Photo Courtesy of Franz Richter, Wikimedia
The ever-changing television viewing landscape is one that in recent years has been dominated by Internet advancements, at the forefront of these new measures is streaming giant Netflix.
While Netflix has always been a pioneer in its methods of delivering a wealth of television shows, films, miniseries and other specials directly to an audience of program-hungry viewers, it is embarking into uncharted waters for them, original films.
This is logically the next step, and while smaller sites have begun making original films, it will not be on the scale of Netflix that has an endless supply of resources, putting them in the position to make high quality programming like they have done with their television shows.
They have trail-blazed with critically acclaimed series that have proven that filmmakers can forgo television studios to get content that appeals to the masses. Shows like “House of Cards,” “Hemlock Grove,” “Orange is the New Black” and most recently the animated series “BoJack Horseman” starring Will Arnett and Aaron Paul.
Now, Netflix is introducing a line of original films, and while the details of the films are relatively sparse, it bodes well for the future of original streaming movies. The first film announced is a sequel to Ang Lee’s 2000 film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Titled “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend,” this film has been put in the hands of director Woo-ping Yuen. This is a risky proposition for a first outing, as the original was such a huge success, winning four Oscars and making a star out of Lee. While Netflix has proven their worth time and time again, staunch skeptics and lovers of the 2000 film will have to save their criticism until 2015 when the film is set to be released.
It has been made known that Netflix has come to an agreement with Adam Sandler to produce four original films for the website. The details of the films are completely unknown at this time but Sandler is jumping at the opportunity to start a new wave of movie creating.
The website has also revealed that an animated film is in the works simply titled “Kong” with a release date in the not so distant 2016. This announcement displays a spread of films varying in genre, making Netflix more well-rounded. “Crouching Tiger” a drama, the Adam Sandler films presumably comedies and “Kong” an animated film.
Big name stars have been flocking to Netflix as a way of supplementing their big-screen acting careers and as television and the Internet become a more convenient and popular manner of receiving content, famous directors, producers and actors are holding greater stock in it.
It is likely that other sites will follow in suit, knowing that Netflix has taken the plunge into what was once reserved for major studios and the silver screen. There will always be a place for traditional viewing, but there is a fundamental shift occurring and as fast paced lifestyles become more common, the norm will have to share the limelight, if just a portion of it.
