Hollywood heavyweights at odds over $50 in-home movie service
Would you pay $50 to watch a blockbuster movie -- say, "Captain America: Civil War" or the next "Star Wars" installment -- at home during its opening weekend?
Napster co-founder Sean Parker and SFX Entertainment's Prem Akkaraju certainly hope you would, as their proposed Screening Room service would make that a reality. The service -- which would only be accessible via a $150 set-top box users would have to purchase -- would make first-run Hollywood blockbusters available in the home for a $50 fee. The price would also include two tickets to a theatrical screening of the film.
While movie theater owners have appeared on the fence about the proposal, Hollywood's top directors have been quick to take sides. Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Ron Howard and Peter Jackson have all voiced their support for Screening Room. In fact, all four are reportedly shareholders in the venture, though it's unclear if they have invested any money into it.
But others have proved resistant to the idea. "Avatar" director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau were the first to voice their opposition, arguing that the initial release of such films should only take place in theaters.
"We know that this proposal is at the early stage and we have an obligation to speak out publicly against it," Landau told Variety.
Christopher Nolan, director of "Interstellar," "Inception" and "The Dark Knight," added his voice to the protest Wednesday. "It would be hard to express the great importance of exclusive theatrical presentation to our industry more compellingly than Jon Landau and James Cameron did," he said in a statement.
While the industry's top directors duke it out, it still remains unclear how eager moviegoers will be to adopt the service.