David Fincher is not renewing his pact with Netflix after his contract with the streamer expires next year.
Fincher, the acclaimed director of “Fight Club,” “The Social Network” and “Gone Girl,” has had a long creative partnership with Netflix, starting with the company’s flagship television series “House of Cards” and “Mindhunter.” He entered into an exclusive partnership with Netflix in 2020 and has directed three films, “Mank,” “The Killer” and the upcoming “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.”
Fincher is not signing a new overall deal with another studio, meaning he could work with Netflix on future projects, according to Bloomberg, which broke the news.
Netflix did not respond to request for comment.
He’s the latest in a string of talents who have recently parted ways with Netflix. “Marriage Story” director Noah Baumbach, who made his last four films on Netflix, has signed a deal with Warner Bros. “Stranger Things” producer Shawn Levy has reached an overall deal for Disney’s 20th Century TV after nearly a decade at the streamer. And Levy’s “Stranger Things” collaborators Ross and Matt Duffer moved their own deal to Paramount.
“Cliff Booth,” a spinoff of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” starring Brad Pitt, will air later this year. In a departure from its strategy, Netflix is launching the spin-off “Once Upon a Time” in Imax theaters on November 25 – a month before the film arrives on the streamer on December 23. In the future, Netflix will experiment with theatrical release (and even consider box office reporting on some titles) as a way to work with filmmakers who want their films released on the big screen.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” was a critical and commercial success for Sony, and the president of the studio’s motion picture group, Tom Rothman, expressed disappointment that Netflix would release the sequel.
“We were going to make the movie when Quentin was directing it, but he decided he didn’t want to do it and changed course,” Rothman said. Variety. “The only other person he felt comfortable directing his script with was David Fincher, and David Fincher was exclusive to Netflix, so we weren’t going to stand in anyone’s way.”
Now’s your chance, Tom!
Gn entert
