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The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

nytimes.com

121–130 of 366 posts

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#121
> Netflix executives grew so concerned with Mr. Rinsch’s behavior that they consulted with the Los Angeles Police Department’s threat management unit, a person with knowledge of the matter said. A Police Department psychologist reviewed Mr. Rinsch’s texts and emails and concluded that he didn’t seem like a threat to himself or others.

Were executives concerned about possible risks to people, or were they trying to use (misuse?) the police to establish the conditions for a contract clause or insurance policy?

Rinsch sounded from other assertions in the article like he was having some kind of mental health and/or substance challenges. But I don't understand the uncritical acceptance of this bit by the journalist.

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#122
Sorry, but what's the actual corporate structure here?

For software companies, investments are nominal in the sense that they come with responsible CFO's, budgeting and reporting structures that would prevent the money from being vacuumed into personal accounts for investment gambling.

Is it really the case that a Netflix would just wire $11M based on a promise? Or that they would tolerate the kind of hostaging that insists on building v2 before delivering v1?

I assumed that anyone in any field disbursing $1M+ contracts has provisions for monitoring, bad faith, etc. (and clawing back misappropriated fund). But not here?

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#123
They foucus on the dollar amount, but the startup graveyard of software companies who raised $50M or more by their series A or B that nobody will have heard of seems much larger. Movies and series seem pretty low risk by comparison.

A movie studio and a venture fund seem to have similar economics.

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love how you're being called out for how wrong you are on this thread, but somehow manage to double down and always ask "but what about?..."

But that’s what tax accounting is. Asking “what if we interpret the tax code this way?” It’s all gray areas. See my sibling comment about how to write off future profits.

No it's not. But sure, "They just write it off!"

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#125

They foucus on the dollar amount, but the startup graveyard of software companies who raised $50M or more by their series A or B that nobody will have heard of seems much larger. Movies and series seem pretty low risk by comparison. A movie studio and a venture fund seem to have similar economics.

A single Netflix show does not have the potential to end up with multi-billion dollar per-year recurring revenues. The potential upside on a startup is far far large.

In addition, there are no low-risk startups. There are, however, relatively low risk films and TV shows to be made.

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#126
post #10

I love these stories of sci-fi movie diasasters. There are just as many insane stories of "amazing this classic ever got made". On the topic of disasters, I recommend reading about The Starlost: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starlost

Sounds like Jodorwsky's Dune[0] where it's famous for not getting made. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodorowsky%27s_Dune

IMO Dune needs to be a tv show that likely runs several seasons so all the world and backstory can be explored properly so the audience can get a full experience.

Think The Wire in terms of plot discovery and forwarding (leaves out bogus exposition, means you have to pay attention to get things etc that moves along at a good pace and has forward development each episode.

It would be expensive, but it’s the only way I can imagine Dune being done to its fullest extent on screen

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#127
post #121

> Netflix executives grew so concerned with Mr. Rinsch’s behavior that they consulted with the Los Angeles Police Department’s threat management unit, a person with knowledge of the matter said. A Police Department psychologist reviewed Mr. Rinsch’s texts and emails and concluded that he didn’t seem like a threat to himself or others. Were executives concerned about possible risks to people, or were they trying to us…

They could have been trying to establish proof, that they looked into odd behavior.

Then, if anything happens, they're less likely to be successfully sued.

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#129
post #122

Sorry, but what's the actual corporate structure here? For software companies, investments are nominal in the sense that they come with responsible CFO's, budgeting and reporting structures that would prevent the money from being vacuumed into personal accounts for investment gambling. Is it really the case that a Netflix would just wire $11M based on a promise? Or that they would tolerate the kind of hostaging that…

Famously, the movie Human Centipede was made "behind financier's backs" and were presented a movie that they did not expect nor want.

Re: The $55M saga of a Netflix series nobody will ever see

#130
post #60
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the "can i be of assistance" interface always reminded me of al jafee

That guy seemed really annoyed the whole time. It was strange!

in retrospect the ark was in trouble, perhaps the AI was applying the emotive context in response to questions that are a misdirection of effort, considering the situation.
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