Olivia Cooke is on the shortlist to
star in both Spielbergâs Ready
Player One and Star Wars: Episode
VIII. Pull an all-nighter Olivia.Cate Blanchett is about to have
a ball. A Lucille Ball that is in a
biopic of the legendary US sitcom
star. We apologise for that joke.Kenneth Branagh will direct
an adaptation of Artemis Fowl
for Disney. Arsene Wenger
probably wonât see it.If Jason Bourne wants to assert
his supremacy heâll have to get
past Vincent Cassel in Paul
Greengrassâ Bourne 5.ON THE RADAR
Above: Idris Elba
as Commandant in
Beasts Of No Nation.
Left: Ted Sarandos
Cary Fukunaga
Ricky Gervais.
CROUCHING TIGER
HIDDEN DRAGON 2
The sequel to the action
epic may be Ang Lee and
Chow Yun-fat-free but the
presence of returning star
Michelle Yeoh â plus
martial arts legend Donnie
Yen and Woo-Ping Yuen as
director â excites us.THE RIDICULOUS SIX
The fi rst of Adam Sandlerâs
four-picture deal with Netfl ix
this comedy Western debuts
on December 11. Sandlerâs
star has been waning but
his fi lms are huge on Netfl ix.
Hopefully this can be a
return to form.SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS
Ricky Gervais writes directs
and co-stars in a pointed
media satire about two radio
journalists (Eric Bana and
Vera Farmiga) who fake their
own kidnapping.PEE-WEEâS BIG HOLIDAY
The return of Paul Reubensâ
man-child hits next March.
Judd Apatow produces.
Letâs hope itâs more Big
Adventure than Big Top.MASCOTS
Christopher Guest is getting
most of the old Spinal Tap/
Best In Show gang back
together for an improvised
comedy set in the world of
sporting mascots.DOWN
THE
STREAM
MORE NETFLICKS
HEADING YOUR WAYcharismatic leader of a group of
mercenaries (Idris Elba). Itâs political
violent and heartbreaking. Audience-
pandering fl uff it is not. But it blew
Netfl ix chief Ted Sarandos away.
âIt very much put me in the mind
of the chaos of Apocalypse Nowâ he has
said of his decision to snap up the fi lm.
âI think people will be discovering this
fi lm for years.â
Beasts was not made for Netfl ix.
The $6 million movie was completed
with independent fi nancing but when
Fukunaga and his producers came to
sell it Netfl ix came in with a $12 million
off er that they couldnât turn down.
âItâs a complicated question for
a directorâ says Fukunaga shortly
after the fi lmâs premiere at the Venice
Film Festival where it drew raves.
âHistorically Iâve had movies screen in
cinemas. You canât deny thereâs a certain
level of prestige to being a cinema
director versus a director for television
not that I have any less respect for my
fellow television directors... But what
I know in my heart is that I want people
to watch my movie. The advantage of
having 65 million subscribers â and
thatâs just subscribers; there are more
viewers for each subscriber â and being
able to reach all those people you canât
pass that up just to guard a perception
of being a âcinema directorâ.â
The times they are a-changinâ. The
paradigms they are a-shiftinâ. Netfl ix is
of course not the only new kid on the
block â Amazon is getting into the fi lm
production business while Apple is
reportedly making tentative plans to
dip its iToe into the water. But Sarandos
and co. are certainly leading the way.
As well as acquiring independently
fi nanced movies Netfl ix also has many
in production that itâs funded itself (see
left). As its TV arm has shown with the
likes of David Fincher and Marvel on
board the company has a USP that
pulls in the big names. âOne thing that
Netfl ix movies will do diff erently than
direct-to-video movies is they will be in
the cultureâ Sarandos has said. âThese
movies will matter.â
It remains to be seen whether
the Academy will be able to get its grey
old head around this new way of doing
things and recognise Beasts which in
any year would be considered an obvious
addition to the nominee mix but home
viewers already have their prize: one of
the best fi lms of the year without the
wait for DVD. OLLY RICHARDSBEASTS OF NO NATION WILL DEBUT ON
OCTOBER 16.