Filmmaker Zack Snyder is something of an enigma. He makes movies that are beautiful to look at. Some touch greatness, either immediately (300) or maybe take some time to be appreciated (Man Of Steel, Watchmen). His cut of Justice League is just so massive and ambitious and bonkers to behold that you just can’t help but like it, the way you like a really friendly, over-affectionate dog.
He went on The Joe Rogan Experience yesterday for a long and in-depth conversation about his career. There was a lot of great stuff in there as he spoke openly about making movies, his approach, what he feels works and doesn’t.
He has recently made Netflix his home, and his highly anticipated Rebel Moon saga was launched with Part One: A Child Of Fire in December and it landed to a weak reception from fans. Discussing this, and the numbers on streaming, he made a claim:
“You think about Netflix, for instance, where you push a button. Rebel Moon, right? Say right now it’s almost at 90 million views, right? 80 or 90 million accounts turned it on, give or take.
They assume two viewers per screening, right? That’s the kind of math. So you think if that movie was in the theater as a distribution model, that’s like 160 million people supposedly watching based on that math.
160 million people at $10 a ticket would be…what is that math? I don’t know. 160 million times ten. That’s 1.6 billion. So more people probably saw Rebel Moon than saw ‘Barbie’ in the theater, right?
That’s how crazy Netflix is. That’s the distribution model that they’ve set up. I was at this thing the other day and we were talking about Rebel Moon 2. And they were like, ‘Well, talk about Rebel Moon the first one.’ I’m like, ‘No, go f—ing watch it. I know you have it at your house.’
It’s not like a theater situation. You could turn it on your phone right now and watch it right here if you wanted. That’s how crazy it is. This model, this machine they’ve built is really something else. It’s really crazy if you think about it.”
He makes good points about the machinery of the distribution method. That may have boosted Rebel Moon considerably. I can’t help but think his maths is a bit suspect, starting with the assumption that two people watch everything streamed. I would go – for the sake of quick maths, with maybe 1.3 people per streaming event. Or maybe that’s just my opinion and I have no friends to watch things with.
No way to know, though, until they install the IngSoc viewscreen in all our homes.
He also said he loved Greta Gerwig’s film and felt that having his cut of Justice League as a joke in the movie was actually an honor.
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