The renowned filmmaker James Cameron, a proud Academy Award winner himself, has expressed his stance that Netflix should not be eligible for the Oscars. This position echoes his previous comments on the topic during a podcast, The Town with Matthew Belloni. When queried by a host at Brut about his thoughts on the matter, the Avatar director firmly stated that the eligibility should be contingent on the streamer releasing films in theatres without exploiting any loopholes in the Academy's eligibility criteria.
"If they release a film in a theatre in a genuine, non-token manner, not a one-week, five-theatre kind of release to meet minimum requirements, I mean, the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences should be safeguarding the essence of the motion picture as it is meant to be experienced in theatres," he said.
He continued, "This is what we grew up with. This, I believe, is what we should be upholding. I don't think you defend it by allowing a multibillion-dollar industry to exploit a narrow loophole to essentially monopolize the awards."
However, he added, "That's just me. Others may clearly disagree with what I'm saying, which is that Netflix shouldn't be using a loophole or any of the streamers should embrace both cinema and streaming simultaneously."
James previously voiced similar sentiments on the podcast, stating, "They should be allowed to compete if they put the movie out for a meaningful release in 2,000 theatres for a month."
Meanwhile, Avatar: Fire and Ash is currently playing in cinemas.
