Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have a brand new studio named Artists Equity, and Affleck has excessive aspirations for it. How excessive? Deadline experiences that on the New York Times‘ DeadlBook Summit in NYC yesterday, Affleck says he and Damon goal to supply industrial however high quality movies for streaming that “people remember 20 years later.” So, mainly, not the “assembly line process” of Netflix and different streamers.
Affleck took goal at Netflix at yesterdays Q&A the place he and Artists Equity’s investor companion Gerry Cardinale talked in regards to the new studio’s targets. “If you ask Reed Hastings … I’m sure there’s some risk in that, and I’m sure they had a great strategy, but I would have said, ‘How are we going to make 50 great movies?! How is that possible?,” stated Affleck. “There’s no committee big enough. There aren’t enough — you just can’t do it. It’s a thing that requires attention and dedication and work and resists the assembly line process. Scott Stuber is a really talented, smart guy who I really like… but it’s an impossible job.”
Instead of Netflix’s huge annual slate of authentic content material, Affleck, Damon, and Cardinale envision Artists Equity to supply fewer tasks however of upper high quality. The new studio anticipates three tasks subsequent yr, with plans to launch not less than 5 per yr anually afterward. Artist Equity’s slate subsequent yr contains Affleck’s subsequent directorial effort, which Damon additionally stars in, in regards to the creation of the Air Jordan model. Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports, and Mandalay Pictures co-produce the upcoming movie.
Throughout the Q&A, Affleck and Cardinale returned to how a lot they need Artists Equity to ship high quality movies that additionally attraction to viewers expectations. “There’s bigger audience for action movies than there is for small dramas – I get that,” continued Affleck. “Certain genres play more broadly and you can’t not be mindful of that. But let’s do a good one, let’s surprise the audience, let’s make them care about it.” Cardinale additionally added that he sees Artists Equity ushering in a brand new wave of streaming content material within the coming years. “The first wave of streaming was about volume,” he stated. “The second wave is about quality.” “I see no difference between commercial and quality,” Affleck agreed.
So, will Artists Equity usher in a brand new period of high-quality streaming content material? Only time will inform. Stay tuned for information on different upcoming tasks from Affleck and Damon’s new studio.