‘Presence’ horror movie director, Steven Soderbergh calls himself ‘cockroach of industry’: ‘I can survive any…’

‘Presence’ horror movie director Steven Soderbergh has called himself as the ‘cockroach” of the film industry as he expressed confidence that he can adapt and stay relevant with the changing demand of the audience. 

Steven Soderbergh is receiving acclaim for his movie ‘Presence’, which is a horror movie. News agency Associated Press, in its movie review, called the movie a nailbitting horror which “traps the audience in a beautiful suburban home.”

“The camera is the ghost in Steven Soderbergh’s chillingly effective, experiential haunted house drama Presence,” according to AP’s review of movie ‘Presence’

Audience is like a weather system

Steven Soderbergh has received recognition for his several critically acclaimed movies. In an interaction with AP, Steven Soderbergh, admitted that the present scenario is not the period when most popular movies of the year are also the best movies of the year.

“There was a period of about 10 to 14 year where the best movies of the year were also the most popular movies of the year. That’s not necessarily true anymore,” AP quoted Soderbergh as saying. 

Addressing the changing dynamics of the film industry, Soderbergh, said, “It’s the artist’s job to adapt.”

“When it comes to trying to control what people want to go see, you’re now in a place like: “If I really wish hard, it won’t rain.” The weather is the weather. To a certain degree, the audience is a weather system,” he added. 

PResence movie was released on 19 January. The unique approach to the horror movie posed a major challenge for Soderbergh, who shot “Presence” with a small digital camera while wearing slippers to soften his steps.

Other films of Soderbergh, are “Out of Sight”, the “Ocean’s 11” movies, “Magic Mike” and “Erin Brockovich”, etc.

‘Streaming is the most destructive force for movies’

“It removes a key reference point for an artist. It’s helpful to know how something is doing, or how it did. You need to know that to calibrate whether you accomplished what you wanted to accomplish, whether you can work at a certain level. That’s one of the most confusing things about it, the black box of it,” he told AP.

Soderbergh also added that the “economic invisibility” of the streaming copanies makes it difficult to understand how a movie has performed.

“At the end of the day, I, at least, want to know. The market will tell you how you’re doing. I want to know that so I can adjust or go in another direction. Being irrelevant isn’t very appealing. What is the overlap between what people seem to be responding to and what I like? Because I don’t want to make these things and have nobody see them. I’ve had enough people say, “Oh, did that come out?” It’s a public art form.