Netflix isn’t just a threat to Hollywood, they are Hollywood. The DVD rental company turned streaming giant turned TV and movie producer and distributor of original content are shaking the walls of tradition around town. And perhaps the scariest thing for the old guard is that Netflix doesn’t just have bold ideas, they have the money to back it up.
Earlier this month, the company scooped up the David Michod-directed, Brad Pitt-starring satire "War Machine." Okay, so Netflix acquired another prestige project with huge talent attached. No big deal, right? Well, here’s the other part that wasn’t reported at the time: Netflix is ready to fork over the money for the film’s $60 million budget. And this fact is even more significant given that big time backers New Regency and RatPac Entertainment, where the movie was originally set up, wanted the budget lowered. So Pitt and co. took their project elsewhere and got it fully financed at the figure they wanted by the competition.
And Netflix seems to be establishing themselves as a place for the kinds of movies that studios are making far less of these days as they chase blockbuster dollars. Case in point, Cary Fukunaga‘s "Beasts Of No Nation." And the company is eager to make a major imprint on the Oscars, with ‘Beasts’ as the vehicle to do just that. According to THR, Netflix is looking premiere the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival, which will launch an awards campaign for the movie.
At this point, Netflix is still viewed by many as an outsider to the system, but given how much talent they count under their roof, there really shouldn’t be any lingering doubt that they are the real deal.
