Can Netflix Get Serious About Movies Without Alienating Filmmakers?

Can the streaming giant get serious about movies without alienating filmmakers?

- Nicole Laporte

Last summer, Netflix offered Hollywood something unexpected: a rare peek inside the highly secretive streaming service. The company rented out a huge L.A. soundstage and invited each of the major talent agencies to come one by one and watch presentations from the heads of Netflix’s many divisions—from unscripted series to stand-up comedy—as they outlined the company’s ambitions. For Netflix to lavish this kind of attention on agencies—one attendee described the food offerings as “craft services gone wild”—it wanted something. The primary, not-so-secret message to the gatekeepers of the world’s biggest stars? Please make Netflix your destination, not your last resort, for making movies. “How do we convince A-list actors and directors to work at our studio?” is how one agent who was there describes the subtext of Netflix’s message. “How do we one day get Tarantino?”

Since launching its first original show, House of Cards, in 2013, Netflix has more than proven itself in the television game. Buzzy series like Orange Is the New Black and Stranger Things have helped the company grow to 137 million subscribers, and last year, it tied with HBO for the most Emmy trophies.