One of the reasons so many acclaimed filmmakers, including those who had previously overturned the idea of shooting a movie exclusively for streaming, is giving up their word and heading to the small screen is the amount of creative freedom on offer. .
Platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, AppleTV + and HBO Max do not have to worry about ticket revenue or studio politics, so the talents are largely free to make their films exactly as envisioned. However, this does not mean that streamers are going to shoot anything that is offered to them, as Mike Leigh can confirm.
The veteran writer, director and playwright has been making small-scale independent dramas for 50 years, with seven Oscar nominations and one Golden Palm victory at the Cannes Film Festival by five nods in his name, yet he revealed in an interview with iNews that fell behind Netflix.
“I find that I have problems finding funding. People want to know what it is and why it is. Netflix just rejected me, which is a shame, because they have a lot of money. They said they could not think of supporting it without knowing who the cast was or what it was about. It’s nonsense, because if they did, people would watch it – because it would be there. “
Having spent over $ 200 million on Red alert, it’s a pity Netflix has not been able to save money compared to Mike Leigh’s next run. We have only seen two new films from the 78-year-old in the last decade and he has spoken openly about how the failure to secure funding was a huge reason behind it.
