UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report 2018, which analyzed 174 Hollywood films for the financial impact of diversity on their box office results, found that Hollywood pictures that made the investment in “risky” casting decisions — placing 30 per cent or more diverse ethnic actors into roles — proved more profitable and outperformed films that were less diverse.
A study by Creative Artists Agency also found from 2014 to 2016 that films with a diverse audience (38 per cent to 70 per cent non-white) made on average $31 million compared to $12 million for films with non-diverse audiences on their opening weekends.
As well, the democratizing impact of streaming has also had an entrepreneurial and cultural impact as anyone can get online and potentially monetize their talent and ideas.
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Some of my students paid their tuition through streaming, including one with millions of followers who watch replays of his video game matches, and another student who gets substantial views by giving dating advice on YouTube to awkward male teenagers.
While online streaming content grows, so do more choices for diversity, stories, ideas and expression, with consequential benefits for more jobs and productions. It’s time to let the old business model for the entertainment industry quickly evolve, even if the movie establishment can’t accept it.
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