Netflix Plays an Ace

Great title. Upside down flag. Kevin Spacey, capable of playing any shark, with blood dripping from his fingers, sitting in what used to be Lincoln's chair. Poster nails it to the wall.

Have been counting the minutes for this trailer. Thought it might be good. Thought it might be a shot across HBO's bow. But, this... This is fucking great. Robin Wright truly inhabits her character. And, Spacey -- what can you say. He dominates. Direction cuts like a knife. Screenwriting is a bat out of hell. Towering story. Massive potential.

Wow! Netflix draws blood. Fucking WOW! This trailer is so good I used exclamation points and all caps (and freaking italics).

Excuse me while I catch my breath. 'House of Cards' is a crushing steamroller.

























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Netflix Fires Another Shot with 'Hemlock Grove'

Netflix is on a roll with original material. They've got 'Lilyhammer' under way, and have announced 'Orange is the new Black', based on Piper Kerman's memoir subtitled 'My Year in a Women's Prison' which looks great. 'House of Cards' looks strong, too.

Now, comes the announcement Netflix has nailed down an agreement with Eli Roth to direct 'Hemlock Grove' based on Brian McGreevy's novel. Here's the write-up from Amazon:

The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel mill. A manhunt ensues—though the authorities aren’t sure if it’s a man they should be looking for. 

Some suspect an escapee from the White Tower, a foreboding biotech facility owned by the Godfrey family—their personal fortune and the local economy having moved on from Pittsburgh steel—where, if rumors are true, biological experiments of the most unethical kind take place. Others turn to Peter Rumancek, a Gypsy trailer-trash kid who has told impressionable high school classmates that he’s a werewolf. Or perhaps it’s Roman, the son of the late JR Godfrey, who rules the adolescent social scene with the casual arrogance of a cold-blooded aristocrat, his superior status unquestioned despite his decidedly freakish sister, Shelley, whose monstrous medical conditions belie a sweet intelligence, and his otherworldly control freak of a mother, Olivia.

Gothic, loaded with characters who all have an agenda, with (maybe) a supernatural element. Will sustain 13 episodes easily and make for good buzz about what will happen next.

A good move. Netflix is looking like a new go-to source in the making. HBO needs to ratchet it up. Would not be surprised to see Netflix become the new #1 platform down the road. The good news: the consumer wins and more quality content will be available online and (assuming Netflix lands a deal with a cable provider) at home on the big TV.

'Hemlock Grove' will star Famke Janssen and Bill Skarsgård. 


















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Netflix Deals with TWC, gets 'The Artist' Exclusivity

From The Verge:

Netflix and film studio The Weinstein Company have signed a deal that will see a number of speciality films hit the streaming service within one year of their theatrical release.

and

As part of the deal The Artist and Undefeated will make their pay-TV debut on Netflix as opposed to being released on premium cable
















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Netflix One-Ups HBO with 'Orange is the New Black'

Usually, these announcements don't get a lot of traction, but the mention at Bloomberg about Netflix planning a comedy series, 'Orange is the New Black', based on Piper Kerman's memoir subtitled 'My Year in a Women's Prison' is different. Netflix is going head-to-head with HBO with the roll out of  'Lilyhammer' with Steven Van Zandt (yes, from HBO's 'The Sopranos'), and the gearing up of the David Fincher produced political thriller 'House of Cards' starring Kevin Spacey.

Neither 'Lilyhammer' nor 'House of Cards' resonated with me -- not sure the reason. But, with this third original series, it's hard to ignore the Netflix surge. While the other shows certainly seem okay, should be fun, there's something about 'The New Black' that sets it apart. Maybe it's because it's an established property, a memoir that's gotten plenty of notice. Maybe it's because it's a true story about spending over a year in a minimum security facility on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Maybe it's that title -- so cool, so 'I'm fucked, so I might as well take notes'. Whatever it is, you know off the bat this will have good energy, will be able to sustain itself from one episode to the next. I mean, you'd have to really botch this to make it boring.

Series like this, that run over a period of 10-30 episodes, are the new TV. Not only is production value very high -- often better than feature films in both the look and story/screenwriting -- but it's becoming more possible to watch anyplace/anytime on phones or slates, etc., via wi-fi or even 4G, or at home, at your convenience, on that new 80-inch TV. This is good for me as I don't bother with seeing movies at the theater anymore -- increasingly, the trend these days. In the time it takes to get ready, drive to the theater, find parking, stand in line, stand in line again, sit through commercials and trailers, watch a movie (that you paid at least ten bucks for), then drive back home, I can stream a high-quality one-hour episode of 'The New Black' or something like it online at a fraction of the cost, then get a snack and settle in for another episode (I love to watch two or three in a row). 'Click and Watch' is the only way.

I just dig that cover, those orange shoes, that title. There's a very cool story here -- something that's actually worth my time. Looking forward to the Netflix slate. Will be there.

















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Netflix vs. Blockbuster

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Netflix Grabbing Theater Business

Streaming is the future. Who wants to go to theaters anymore? And, of those who still like the theater experience, how many actually go instead of clicking and watching?

Saw this over at Firstshowing. They got it from Gigaom.

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Can't Stand the Netflix Price Hike? Here's Some Options

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