Helen Mirren bemoans Netflix, says streaming services are 'devastating' for film directors

Directors 'want their movies to be watched in a cinema with a group of people'

(Getty Images)

Helen Mirren has spoken about how Netflix and other streaming services are “devastating” for film directors and filmgoers.

Speaking to The i newspaper, the famed actor spoke candidly about how the cinema experience has been affected in recent years.

“It’s devastating for people like my husband [Taylor Hackford, director of Ray], film directors, because they want their movies to be watched in a cinema with a group of people.”

She added that going to the cinema is “a communal thing.”

Mirren’s comments come just days after Netflix withdrew its films from Cannes Film Festival following disputes with the event’s organisers.

Other famous filmmakers to recently bemoan the streaming service include Steven Spielberg, who said films released through Netflix should not be eligible for Oscars.

“Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie,” he said. “It’s like television. A good show deserves an Emmy and not an Oscar.”

Mirren recently appeared in the horror film Winchester, and will next feature in The Leisure Seeker.