It’s kind of funny how news works sometimes. One day, you’re given one very clear message, and the next, the exact opposite happens. That’s exactly what happened this past October. It was reported that Studio Ghibli’s classic movies would likely not EVER be made available on streaming platforms. The reasoning had to do with the presentation of these films being vital to their experience, and that digital, on any level, wasn’t really acceptable.
Literally 24 hours later, there was a complete about-face. HBO Max and Netflix nabbed up rights to pretty much all the studio’s films. HBO Max got them in the U.S., and Netflix in pretty much every other territory out there. So, what changed from founder Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli? You can thank producer Toshio Suzuki.
“[I’m] interested in the new movies that are being made on Netflix. It’s more likely that new films will be created for Netflix’s service. As a film creator, even though I think that cinemas and DVD’s are important (for a film release), I also think that (digital distribution) is important,” Suzuki told the press overseas. Given that he’s more involved on the business end of the company, you can understand that Suzuki knows how important it is for these films to be successful. You can imagine it’d be difficult to convince someone like Hayao Miyazaki to lift a digital ban, given that Miyazaki is notoriously old-school in his approach. “Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t know what streaming services are. He doesn’t use computers or smartphones.”
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So, what changed? How did he get the dastardly old curmudgeon that is Miyazaki to change his mind? Well, it’s quite simple.
“Hayao Miyazaki is currently making a movie but it’s taking a really long time. When that happens, it’s only natural that it will require a lot of money too. I told him this can cover the production costs for that movie. When I said that, he said “Well, there’s nothing I can do then.”
While it’d be easy to shrug this off as another instance of money talking, I think the circumstances here are a bit special. Were Miyazaki not in the midst of production of a film, I don’t think he would have been so amenable to the idea. He’s always been someone who puts his art above the general business, and if given the opportunity to simply make more money, I don’t think he would have caved so quickly. But as an enabler of his next project, I can see the appeal.
What do you think of this change of heart from Miyazaki? Let us now your thoughts down below!
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SOURCE: Huffington Post (via Crunchyroll)
