Even for Netflix, $55 million is a huge chunk of cash to drop on a series…especially if they don’t receive a single completed episode. But that’s just what happened when Netflix put 47 Ronin director Carl Rinsch in charge of a sci-fi saga, which has its own backstory involving Covid conspiracies, cryptocurrency and pandemic-era paranoia. Now this is worth a 10-part doc!
In a new feature by The New York Times chronicling Carl Rinsch and his quasi-attempts to make Conquest at Netflix, it’s claimed that the director “discovered Covid-19’s secret transmission mechanism and to be able to predict lightning strikes” as well as put a fifth of the budget into cryptocurrency and blew it on lavish items like several Rolls-Royces and designer clothes. Rinsch, for his part, is now suing Netflix for breach of contract, claiming they owe him $14 million. Yeah, good luck getting that check, Carl…
On the entire debacle that forced Netflix to pull the plug on Conquest and we have to hope any future working relationship with Carl Rinsch, a spokesperson said, “After a lot of time and effort, it became clear that Mr. Rinsch was never going to complete the project he agreed to make, and so we wrote the project off.”
Carl Rinsch’s Netflix deal went back to 2018, which showed the studio had a lot of faith in him considering his only feature, 2013’s 47 Ronin, had a bloated budget of $175 million and only took in $152 worldwide (its domestic haul was a dismal $38 million). Netflix actually won out in a bidding war between the likes of Amazon, HBO and more after Rinsch pitched a 13-episode short form sci-fi series. And for some reason, they gave Rinsch final cut and a guarantee to involvement in any potential future the series might have.
Of course, Carl Rinsch’s relationship with Netflix, himself and those close to him while making Conquest was far from a breeze. Reports came out that the director was erratic – punching holes in walls and misusing prescription drugs – and even accused his wife of plotting an assassination against him. Still, when Rinsch asked for more money to be sent so production could press on, Netflix obliged (what does he have on them?!) – which he then put into the stock market and, yes, Dogecoin. This was a weird time in our world…
Finally, when it was clear Carl Rinsch wasn’t going to make good on delivering episodes of Conquest, Netflix canceled the project. It’s easy to rag on Netflix for canceling shows after they’ve barely been given a chance to breathe, but it seems a safe bet that the company made the right move here. Netflix and Rinsch are now in arbitration.
Does a Carl Rinsch project at Netflix interest you? Or does it sound like a flop from the get-go? Give us your take below.