The Power of The Dogdirector Jane Campion said that she worriesNetflixmight soon take fewer risks on their original content due to the recent layoffs that occurred amid recent bad news for the streamer.
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Indeed, according to Campion,The Power of the Dog“couldn’t have been made without [Netflix].” Because of the medium-sized budget (under $30 million) and the small scale of the story, she says, “the only people that were willing to go near that was Netflix.” With the streamer’s new financial troubles, however, things might be changing.
This could come as a blow to the film industry, as the streaming platforms are in many ways the last bastion of medium-budget filmmaking. In the past two decades (and perhaps even longer) Hollywood has been moving increasingly toward a blockbuster-only strategy. Because of the rise of the internet and streaming platforms, theater attendance has become harder and harder to secure, meaning only large-budget films or films based on existing properties perform adequately at the box office. Forthe major Hollywood studios, medium-budget films have become a thing of the past.
As a result, streaming platforms have moved in to fill a small portion of the void. Netflix, for example, has now become a significant player in the area of prestige projects from major directors (likeMartin Scorsese’sThe Irishman) and small actor-centered dramas (likeThe Two Popes). Because of the major studios’ vacancy in the medium-budget realm, streaming platforms also have a larger and larger presence at the Academy Awards every year, perfectly exemplified by last year’s Best Picture award, which was a battle between Apple TV Plus’CODAand Netflix’sThe Power of the Dog.
The Power of the Dogis available to stream on Netflix.
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