Word out of Hollywood today is that Martin Scorsese’s gangster biopic The Irishman will be exclusively distributed on Netflix.
The film was originally meant to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, but it appears talks fell through after it was announced recently that Paramount’s chairman would be stepping down.
This has opened the way for Netflix to come on board as a financier and distributor of the film, which will essentially give Scorsese free reign on this project.
The Irishman recounts the story of a mafia hitman who confessed to the murder of American union boss Jimmy Hoffa in 1975 – a high-profile crime that remains unsolved to this day.
The film also has a cast you can only dream of, and is so far set to star Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel and Bobby Cannavale.
This is a great choice of distribution in my view, and will hopefully pave the way for more legendary directors to have their work streamed via Netflix as opposed to the traditional cinema distribution format, which really feels out of touch these days.
Netflix seems like it has an almost endless supply of financing budget, so it should be enticing for other big name directors to join Martin Scorsese in taking their projects there, even if they’re just small passion projects.
Having Netflix distribute the film will mean it will likely be available across all (or most) global territories at once, and viewers will have the luxury of watching it from the comfort of their own home – win win scenario in my book.
Source: Collider
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