The Harder They Fall producers explain the reason they chose to release the film on Netflix instead of going with a traditional theatrical release. The film is an all-Black Western with a star-studded cast including Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield, and more. The Harder They Fall incorporates various real-life historical figures such as Nat Love (Majors) and Rufus Black (Elba), in which Love reunites his gang to seek revenge on Black for killing his parents.
The production team on the film consists of director Jeymes Samuel, who wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin. Samuel is also a producer of the film along with Jay-Z, James Lassiter, and Lawrence Bender. Announced in 2019, the film was scheduled to begin filming in March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming was pushed back to September 2020. Netflix released the trailer for The Harder They Fall earlier this year, which promises an action-adventure film including a train heist and breakout, shoots outs, and an anachronistic soundtrack, which may include new tracks from Jay-Z. The film had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 6 and is scheduled to have a limited release to theaters on October 22, before its full release to Netflix on November 3.
Insider reported from the London Film Festival that Samuel and Lassiter stated the reason Netflix is the best platform to release their film is because of the “built-in” racial biases that come with theatrical releases. Samuel says that the movies he makes are not necessarily intended for the small screens, but the larger goal of releasing the film on Netflix was to extend the film’s reach farther than a movie theater could produce. Lassiter acknowledges the biases against films with an all-Black cast being rejected from theaters. Read Lassiter’s full comments below:
“If we’re going to tell a story like this with this cast, the goal is to have as many people around the world have access to it,” Lassiter, who produced the film alongside Jay-Z, said. “And sometimes when you do a theatrical release there are these built-in biases like, ‘No one wants to see an all-Black cast.’ I know for a fact that’s not true but in certain territories around the world they will tell studios ‘this movie is not for us.’ And they’re not really in-tuned with how the young generation feels. So what Netflix allows is around the world, everyone has access to it, and we will have as many people as possible see the movie and that was the goal.”
Samuel reveals that another great benefit of releasing the film on Netflix is the instant availability to everyone. The movie experience is the same for everyone, and this makes the streaming giant a better place for release. He continues to praise Netflix as a partner to the film, showing his appreciation that Netflix embraced the film and “doubled down” its support of the film during the pandemic when the whole industry was at a standstill.
The Western genre of film is historically whitewashed and neglects many BIPOC stories. This film has an amazing cast of Black actors who deserve to have their work appreciated, and racial biases do still exist in many communities. While there has been record breaking success with Black-led films, such as Black Panther (2018), The Harder They Fall is a standalone film outside of a larger franchise without millions of loyal fans. It is understandable why choosing a platform that doesn’t depend on the opinions of a specific theater’s owner is appealing to a film created by people who know the effects of these biases firsthand.
Source: Insider
