Netflix chairman of film Scott Stuber, who built the streamer’s A-list motion picture business, is departing after seven years and will leave in March to start his own company.
The well-liked Stuber reportedly has financing to set up his new film and TV venture according to Bloomberg, which broke the news on Monday.
The development came as a surprise to Sundance industry attendees as they digested news of the company’s acquisition of festival horror selection It’s What’s Inside.
However sources said the executive had been looking to move on and had advocated for a deeper dive into theatrical distribution at the company.
While Stuber comes from that theatrical background, having previously served as vice-chairman of Universal, co-CEO Ted Sarandos and executive chairman Reed Hastings favour shorter theatrical releases as a promotional ploy ahead of debuting films on the platform.
In late 2022 Netflix released Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery for one week in US theatres, a move which Hastings conceded left ”lots” of money on the table in service to its digital-oriented strategy of bringing new films to members.
The initial approach under Stuber was to release one new film a week on the platform. Netflix lavished money on productions as Stuber’s division acquired, developed or produced such titles as Roma, The Irishman, Marriage Story, Glass Onion, Bird Box, All Quiet On The Western Front, The Power Of The Dog and The Gray Man among others.
More recently the company has shifted its approach to a reduced annual output in the 25-30 range.
The company reports Q4 earnings on Tuesday, several hours after the Academy Award nominations are announced. Under Stuber’s leadership the streamer earned the most Oscar nominations for any studio in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Prior to Netflix, he founded and ran Bluegrass Films, which produced such hits as Ted, Central Intelligence and Safe House. At Universal he was responsible for films like A Beautiful Mind, Seabiscuit, Cinderella Man, 8 Mile, Meet The Parents and the Bourne and Fast & Furious franchises.
“Seven years ago, Reed and Ted offered me the amazing opportunity to join Netflix and create a new home for original movies,” said Stuber. “I am proud of what we accomplished and am so grateful to all the filmmakers and talent who trusted us to help tell their stories. Thank you to Ted, Reed, Greg, Bela [Bajaria, Netflix Chief Content Officer] and the entire team, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.”
Sarandos said, “Scott has helped lead the new paradigm of how movies are made, distributed and watched. He attracted unbelievable creative talent to Netflix, making us a premiere film studio. Under his leadership, we’ve become the most nominated studio for three years in a row at the Academy Awards – including eight best picture nominations, two best international feature Oscars, two best documentary feature Oscars and our first best animated feature Oscar. Scott, thank you for your leadership and friendship and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Bajaria, who will now look for Stuber’s replacement, added: “What Scott has accomplished in seven years is nothing short of amazing. He created a world-class film studio, not only by working with established filmmakers, but also finding and supporting first time creators. He’s been such a trusted partner and friend to me and many others, and I hope to find new ways to continue to work together.”
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