This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.

Hi, my name is Gabby and I am a streaming service addict. (Hi, Gabby.) Whether I am watching the various wig-stylings of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys on The Americans, reading the subtitles of the amazing German coming-of-age spy show Deutschland 83, or procrastinating by mindlessly viewing The Office for the millionth time, I am wholly devoted to my copious streaming service subscriptions. With Netflix, Hulu, HBONow, Shomi, Amazon Instant Video, etc., there are endless movie and television options to occupy myself and avoid having to interact with real people.

Unfortunately, these streaming services have a flaw. I know what you’re thinking. “That seems completely impossible, Gabby! Streaming services are as perfect as Henry Cavill’s bone-structure!” To this I say that while you can watch Henry Cavill and Jonathan Rhys Meyers romp around sixteenth-century England in fabulous period costumes (or sometimes no clothing at all) in The Tudors on Netflix right now, can you watch him fight/look like he’s about to kiss Ben Affleck in the not-so-critically-acclaimed Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice? (Why would you want to, though? Sorry, but Ben Affleck as Batman is garbage. #NotMyBatman) Well, you can see it if you leave the comfort of your bed and go to a real movie theatre like some kind of a weird, functioning member of society.

Batman and Superman sharing an intimate moment. Let’s leave them.

Sean Parker and Prem Akkaraju are making it possible to never leave the warm embrace of your IKEA throw blanket. Parker, of Facebook and Napster-fame, and Akkaraju, a former SFX Entertainment executive, want to bring the blockbuster hits currently playing in theatres to the comfort of your own home. These two beautiful souls want to make it even more convenient to never leave your couch; how lucky we are to be alive right now (obligatory Hamilton reference). In a story released by Variety at the beginning of March, the concept of the Screening Room was introduced to the world at large. The company plans to “secure anti-piracy technology that will offer new releases in the home on the same day they hit theaters” (Variety).

That sounds über amazing, right? Well, it is going to cost you more than your $10 Netflix subscripton. Users will have to first purchase a $150 set-top box (think Apple TV). On top of that, each film will cost $50 for a 48-hour rental period. To make the deal a little sweeter, and to encourage support from movie theatres, you get two free tickets to watch the movie at the actual cinema. The idea here is that the theatres could profit off of concession sales, as if nobody goes to the dollar store before the movie to buy candy and then smuggle it into the theatre in their purses like it’s harmful political propaganda.

Another intriguing part of the service for movie theatres could be its possible solution to content theft. Most recently, individuals who received Oscar screeners released many of the movies online, some before they were even released in theatres. As innocent as it may seem to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens on a pirated-film website, it is a huge problem that is impacting the movie industry. (“All film is art!” activism moment over.) Movies end up being torrented online almost immediately after their release, and Screening Room could use their new anti-piracy technology to prevent this rampant activity from occurring.

Disclaimer: This entire paragraph reads like a less funny version of The Big Short script. Movie studios and distributers have mixed reactions to the service. Sources say that the company is near closing a deal with AMC, “which is poised to be the world’s largest exhibitor if its acquisition of Carmike Cinemas is approved by regulators” (Variety). Universal, Fox, and Sony have all shown immense interest in the project, so the next 50 Shades of Grey movie could be part of the deal (which I am sure was the sole basis for this entire endeavor). The corporate overlords at Disney have expressed no interest in the project. (The chances of me watching Ewan McGregor sing “Be Our Guest” in the new Beauty and the Beast from my couch have been viciously ripped from my hands.) It could prove to be a financial success for the involved distributors and theatres. In the end, the numbers come out as such: for the $50 cost of each film, 10% goes to the Screening Room, 20% goes to the distributors, and up to 40% goes to the movie theatres (BGR).

A downfall of the Screening Room, through the eyes of distributors anyway, is the company’s desire to be an exclusive content partner. Studios such as Universal release movies through their parent company Comcast, and Sony does something similar with Play Station, so they might be hesitant to enter into that kind of arrangement.

On the creative end of things, filmmakers James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, Roland Emmerich, and M. Night Shyamalan have been vocal about their problems with the Screening Room. M. Night Shyamalan stated, “The movie-going experience is something to fight for” (Variety). Despite this, the Screening Room does have some amazing filmmakers in their corner such as Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams (Lost was incredibly problematic. #NeverForget), Peter Jackson, Ron Howard, and Martin Scorsese (who probably just wants to have people talking about something other than how disappointing Vinyl is).

What I want to do to my computer after watching Vinyl, yet another show about a sad, middle-aged white guy and his issues. Am I digressing? Yes. The answer to this question will always be yes.

With all of the boring logistics out of the way, let’s examine the thought of actually using the Screening Room. The costs may appear steep to the consumer at first glance. Upon closer inpection, you can see this is not necessarily the case. Once you purchase the $150 box, each film would cost $50. Imagine you have a group of 4 friends (which, good for you); the cost of driving to the movie theatre, paying for the tickets, buying popcorn and drinks (Not candy. Remember? You smuggled it in.) would be way more than $50. It is also important to remember you get 2 free movie tickets with the purchased streaming film.

As a student living alone in an apartment, I might not find the value in the Screening Room the way that a larger family might. I still find it an incredibly intriguing concept. Although, I probably do not need to see Bridget Jones’s Baby so badly that I would pay $50 to watch it alone the day it comes out. (On the other hand, I would be mortified for anyone to physically see me pay actual money to see it, so it may be useful to me in this instance.)

No matter what any emotional resentment or adoration towards the Screening Room I harbor, it would present me with a new way to do something I already love doing, and technology can be pretty cool sometimes. I still have some pauses towards it, though. Despite my jokes, the romantic in me does genuinely enjoy going to a movie and the whole cinema experience. There is no way I would have been able to suffer through The Revenant had it not been projected onto a larger-than-life screen with the surround sound thundering around me; the cinematography was something that would not have the same effect on a regular television screen. The mere thought of having to sit through it without being able to marvel at the technicalities makes me feel like sad Ben Affleck (I was really just looking for an excuse to include this because it is the greatest thing to happen to the world in my 20-years, so I’ll just leave you with that.):

Sources obtained from:

The Screening Room: Bringing Blockbusters to Your Home ASAP

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