NETFLIX HAVE OUTDONE THEMSELVES HERE BY PICKING UP MARTIN SCORSESES BIG BUDGET FILM ' THE IRISHMAN' STARRING ROBERT DE NIRO!

 

The biggest changes in Hollywood generally happen in a series of steps more so than one single big event. Examples of that are the “talkies,” the shift towards colour, the fall of the Hays Code, and changes in aspect ratio, just to name a few. This weekend’s Academy Awards shed light on two more trends in production at the traditional studios, namely the increase in big budget franchise films and the corresponding decrease in smaller budget films (especially those that might attract awards attention). 

Now, streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon are progressively stepping up their presence, working with big names like Matt Damon, Woody Allen, and Guillermo Del Toro and many more, but this week’s news concerns possibly the biggest online “get” yet, and it’s not just the “who” of it, but also the size of the budget. Netflix has scooped up the rights to director Martin Scorsese’s $100 million budget gangster drama The Irishman, his ninth film with Robert De Niro.

The Irishman is dripping with prestige, with a screenplay by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, American Gangster), who is adapting the non-fiction book I Heard You Paint Houses, and both Al Pacino and Joe Pesci long mentioned as potential stars. This deal comes as Paramount Pictures hesitated to pull the trigger on The Irishman, but STX Entertainment, a former partner on The Irishman, is reportedly considering legal options about the move to Netflix.

It’s also worth noting that the move is also considered by many to be a result of another shift at Paramount, as we also learned this week that longtime CEO Brad Grey was in talks with Viacom to depart his post at Paramount Pictures, which has also already been officially confirmed.