Actor and producer Reese Witherspoon has dipped her toe in the art-film conversation. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the THR Producer of the Year argued that the artsy-fartsy stuff doesn’t have rewatch potential. But Nancy Meyers movies, on the other hand, actually entice people to come back for more. When asked about the Hollywood idea that rom-coms suffer at the box office and the possibility of shifting that narrative, Witherspoon said that the streamers — particularly studio heads Ted Sarandos or Scott Stuber or Bob Chapek — need to show her the numbers, because she is certain that a particular writer and director’s stuff gets eyeballs on the screen. “I imagine people have watched more Nancy Meyers movies over and over and over again than have seen an auteur’s movie,†she said. “You see an auteur movie once.†She also believes that the new measure of engagement will be repeatability. “I’ve seen some of my favorite romantic comedies and Nora Ephron movies over and over,†she finished. “Repeatability is a big factor in terms of library value.â€
While I, too, am certain that Nancy Meyers movies get more clicks overall, Letterboxd cinephiles would take issue with her statement. (There are some beloved auteur movies!) Or we can be generous and assume that Witherspoon thinks the cult of the auteur produces movies that lack rewatch potential due to one person birthing a whole movie, upholding an individual vision (which could be one-dimensional or problematic) over a collective effort, allowing auteurs to create vanity works that don’t hold up after one watch … But she’s probably just saying that most people don’t watch art films, which, true. I mean, Nancy Meyers made The Parent Trap.