Netflix continues to position themselves as a force with original film content as they reach a four picture deal with indie filmmakers Mark and Jay Duplass. The deal will see the streaming movie service finance four films produced by the Duplass Brothers. After a short theatrical run, the movies will debut exclusively on Netflix. The deal was struck today at the Sundance Film Festival where Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos cited a long relationship between his company and the Duplass siblings.
If you are not versed in indie cinema from the past fifteen years, you likely recognize the two as actors. Mark Duplass is known for a supporting role on THE MINDY PROJECT and lead roles in FXX’s THE LEAGUE and HBO’s new series TOGETHERNESS. Jay Duplass co-stars in recent Golden Globe winning Amazon series TRANSPARENT. Both work as actors, writers, directors, and producers and have four films in contention at Sundance this year, including THE BRONZE which our own Chris Bumbray has recently reviewed.
Netflix has definitely made a statement that they will not be content to just win awards for their original series but also want to become a major player in feature films. They already have a deal with Adam Sandler to release original films via their service and now this multi-film deal with renowned independent filmmakers. Who knows what other deals may be brokered at Sundance but stay tuned as we will bring you the latest here at Joblo.com.