In wake of Amazon’s recent oscar victory, Netflix is now doubling down on its original movie production ambitions with its latest and significant hiring. The on-demand video streaming giant has been producing original content for quite some time but without prestige and much recognition. To fix the same, it has now hired veteran film producer Scott Stuber and aims to release over 30 films this year itself.
Though Stuber’s name might sound unfamiliar at first, but he has deep ties with the Hollywood industry. He is currently running his own production studio Bluegrass Films with Dylan Clark, which falls under Universal Pictures. But prior to this, he was appointed as the former vice chairman of worldwide production at Universal. And what is even interesting, Stuber was being aggressively courted by Viacom to be appointed as the chairman of Paramount Pictures.
But, if that’s not enough for you to understand his position in the industry then the movie titles he’s been associated with will definitely make you realize it. He’s produced the journalism thriller Kill the Messenger, comedy movies Ted, Ted 2 and Central Intelligence. He’s also known to have produced the intense sci-fi action drama Battleship and recent Boston Marathon bombing movie, Patriot’s Day.
At Netflix, Scott Stuber will now be responsible for the development, production, and acquisition of high profile film properties that’ll premiere on the streaming service. This is a significant signing for Netflix, who looks to be focusing its attention extensively on movie production in the coming months. And why shouldn’t it be, when it is being bogged down by its arch-nemesis Amazon Prime Video.
Commenting on this appointment, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said,
Scott is well known and respected in the film industry. His innovative work and strong talent relationships should help accelerate the Netflix original film initiative as we enter into a new phase of big global productions with some of the greatest directors, actors and writers in the film business.
This is an unprecedented time of change and opportunity and we look forward to having Scott lead the way as we help evolve the way films are made, distributed and celebrated around the world.
Further, as Bloomberg rightly mentions, the filmmakers are continuing to develop their projects with the theater experience in mind. They believe that their Hollywood movie titles will eventually make their way to streaming services in time but this ideology is hurting Netflix’s business. Amazon Prime Video also plays a part in the same, as it first debuts its movies in theaters before making it available on the platform — which helps it bag some more revenues. Netflix, on the other hand, is still restricted to their platform itself.
This development comes just weeks after the Academy awards, where Amazon flourished and bagged several honors in comparison to Netflix’s one statue. Netflix was awarded a statue for Best Foreign Film, while Amazon Prime Video took home three statues — one for Iranian film The Salesman, and two for Roadside Attraction’s Manchester by the Sea starring Casey Affleck. Seeing the trend, Netflix has finally decided to tread down the path already taken by Amazon earlier in 2015 — who also hired a big time producer to lead their movie efforts.
