Netflix and The Weinstein Company announced a multi-year film agreement today which will include Oscar-nominated films The Artist and Undefeated:
Netflix Inc. and The Weinstein Company (TWC) today 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 U.S. to watch instantly.
âThe Artist,â the most honored film of the year with 17 awards for Best Picture and ten Academy AwardÂŽ nominations, including Best Picture, will make its pay TV debut exclusively on Netflix rather than on traditional premium cable.
Written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius and starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, âThe Artistâ brings to life the dawn of talking pictures in an original and deeply entertaining way. The filmâs many honors include the Golden Globe for Best Picture/ Comedy or Musical and Best Picture Awards from the Producers Guild of America, British Academy of Film and Television, the London Critics Circle and NY Film Critics Circle. It has garnered numerous prestigious awards for Hazanavicius, Dujardin, Bejo, and composer Ludovic Bource.
Also making its pay TV premiere on Netflix is âUndefeated,â nominated for a 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, âUndefeatedâ follows players on a Memphis, TN inner-city high school football team as it attempts to win its first playoff game in the schoolâs history.
A diverse slate of TWC specialty films will appear exclusively on Netflix within one year of their theatrical release, including the gripping French-language World War II drama âSarahâs Key,â starring Academy Award-nominated actress Kristin Scott Thomas; the recent French box office record-breaker âThe Intouchables;â the romantic drama âW.E.,â directed by Madonna and winner of the Golden Globe for Best Original Song/Motion Picture; the taut Shakespearean adaptation âCoriolanus,â directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes; and âBully,â a timely documentary about bullying in Americaâs schools.
Terms of the deal, the first between TWC and the worldâs leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows, werenât disclosed.
âWe couldnât be happier to be working again with Harvey and Bob, who have an unmatched track record of creating critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies,â said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. ââThe Artistâ is a symbol of the Weinsteinsâ 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.â
âIt is a fantastic coup for Netflix to acquire âThe Artistâ and the package of additional titles,â said TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein, âWith this deal, a company that loves movies, Netflix, joins forces with a company that is built on that same love. Itâs 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.â