11h56 PDT 4/6/2021
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Borys Kit
Sources say that Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman and Daniel Craig may come out with more than $ 100 million each.
Just over a year ago, it looked like an open and closed case.
In February 2020, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said during a quarterly earnings conference call that the company was officially moving forward in a sequence of Knives Out, the surprise box office and critically acclaimed starring Daniel Craig and written and directed by Rian Johnson.
But on March 31, in a twist worthy of Agatha Christie, came the revelation that Lionsgate would not launch the sequel. Instead, two sequences would be made by Netflix, which signed a $ 469 million deal with Johnson and his production partner on T-Street, Ram Bergman, both represented by CAA.
The points of the deal were noteworthy: the pact gave Johnson immense creative control, say sources The Hollywood Reporter. He does not need to take notes on the streamer. The only contingencies were that Craig should star in the sequences and that each should have at least the budget for the 2019 film, which was in the $ 40 million range. Sources say Johnson, Bergman and Craig could go out with more than $ 100 million each.
The other company that missed the sequels was MRC, the Beverly Hills-based production company that financed the first film. (MRC is also a co-father of THR through a joint venture with Penske Media called PMRC.) Sources say MRC had a film contract with Johnson and Bergman, the filmmaker and producer known for his unique and modest budget thrillers. Brick and Looper before they did Star Wars: The Last Jedi. An MRC representative said the company was “proud” to have partnered with Johnson and Bergman in the first Knives Out and recalled that the duo “always controlled the rights” of the franchise. (MRC is a minority investor in T-Street, but will not participate in the unexpected profits of the new agreement, as its’ participation in the producer occurred after Knives Out has already been done, giving no part of that film.)
Sources note that Lionsgate had what was considered a solid business, in which the company had first right of negotiation and last right of refusal, all part of the negotiation safety net with which companies normally protect themselves from losing projects. (Lionsgate and CAA declined to comment.) And Johnson and Bergman were considered to be big supporters of the theatrical experience.
But that was before the pandemic hit, the theater plummeted and the backend became non-existent. In January, with the pandemic in full swing and an expected start of production in the summer for a sequel, Johnson and Bergman questioned the feasibility of theatrical release in the short term. CAA started buying the deal and streamers like Netflix attacked hard. MRC and Lionsgate, who in normal times may have managed the project, were unable to compete. “It has become a perfect storm,” said a source. “It wouldn’t have happened a year ago.”
For Netflix, despite the price, the deal made sense on several levels. The streamer gets an instant, proven franchise with sequences from a movie that grossed $ 311 million globally. And it craftily weakens a theatrical competitor.
“Yes, it’s paying dearly, but Netflix is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers,” said a streaming executive familiar with the business. “He takes a proven theatrical product off the board and puts it in his pocket. And it is another way to re-educate the public to think about streaming and your company above a studio. “
For others, the deal shows the influence that the sought-after talent is enjoying right now, thanks to competition from streamers. “If you have talent now and want to bet on yourself, this is a good time.”
A version of this story appeared in the April 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.