New York (AFP)
Netflix will exploit one of the oldest New York cinemas, the Paris Theater, and project its films there, new stage for the giant of streaming in bisbille with the big networks of cinemas.
A short walk from Central Park and the famous Plaza Hotel, the Paris Theater closed at the end of August after 71 years of existence, after the lease had expired.
The last New York cinema with only one room reopened in early November, for what appeared to be an event without a future, namely the projection for a few weeks of Noah Baumbach's movie "Marriage Story", produced by Netflix.
"This iconic cinema will remain open and become the home of Netflix for its exceptional events, screenings and theatrical releases," the group said Monday in a series of posts on Twitter.
The terms of the agreement that allows Netflix to move to the Paris Theater have not been disclosed, but it would be, according to the specialized site Deadline, a long-term lease.
For several months, American media reported negotiations between the online video service and the current owner of the Egyptian Theater, a historic cinema in Hollywood.
On Monday, Deadline claimed that Netflix had acquired a majority stake in Egyptian, which Netflix had never confirmed.
By electing domicile at the Paris Theater, the platform is taking a new step in its strategy of bypassing major cinema networks.
For the moment, they refuse to give in to Netflix, which is calling for a shortening of the minimum time between the theatrical release and the online posting, which is now set at 90 days in the United States.
The Paris Theater was inaugurated by the German-American actress Marlene Dietrich in 1948. It was then operated by the French company Pathé, which was forced by the owners of the building to give way to the American group Loews in 1990.
The room has built its reputation on a programming focused on films often ignored multiplexes, including French.
© 2019 AFP