Coen Brothers Defend Movie Theaters at Lumière Festival — SkimNews
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- Joel Coen told the Lumière Film Festival audience in Lyon that watching films on iPhones is "very disheartening," insisting "the joy of sitting in a movie theater with a crowd of people, there's no substitute for that."
- Joel and Ethan Coen received the festival's lifetime achievement Lumière Award that evening following a masterclass hosted by festival director Thierry Frémaux, who also heads the Cannes Film Festival.
- The Coen brothers acknowledged they have embraced streaming, having worked with Netflix on "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" and with Apple TV+ on Joel's solo "The Tragedy of Macbeth."
- Joel Coen noted that home video helped launch the brothers' careers by allowing their early films to reach wider audiences and new markets, while criticizing the shrinking scale of contemporary viewing.
- Joel Coen recounted meeting his wife Frances McDormand while casting their 1984 debut "Blood Simple," more than 40 years ago.
- Producer Eric Fellner, who has made nine films with the brothers, called them "by far and away the most joyful people to make films with in the industry."
- "Barton Fink" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1991, while "No Country for Old Men" left the festival empty-handed 16 years later but went on to win four Oscars including Best Picture.
Why it matters: The Coens' defense of theatrical exhibition carries weight precisely because they've taken Netflix and Apple TV+ money themselves, lending credibility to Joel's claim that in the U.S. it has become "increasingly difficult" to gather audiences for films on the big screen and that filmmakers face "ever diminishing platforms."
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