James Cameron on why Netflix films shouldn't get Oscars

James Cameron, a well-known filmmaker who himself won an Academy Award, says Netflix shouldn't be eligible for the Oscars.

His remarks follow his previous similar comments about the topic on a podcast, The Town with Matthew Belloni.

Referring to these views, a host at Brut asked the Avatar director for his thoughts, who said it should be conditioned on the streamer releasing the films in theatres without exploiting loopholes in what some say is the requirement for eligibility in the Academy race.

"If they release a film in the theatre in a true release, not a token release, not a one-week five-theatre kind of token release to fulfil minimum requirements, I mean to say, the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences should be protecting the idea of the motion picture as it appears in theatres."

He continues, "This is what we grew up with. This, I think, is what we should be defending. I don't think you defend it by allowing a multibillion-dollar industry to exploit a narrow loophole to essentially commandeer the awards.

"But that's just me, other people might, you know, clearly disagree with what ui'm saying is that Netflix shouldn't be using a loophole or any of the streamers, they should be embracing cinema and streaming as well simultaneously."

James previously aired similar thoughts 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 playing in cinemas now.