Spielberg bashes the streamers

And the Academy changes its mind, for the better

What to know

• Spielberg still isn’t thrilled with HBO Max and the streamers… The Fabelmans director is apparently still sour over WB putting its theatrical movies on HBO Max during the height of the pandemic. He goes on to say streaming services are great for first-time directors looking for a big break, but his peers, who have sway, would prefer theatrical releases. Maybe Spielberg forgot that his buddy Martin Scorsese’s last two projects went to Netflix (which refuses to give their movies wide releases) and his next is going to Apple. I’m grateful that Spielberg is championing the theatrical release model—someone has to—but there’s a cold streaming reality he and we also have to face. 📺