Netflix cancels Nancy Meyers’ movie, depriving viewers of one heck of a kitchen
Netflix has finally found a limit to its spending, and her name is Nancy Meyers
Aux News Nancy Meyers
For years, Netflix has touted itself as a place where filmmakers can produce their passion projects, where Martin Scorsese can make his Irishman, Guillermo Del Toro, Pinocchio, and Alfonso Cuarón, Roma. As for American auteur Nancy Meyers, the director of Something’s Gotta Give and The Intern, there’s simply no money for a delightful romantic comedy set in a tastefully-decorated Cape Cod mansion.
Netflix is pulling the plug on Meyers’ latest over, what else, a budgeting disagreement. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the streamer was willing to open its coffers to $130 million and not one cent more. However, Meyers needs a budget of $150 million, and because this movie isn’t called Extraction, that’s a no-go. So the Russos can spend $200 million on something called The Gray Man, but we can’t get a $150 million Nancy Meyers kitchen in which Owen Wilson can apologize to Penelope Cruz? The movie would’ve been her first in close to a decade. Maybe she could consider making one of the characters [sigh] a spy with amnesia.
Meyers spends a lot but gets the goods, attracting big stars and generating massive returns. Her directorial features have generated over $1.3 billion worldwide, not including licensing to planes and cable. Moreover, they’re good movies made by someone who knows what they’re doing. Yet, Netflix’s model, which continues to make zero sense, doesn’t care much for making money directly from the movies they produce, forgoing theatrical in lieu of dumping movies into an algorithm that helps Dreamworks’ Turbo enter its top 10. The weird shit that ends up in that top 10 is mind-boggling sometimes.
As with any Meyers’ project, stars circled the project, with Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender, and Owen Wilson reportedly interested in the film, which may have been named Paris Paramount. It was to follow a writer-director who falls in love with their producer, and the pair find great success in the movie business but eventually break up. However, a new project brings them back together as they have to sort through their emotional problems and, worse, that of their stars. God, who the hell wouldn’t want to watch that?
Anyway, it’s not happening because we live in hell, and nothing’s good anymore.
25 Comments
This article is stretching hard to make me care about a rich lady and her grotesquely lavish surrounds but I guess it’s cos I’m eating a sandwich in my kitchen/dining/lounge room but I can’t really seem to feel sad for her.
Me. That’s my answer. I do ot want to see that. This seems like one of the smarter decisions Netflix has made recently. You don’t need that much money to create pleasing but banal production design. I’m sure most of the budget is for above- the-line acting contracts, though. But in the age of Tyler Perry and shitty streaming residuals, there are ways to circumvent costs – legally and illegally.
Maybe drop some of your needs, spoiled twat.
“they’re good movies”, lmao
“For years, Netflix has touted itself as a place where filmmakers can produce their passion projects,…”C’mon, these people are already Hollywood royalty – with contacts (etc.) out the wazoo. Let them raise the money and find their own way to distribute their work.
I’m imaging Scorcese setting up a Patreon account. Or an Onlyfans one (don’t kink shame!)
Netflix had better watch out, they’ve just upset Rosa Diaz.
another “crime” against women, huh, asshole site?
The problem with the Netflix film model, is that the overpay for talent. I suspect it’s because of the lack of theatrical distribution for boxoffice points, but while the Netflix tv shows look cinematic, I find the movies look cheap and underwhelming despite massive budgets
I’m struggling to understand why a (presumed) romcom could possibly need a $150 million budget. Unless Johansson, Fassbender, Cruz, and Wilson wanted $35 million each?
Despite my snarky response earlier, I think you are right. It has to be salaries.
“However, Meyers needs a budget of $150 million”How the hell do you spend that much money for a rom com?
Edited because wrong story! Whoops!
It’s a really nice kitchen.
Food better cook itself for that much money, damn!
I see maybe $50 grand worth of kitchen there.
Hollywood accounting on top of contractor accounting
Oh yeah, I see, factor in some cop math and you’re at $50mil easy!
This makes absolute sense when you realize that Nancy Meyer’s projects pretty much only work domestically and not internationally.
(Also the logline sounds terrible but that’s subjective)
Domestic returns bring much more money to the studio though (they get something like 60% of a ticket price, compared to around 20% internationally, and tickets are a lot cheaper in other parts of the world), and China doesn’t have Netflix anyway. Their primary market is still the US.
This isn’t a big action film that will play well worldwide. This is a romantic comedy. They can make a similar rom com and get 85% of the same viewership for $5 million or less.
If you can’t get a decent rom-com made for $130 million, you probably shouldn’t be in the movie business.
How could Meyers says “no I can’t do it for 130millions” is the real question here.wtf
I would. I hate the proliferation of drug runner crime stories. A nice ROM com is needed. Barf netflix.