Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019E5

on Netflix, after DreamWorks
Animation’s “The Boss Baby:
Back in Business.”
Encouraged by the suc-
cess, the streaming giant is
doubling down on interna-
tional animated originals
from India and other coun-
tries. “Mighty Little Bheem,”
created by Hyderabad-based
Green Gold Animation, will
unveil its second season this
week. And on Monday, Net-
flix announced it had green-
lighted a third season.
The series, which is being
distributed and financed by
Netflix, is part of the compa-
ny’s larger push to support
international animators as it
adds subscribers globally, es-
pecially in large and emerg-
ing markets like India.
“As we become more and
more global, we really want
that content to reflect the
global nature of Netflix, and
we’re finding the best way to
do that is to empower crea-
tors all over the world to
make the show that they wish
their children could grow up
watching,” said Melissa
Cobb, vice president of origi-
nal animation for Netflix.
Other international ani-
mated originals coming to
Netflix include “Dino Girl
Gauko” from Japan, “The
Nutty Boy” from Brazil and
the Zambian story “Mama
K’s Team 4.”
The effort comes at a time
when Netflix is facing a do-
mestic slowdown in subscrib-
ers, as more streaming com-
petitors enter the market.
Research firm eMarketer es-
timates that Netflix will see a
drop in its market share this
year, capturing 87% of U.S.
consumers who pay to
stream video on the internet,
down from 90% in 2014. By
2023, Netflix’s market share
will drop to about 86% as
Hulu and Amazon gain more
business, according to eMar-
keter’s estimates.

“It’s a sign of more compe- tition,” said eMarketer analyst Ross Benes. For Netflix to expand its audience, “that growth is going to have to start coming increasingly from other countries,” he said. Last quarter, Netflix re- ported a decline of 126,000 U.S. subscribers, its most no- table quarterly shortfall since 2011. In addition, Net- flix’s total number of paid subscribers fell short of the company’s original forecast of 153.9 million. Instead, the total number was 151.6 million last quarter. Contributing to the domestic decline was the mix of shows and films, as well as Netflix raising prices earlier this year to help pay for more original content. More competitors will also enter the market later this year, including streaming services Disney+ and Ap- ple TV+. And pressure has been building on the Los Gatos company to expand its li- brary with new original content as media companies pull their popular shows like “The Office” and “Friends” from Netflix and place them on their own streaming services. Enter Green Gold Anima- tion, which already had a popular animated series in India, “Chhota Bheem,” about a young boy who has extraordinary strength and lives in a rural Indian village in the fictional kingdom of Dholakpur.

Related goals Green Gold wanted to find a way to reach international audiences, and Netflix wanted to expand its reach in India. For years, Green Gold tried to reach out to international TV stations to get its content aired, but the company couldn’t get any trac- tion, said founder and Chief

Executive Rajiv Chilaka. “They just decided that this won’t work for my audience,” Chilaka said. “ ‘Your storytelling is different. This is something our kids would not watch,’ ” he said he was told. But the company found a willing partner in Netflix, whose executive first met with the studio in 2016. Netflix wanted to create a show with Green Gold and felt that there was lack of pre- school content in India. While the streaming giant sought to increase its reach in India, it was also eager to broaden the appeal of the series globally, so changes were made. The new series would feature Bheem as a baby and scenes were adjusted. For example, one episode was tweaked so the children were fighting over a ball of

yarn instead of a big piece of cake. The concern was the message it would send to children in countries where obe- sity is a problem, said Marc Lumer, Green Gold’s vice president and head of U.S. operations. Though the program is distinctly Indian, its absence of dialogue and universal themes such as Bheem’s lov- ing bond with his mother lend it broad cross-cultural appeal. Now, the series is streamed in 190 countries on Netflix. A “Mighty Little Bheem” clip on the Netflix Kids & Family YouTube channel uploaded in May was the site’s highest-performing video, attracting about 80 million views as of July 22. “The world is becoming a smaller place,” Chilaka said. “We realized that we needed to find the right platform to access this kind of thing and thankfully, we’d known Net- flix was expanding all over the globe, with an opportunity for a company like ours to showcase our talents.” Netflix did not disclose fi- nancial terms of its partner- ship or the show’s budget. “Mighty Little Bheem’s” popularity has given a boost to Green Gold, affording the

