Wonder Woman 1984 director, Patty Jenkins, says films released by streaming services look like "fake movies."
This news comes by way of the LA Times, which reports that during a panel discussion hosted by the publication, Jenkins explained that all of the films streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max put out look fake. She said that releasing movies on streaming services isn't a working model.
"All of the films that streaming services are putting out, I'm sorry, they look like fake movies to me," Jenkins said. "I don't hear about them. I don't read about them. It's not working as a model for establishing legendary greatness."
Jenkins said this in response to Paramount Pictures’ domestic distribution president, Chris Aronson, who said that once a movie is released on TV, no matter what it was originally made for, "it's a TV film."
The Wonder Woman 1984 director then explained that she feels Netflix and other streaming services do have a place in the entertainment media industry — the making of movies just isn't that place.
"I also have a deal to make things for Netflix, because I really believe in limited series and television series," Jenkins said. "As a filmmaker, there are stories I want to tell…that are longer and don't fit into the movie format. Streaming is great for massive amounts of content and bingeing TV shows."
She goes on to say that making movies and making longer-form content such as TV shows and limited series are "two very different skill sets." She said she sees them succeeding as two very different things — not as formats that intermingle with each other.
"That's why I think it's a mistake for the film industry to throw away something so valuable," Jenkins said. "I think we have to be very clear about the absolute necessity for [theatrical releases]. I've talked to many filmmakers about all of us uniting, and if someone does guarantee a theatrical run, we will literally go out of our way and take less fee, all kinds of things, to guarantee that your film has a chance of success in this certain kind of way."
IGN recently reported that Jenkins felt the release of Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max was "heartbreaking" and "detrimental," but ultimately the "best choice." WarnerMedia reported that "nearly half" of its HBO Max subscriber base watched Wonder Woman 1984, though, and Warner Bros. already greenlit a third Wonder Woman movie, so the streaming release might not have been as detrimental as Jenkins believes it to be.
Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.