As ‘The Irishman’ Hits Theaters, How Will Netflix Rebound From Industry Backlash to the ‘Roma’ Release?

A year ago, Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” was a major awards season contender with an asterisk. The movie had been met with critical acclaim and eventually scored three Oscars for its writer-director-cinematographer, but was denied a Best Picture in part — according to many analysts — because of Netflix’s unorthodox theatrical release strategy. With “The Irishman” opening theatrically this week, Netflix’s theatrical window has broadened to a full 28 days, and it has gone great lengths to turn the theatrical release into an event: Both old Broadway haunt The Belasco and the recently-shuttered Paris Theatre — among other venues — will carry the three-and-half-hour epic. Could the new plan help the movie avoid Netflix naysayers this time around?

In this week’s episode of Screen Talk, co-hosts Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson discuss the plan for “The Irishman” and how it differs from last year’s “Roma” situation. Thompson also recaps her experiences at the Governors Awards and the recent decision to allow Academy members to screen Oscar contenders online. The episode closes with critical takes on two bigger movies hitting theaters this month: “Terminator: Dark Fate” and “Doctor Sleep.”

Listen to the full episode below. 

Screen Talk is available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Soundcloud. You can subscribe here or via RSS. Share your feedback with Thompson and Kohn on Twitter or sound off in the comments. Browse previous installments here, review the show on iTunes and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk. Check out the rest of IndieWire’s podcasts on iTunes right here.