company exposure to more viewers abroad. It now has more than 1,400 employees, with offices in India, Los An- geles, Singapore and the Philippines. Chilaka was inspired to pursue a career in animation after reading about Walt Dis- ney when he was a graduate student in computer science at the University of Missouri- Kansas City. He became inspired by Disney’s career and launched an animation studio in India out of his house in 2001. “There is so much poten- tial to do stories which are from India, of Indian stories,” Chilaka said. “Indian kids need a role model. They need to have characters that they can identify with.” India is a significant market for Netflix, based on its population of more than 1.3 billion and its growing afflu- ence. The number of Netflix subscribers in India is rapidly increasing, from just 1.4 million in 2018 to 4.1 million in 2019, according to research firm IHS Markit. One of its major streaming competitors there is Amazon Prime Video, which continues to best Netflix in the country with 4.4 million subscribers, IHS Markit said. Part of the issue is that Netflix may be priced too high for some in India. The annual cost of Amazon Prime Video in India is about $14. That’s roughly the cost of two months of Netflix, said Jun Wen Woo, a senior analyst of video and mobile media with IHS Markit. Even pay TV in India can be cheaper than Netflix, she added. With that in mind, Netflix has launched a lower-priced tier in India that costs about $3 a month for people who view the service only on mobile devices. “It’s a huge priority, In- dia,” Cobb said, adding that in India, many families like to

watch entertainment together. That’s a trend re- flected globally across Net- flix, with nearly 60% of subscribers watching family content each month. Part of that content includes shows like “Mighty Lit- tle Bheem,” which has episodes that are around six minutes long. Parents and kids can binge an extra episode together without delay- ing bedtime for too long. The third season will include 15 episodes as well as two holi- day specials. “We want the family to be able to go to Netflix for all of their viewing needs, so that everybody could have their fa- vorite show on Netflix,” Cobb said. “We try to focus in gen- eral to the broadest audience, because that’s who is paying for the service, and we want to make sure that they have something to watch that re- flects their family dynamics.”

Beyond animation In addition to kid-centric shows, Netflix also has live- action productions in Hindi. The company recently announced five new originals in India, including “Betaal,”a series that pits police against zombie redcoats. “Growth in that country is a marathon,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said in a presentation to in- vestors in July. “So we’re in it for the long haul, and we’re seeing nice, steady progress.” Shows that originate in In- dia can also translate well in- ternationally. For example, “Mighty Little Bheem” has large followings in the U.S., Brazil and Mexico, among other countries. “We really hoped that it would connect with audiences in India, and I think the thing that delighted us was discovering what it means for audiences throughout the globe,” Cobb said.

Netflix bets on its growth in the global market

“DINO GIRL GAUKO”from Japan is among the international animated originals coming to Netflix.

Netflix

[Netflix, from E1]

