In the early 2000s, Jean-Claude Van Damme already knew where cinema was moving. Today, the streaming service shows that its predictions are surprisingly accurate.
He confidently explained to Thierry Ardisson and Laurent Baffie: “We will distribute the films by telephone, this is the first time we have done that.”
Jean-Claude Van Damme: This is the concept of streaming
The audience laughed, but Van Damme’s vision was clear. He wanted to use the Internet to promote films around the world and make them accessible to millions of viewers.
The vision is more than simple online advertising: “We will announce films from each country on the Internet, then we will go online, and then we will be satisfied with the broadcast.” Still, it’s clear that he understood the concept of streaming long before it became a reality.
Van Damme’s streaming predictions have been confirmed
Van Damme’s prediction was more than just a coincidence. He even explained how his model could reach hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide: “We’ll be able to reach 250 million viewers. That’s a great deal for a quality film for $1.99.” He had in mind affordability, fast access and global reach – a vision that is now standard in streaming.
Currently the action star can be seen on platforms such as Netflix with “The Last Mercenary”, on Prime Video with “Jean-Claude Van Johnson” or in the VOD film “Kill ‘Em All 2”. Van Damme’s predictions at that time came true: the cinema of the future had long become the cinema of the present – and his action heroes were far ahead of their time.
