A war is brewing between the Hollywood studios and Netflix: a fight over who can get the best talent.
A war is brewing between the Hollywood studios and Netflix: a fight over who can get the best talent.
The first shot in what will be bloody war between the two content giants happened earlier this year when the Cannes Film Festival banned Netflix originals from debuting movies at the annual event, and director Steven Spielberg said Netflix should be given no Oscar nominations.
Getting the message, Netflix responded by signing two of television’s top producers — Shonda Rhymes and Ryan Murphy — for a multimillion-dollar contract to produce in-house content on the streaming service.
« The Shonda deal was a shot across the bow, and the Ryan Murphy deal was a punch in the face, » one business affairs executive told The Hollywood Reporter .
Studios know the score and are now scrambling to find new talent or protect the talent they already have in fear they could be lured away by Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, or any one of the popular streaming services. « It’s the most competitive overall deal market I’ve ever seen, » says UTA’s Dan Erlij.
« The mad rush for talent has not only forced studios to abandon the one-size-fits-all broadcast-focused pacts that defined the business but it also has driven up prices, particularly for showrunners with multiple series on the air, » reports THR.
To remain competitive, one talent rep says that studios may have to start taking gambles, upping their high-end showrunners’ salaries from $3 million to $5 million a year. « They’ve tried to keep costs down, » said the rep. « But the people that don’t get back into the speculative business will be dead. »
Studios have gotten creative by banding together and signing whatever big name with a proven track record they can find.
« Viacom, in an effort led by CEO Bob Bakish, has inked multiyear deals with both Tyler Perry and Trevor Noah that encompass TV, film and shortform video, » reports THR. « So rather than turn to another studio to adapt his nonfiction book Born a Crime for film, the Daily Show host now will do so at Paramount. »
One edge that studios have over Netflix is their ability to get product into theaters (always a lure). Studios also have the unique ability to sustain hefty marketing campaigns, and the confidence to sell projects in multiple markets. « They’re really pushing the fact that you can sell to outside distributors like streamers and cable networks, » says CAA’s Andrew Miller.
Ultimately, the competition will force both studios and Netflix to think outside the box, which could free up writers and directors to explore more creative content.
