MUMBAI: Online video service Netflix and film studio The Weinstein Company (TWC) have announced a new multi-year licensing agreement that will make foreign language, documentary and certain other movies from The Weinstein Company exclusively available for Netflix members in the US to watch instantly.
‘The Artist‘ will make its pay TV debut exclusively on Netflix rather than on traditional premium cable. The film is expected to win Best Picture, Director, Actor trophies at the Oscar Awards. It is a silent black and white film about the dawn of talking pictures.
Also making its pay TV premiere on Netflix is ‘Undefeated‘, nominated for a 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, ‘Undefeated‘ follows players on a Memphis, TN inner-city high school football team as it attempts to win its first playoff game in the school‘s history.
A slate of TWC specialty films will appear exclusively on Netflix within one year of their theatrical release, including the French-language World War II drama ‘Sarah‘s Key‘, starring actress Kristin Scott Thomas; "The Intouchables;" the romantic drama ‘W.E.‘ directed by Madonna, ‘Coriolanus‘ directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes and ‘Bully‘ a documentary about bullying in America‘s schools.
Terms of the deal, the first between TWC and the world‘s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows, weren‘t disclosed.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said, "We couldn‘t be happier to be working again with Harvey and Bob, who have an unmatched track record of creating critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies. ‘The Artist‘ is a symbol of the Weinsteins‘ triumphant return to the top of the film business. Through deep passion, great taste and phenomenal vision, Harvey and Bob continue to surprise audiences and make history."
TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said, "It is a fantastic coup for Netflix to acquire ‘The Artist‘ and the package of additional titles. With this deal, a company that loves movies, Netflix, joins forces with a company that is built on that same love. It‘s exciting that we can offer consumers a supremely convenient way to see the kinds of movies that made us want to be in this business in the first place."
