NEW YORK: Filmmaker Charlie Kaufman says the traditional Hollywood studio system must be blamed for "ruining" the movie experience, not the streaming services like Netflix.
Kaufman, whose upcoming movie "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" will be premiering on Netflix later this year, told Wall Street Journal that Hollywood studios are not willing to bet on indie filmmakers as they are more concerned about making tentpoles.
But streamers openly welcome these artistes.
"I could play around and experiment, but the business has changed enormously, and it all happened around 2008 when studios stopped making movies and started making tentpoles," the writer-director said.
"The reason something like Netflix attracts filmmakers is because there's nowhere else to make those things. It's infuriating to me when people say Netflix is ruining movies because -- no, movies ruined movies, studios ruined movies, and that's the truth," he added.
Kaufman, 61, is best known for writing critically-acclaimed films such as "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
His directorial credits include movies like "Synecdoche, New York" and stop motion animated feature "Anomalisa".
"I'm Thinking of Ending Things", which is based on Ian Reid's novel of the same name, features Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette and David Thewlis.
The psychological thriller is about a man who takes his girlfriend to meet with his parents, but they find themselves going on a terrifying detour.
"I was looking for something that somebody would let me direct and it's easier to get something made if it's based on a book, or a comic book, or a movie that's already existed," Kaufman said.
"The producer I work with happened to have a deal with Netflix. I don't know that Netflix knew going in that I was going to make it into something that was less of a thriller than the book, and I don't think I knew that either. The book is leading you to a reveal, and I felt like that might be obvious and disappointing in the movie. Things are more mysterious in words than they are in images," he added.