Andrew Dominik‘s “Blonde” is one of the Fall’s biggest movies for several reasons. For one, it’s Dominik’s first feature film since 2012’s “Killing Them Softly.” “Blonde” is also a project long in the making, taking fourteen years of development to reach audiences finally. It’s also a huge role for Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, one of the most famous movie stars ever.
And then there’s the fact that “Blonde” boasts an NC-17 rating, the first in Netflix‘s history. A rating that severe usually spells doom for a film’s success, but Netflix has stood by the film since that rating was first announced. And in a new interview with Deadline, Dominik refuted rumors that Netflix got anxious after the NC-17 rating and thought about selling it off. “Well, no, the film would not exist without Netflix,” said Dominik. “No, Nobody else would pay for the thing except Netflix. They were the ones that were brave enough to take it on. But we’re in a time period that’s all over the place so naturally there were some anxieties.”
Since Netflix was brave enough to take on “Blonde,” it’s no surprise that, despite a few qualms, they stood by the film after its severe rating, too. And from what Dominik told Deadline, Netflix also supported his creative vision even though he technically didn’t deliver the movie he promised. “In the end, they completely supported what I wanted to do, to the point where I had actually signed a piece of paper saying I would deliver an R-rated movie,” Dominik continued. “I think everybody realized that the NC-17 rating would hurt the film. But, they’ve supported the version of the film that I made and you can’t ask for more than that. It’s the only film that I’ve made where I’ve not had to make concessions.”
What does this foretell about future Netflix projects, though? Will the streamer make exceptions for other movies down the line that are a little more extreme than a typical R-Rated film? Thanks to its lackluster earnings and loss of subscribers this year, there are rumblings that Netflix is streamlining many things internally, emphasizing quality over quantity. Does supporting Dominik’s auteurist vision and other movies similar to “Blonde” fit into Netflix’s shifting business model? It’s an interesting question, especially when one considers Netflix’s relationship with other directors and their creativity, like Rian Johnson and “Knives Out.”
In any case, Dominik’s Deadline interview confirms that “Blonde” is and always will be a Netflix movie, NC-17 rating and all. Without the streamer’s involvement, the film would likely never have been made. “Blonde” begins streaming on Netflix on September 28.