The heady mix isn’t ex-
actly unfamiliar in the sci-fi
genre — films ranging from
“2001: A Space Odyssey” to
the more recent “Gravity”
and “Interstellar” have pitted
humans’ exploration of the
universe against an explo-
ration of the soul. But it’s still
rarefied air for a major studio
film in a landscape increas-
ingly dominated by fran-
chises. And bringing “Ad As-
tra” to the screen was no walk
in the stars.
Post-production delays,
multiple release date
changes and the monumen-
tal acquisition of 21st Century
Fox by the Walt Disney Co.
have led to a series of ques-
tions and concerns about the
film and how it will be re-
ceived. (Or, at one perilous
point earlier this summer, if it
would ever be received at all.)
Production on “Ad Astra”
wrapped late in 2017, after
which Gray entered into a
long post-production proc-
ess. The movie was slated to
be released in January, with
speculation it could factor
into the 2018 Oscar race with
an awards-qualifying run, but
was then moved to May, with
many expecting it to pre-
miere at the Cannes Film
Festival, considering Gray’s
international festival circuit
track record.
But as the release date
loomed and no trailer or mar-
keting materials had sur-
faced, Disney announced a
new release date a little less
than three weeks before it
was scheduled to hit thea-
ters.
That date — Sept. 20 —
stuck and the Venice bow was
announced in late July.
“I won’t lie to you, it’s
strange that you make this
adult-oriented science fiction
epic and it’s the Disney cor-
poration that’s releasing it,”
Gray said. “But having said
that, they’ve been fantastic.
They love the film, they’ve
been really embracing of it.
“What people don’t under-
stand when they ask,
‘Where’s your movie?,’ it’s
like, my movie is a pimple on
the ass of a $71-billion deal be-
tween two behemoths. And I
don’t think people get that
really,” said Gray. “I mean,
that is a weird circumstance.
It just is.”
Pitt and producing part-
ners Dede Gardner and Jere-
my Kleiner at his production
company Plan B, who won
best picture Oscars for “12
Years A Slave” and “Moon-
light,” previously worked
with Gray on “The Lost City
of Z.” (Pitt was for a time atta-
ched to star, in a role eventu-
ally played by Charlie Hun-
nam.)

The company’s titles include “World War Z” and “The Tree of Life,” both of which also starred Pitt and faced delays and revisions on their way to being finished, leading Kleiner to declare post-production on “Ad As- tra” as “par for the course.” For his part, Pitt feels that any delays in finishing the film and seeing it released were just part of the process. “I don’t spend any time on that. Each film is its own beast and to get all the tum- blers in line and open the lock, it takes what it takes,” said Pitt. “So yes, we love the story if a film’s in trouble. I would say it was the most challenging film I have ever embarked on. I learned something from this one. And I know James did too.” Working with “Interstel- lar” cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, “All That Jazz” costume designer Al- bert Wolsky and returning production designer Kevin Thompson, “Ad Astra” saw Gray making a tremendous step up in budget, to around $80 million before tax breaks, plus dealing with a level of visual effects work that was new to him. “You know, I have a lot of flaws and one of them is that I miscalculate degree of diffi- culty,” Gray said. “The jungle [for ‘The Lost City of Z’] was really terrible and very diffi- cult physically. But I thought

mistakenly that I was going to go into a soundstage and I would be in L.A. and it would be easier. And it was harder. It was harder than the jungle because you have to create the entire world. You can’t just look for a shot, point the camera. Everything has to be imagined.”

A similar vision The production of “Ad As- tra” at times demanded cre- ating both horizontal and vertical versions of the same sets to portray the effects of zero gravity. Filming also took place at a surprising number of practical loca- tions around Los Angeles County, including a former Times printing facility. Yet despite its increased budget and sci-fi scale, “Ad Astra” feels of a piece with Gray’s previous work, including the critically acclaimed indie dramas “Two Lovers” and “The Immigrant.” “I think it’s not a thematic leap,” Gardner said of back- ing Gray’s vision for the film. “And so to me that’s the thing to protect for above all else. There can be more days or bigger equipment or more money, but if you’re in some- one’s emotional slipstream, you feel safe regardless of scale. I think we were always from the beginning inter- ested in the physical stakes matching the emotional stakes.”

