Share and Follow
In Hollywood, relationships often come full circle, and the latest development involving Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, Artists Equity, is a testament to that. The duo’s burgeoning company has recently inked a first-look deal with Netflix, focusing on streaming releases. This agreement adds to their growing portfolio, following a similar arrangement with Sony for theatrical releases last year.
While the deal between Artists Equity and Netflix appears straightforward, it carries an ironic twist, especially considering recent industry dynamics. The production company, established in 2022, is financially supported by RedBird Capital, an investment firm led by Gerry Cardinale. Interestingly, Cardinale has been a vocal critic of Netflix in recent months, particularly concerning its attempted, but ultimately unsuccessful, deal with Warner Bros.
RedBird Capital, with interests deeply tied to Paramount through David Ellison and Skydance, played a significant role in opposing Netflix’s plans. Cardinale’s criticisms were notably sharp, at one point engaging in a heated exchange with Netflix’s co-CEO, Greg Peters, dismissing their efforts as mere “smoke and mirrors.”
Despite the previous tensions, this new collaboration between Artists Equity and Netflix illustrates the fluid nature of Hollywood alliances, where business acumen often trumps past disagreements, paving the way for mutually beneficial partnerships.
(In one memorable moment, Cardinale traded verbal blows with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters, calling their bid “smoke and mirrors.”)
Taking the irony out of it, the deal makes a lot of sense for Netflix. Damon and Affleck’s crime thriller “The Rip” has been one of the service’s top movies since it debuted in January — it spent three weeks at No. 1 globally. Netflix is also on tap to release an upcoming Artist Equity film (and Affleck’s next directorial feature) “Animals,” which Affleck stars in alongside Kerry Washington and Gillian Anderson.
Even Artists Equity’s deal with Sony has Netflix ties. All of those movies will eventually find their way to Netflix given its recent pay 1 deal with Sony (meaning they’ll head to the streamer following their theatrical runs).
Artists Equity’s deal with Netflix for “The Rip” included a bonus payment for everyone involved with the film if it hit certain performance targets (in the old days, this was known as back-end payments). It was viewed as groundbreaking for Netflix, which pioneered the model of paying heftier upfront fees in lieu of back-end, much to the chagrin of creatives.
It’s not clear if films under this new, multi-year deal would contain those same terms, and Netflix declined to comment further. A source told P6H that “The Rip” was a “bespoke” deal, and that the streamer doesn’t plan to change its compensation model, echoing comments that Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s content chief, told the New York Times earlier this year.