Netflix Signs Four Picture Deal With The Duplass Brothers
Indie directors and mumblecore royalty theDuplass Brothersare the latest filmmakers to jump to Netflix. The streaming service, which produces original content faster than the speed of sound, just inked a four-picture deal withJay and Mark Duplass.
Can anything stop Netflix? More and more filmmakers have made the leap to Netflix as the streaming giant strives to grow its original content. The latest directors to climb aboard the Netflix train are the Duplass Brothers, the filmmakers behind mumblecore flicks likeThe One I Love,The Overnight,Creep,CyrusandJeff Who Lives At Home.
The Duplass Brothers already have their first Netflix feature lined-up: an untitled film starringRay Romano. Described as “a bittersweet bromance about friendship, mortality, and made-up sports, the film recently wrapped production starring Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond,The Big Sick) and Mark Duplass.”
The untitled film comes fromBlue JayfilmmakerAlex Lehmann, who co-wrote the script with Mark Duplass. I could do without the term “bromance” in that description, but beyond that, this sounds promising. Romano is an actor who got typecast by his work onEverybody Loves Raymond, but his standout performance inThe Big Sickrevealed his untapped potential.
These four films won’t be the brothers' first foray into the land of Netflix. In 2015, Netflix signed an SVOD deal that includedBlue Jay,Take Me,Creep 2, and the upcomingDuck ButterandOutside In. This gave Netflix exclusive worldwide SVOD distribution after a brief theatrical release window. Of their new Netflix deal, the Duplass Brothers said:
“Turns out when you make films for Netflix, millions of people all over the world watch them. This is not a terrible thing for an independent filmmaker. As Netflix continues to grow and develop new ways to reach viewers, we couldn’t be more thrilled to grow our partnership.”
Ian Bricke, director of independent film at Netflix, added:
Netflix Deal$
The Duplass Brothers join an ever-growing list of talent who are lining up to work with Netflix. Recently,American Horror Storycreator Ryan Murphyinked a big dealwith Netflix. Shonda Rhimes also signed adeal last year. Comic book writer Mark Millar got into theNetflix businesslast year as well. Filmmaker Luc Besson and his EuropaCorp are alsomulling over a dealwith Netflix. Just a few weeks ago, Paramount made history by dumping the recentCloverfieldmovieonto the streaming service, with Netflix paying more than$50 millionfor the film. And then you have Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipatedThe Irishman, which is currently filming and racking up ahefty productionbudget in the process.
The Netflix bubble may burst some day, but for now, the brand appears to be alive and kicking.