For Pitt, those emotional stakes, McBride’s glacial stoi- cism slowly melting away, provided an opportunity for personal reflection as well. “James and I were both on the same investigation. I certainly grew up in an era of, you know, men show strength. You don’t show weakness. We are capable in all situations,” Pitt said. “And there is a strength in that, but also what comes with that is an in- ability to take a personal in- ventory on oneself. “And so we were asking the question, what’s the real value of living? Why do this? Why go on? And that is human connection. That is friends and family. And so also what is the definition of a man? Could it be that our true strength comes from a vulnerability. Could it be that confidence, true confidence comes from totally embracing our individual weak- nesses and being quite open with that?” Even though Gray and Pitt have known each other for many years, this is the first time they have worked together as director and actor. Before shooting began, Gray reached out to filmmaker David Fincher, who directed Pitt in “Seven,” “Fight Club” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” to ask what it was like directing the Oscar-nominated star. “He is an unbelievably

subtle actor in a way that I didn’t even anticipate,” Gray said. “And he’s extremely in- telligent, very shrewd, under- stands human behavior very well. In some sense, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but Pitt is kind of an underrated actor. On a technical level, underrated. And it’s a pleasure to work with some- one like that. “The expression is he can fill it up, which means you give him some tidbits and he does the work,” Gray said. “He thinks about it, you roll the camera, all of a sudden you can see the inner work- ings, the turmoil. It’s, I think, an incredible performance. It’s not showy at all. I have no idea what the world will think, but it is for my money great work.”

One man’s mission Although the cast of “Ad Astra” also includes Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler, John Ortiz, Kim- berly Elise and Natasha Ly- onne, much of the movie finds Pitt on his own, moving from location to location in his search for his father, giv- ing the film an austere, tac- iturn air. Gray acknowledged that the story has built-in “whammos” (his word) — action beats to keep the audience invigorated and in- vested. “You can’t make an Ing- mar Bergman movie. You

have to embrace what an audience will need as red meat, as a sugarcoating of the pill,” Gray said. “And so you ask yourself, is it worth it to ex- press yourself on this scale, but include red meat and some sugarcoated pill for the audience, or to say ‘No, no, I have no interest in communi- cating anything but precisely what it is I’m after,’ in which case, good, you’ve got no movie. And I would rather have a movie.” One aspect of “Ad Astra” altered from Gray’s original conception is the film’s ending, which concludes with a scene shot earlier this year. “I certainly felt that I had already pushed the envelope on the film, that in the cur- rent climate of movies that we had been as bold as we could be,” Gray said. “And if this was a compromise that I had to make, then I was willing to do it to get the film out there. I mean, that’s just as honest and straightforward as I can be about it.” “I don’t see it as a change, I see it as evolved,” said Pitt of the new ending. “From the beginning when we started with the script, the basic structure was there, the architecture of ‘we’re going to go to the moon, then we’re going to go to Mars and then we’re going to go to Neptune.’ But so much of it has con- stantly been in flux, I don’t see that as change. I see that as a natural part of its growth.” Through it all, Gray still sees the final result as the film he wanted to make. Much as the character of Mc- Bride comes to learn that he needs other people after all, in making “Ad Astra” Gray gained a newfound apprecia- tion for compromise and collaboration. “It’s about what it is that I had wanted it to be about,” said Gray. “There are com- promises that you have to make along the way, invariably. And it’s a collaboration, invariably, on this size movie. Even the simple movie of two goofballs in a room, it’s like a wild horse. Always going to get away from you. “The job of the director and the challenge of the writer-director is not to try to corral the horse and make sure that you can keep your reins. Because that’s never going to happen. Your job is to embrace the things that make it look more beautiful as it gets away from you and try and eliminate the things that might affect the beauty of the horse running away from you. It’s going to get out of your control. But that’s OK.”

Director crafts a moody space epic

DIRECTORJames Gray premieres his sci-fi epic “Ad Astra,” starring Brad Pitt, at the Venice Film Festival.

Al SeibLos Angeles Times

[‘Ad Astra,’from E1]

‘Mighty Little

Bheem’

Where: Netflix When: Any time Rating:TV-Y (suitable for young children)

Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

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