Scorsese’s Flower Moon rescheduled, if safe, to start filming in 2021

The Irishman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You might remember us discussing the next big budget Scorsese film that Apple contemplated, then dipped, into its reserves to bail out (see: Apple Might Bail Out Budget of Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon).

Due to the pandemic filming was delayed “indefinitely” but apparently a new shooting date has been scheduled in 2021, and Scorsese is going all in with the Osage Nation, picking out many historic spots and plans to cast many Native Americans.

“Flower Moon” has been described by Scorsese as his first full-on Western movie and is reuniting the filmmaker with muses Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie is based on David Grann’s historical book and centers around the Osage Nation murders, in which members of the Native American tribe were killed after discovering oil on their reservation. The murders attracted the attention of the newly-created FBI.

Osage Nation Preparing February 2021 Shoot for Scorsese’s Flower Moon | IndieWire

I’m still going to question the budget of $200+ million. Does this movie have to cost this much? It’s not Avatar, Star Wars or even the next Christopher Nolan film. I know it’s Martin freaking Scorsese and he deserves to make big budget movies, but what is this going to have to gross to make any money?

That’s the bummer for me. If it is a great film — and for Scorsese’s first ever western, it probably will be — there will be all this buzz when it comes out that it “bombed” if it doesn’t make $750+ million. That just seems like unfair pressure for any film. Plus how can something be a failure that makes that kind of money? The movie world is upside down on success when it comes to budgets and box office success.

The finances aside, the other issue is run time. Any early guesses on how long this movie will be? Three plus hours? Four?

Here’s a not-so-crazy idea: make this a 4-6 part miniseries. Bet it would be incredible and our bladders would collectively say thank you. Snark aside, I look forward to any new Scorsese film, regardless of budget, story, run time. Do you want to know more about this film, or are you looking forward to it already, too?

Apple Might Bail Out Budget of Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon

Martin Scorsese is bound to gain extra budgeting love from somebody in the streaming world. His current most likely suitor for Killers of the Flower Moon is Apple, according to Variety.

Paramount will distribute the murder mystery drama and Apple has boarded to finance the project and serve as its creative studio. The deal hasn’t closed yet, Variety reported.

Apple, Paramount Partner on Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ | IndieWire

What little I know about Killers of the Flower Moon sounds like good source material for another Scorsese movie and won’t deny through his long and storied film career that he deserves somebody to step in and help him with the budget. My only question is why somebody as experienced as him can’t better map out the budget in advance?

Netflix, Apple and Amazon remained strong possibilities for budgetary help. This trend is concerning on a number of levels. It’s one thing to be an established director looking for a cost overrun assistance (see: Martin Scorsese – Great Director Struggling Staying Within Budget), but these days streaming companies seem all too willing to open their wallets for most any movie project from anybody. Their desperation for volumes of new content needs to be tempered with fiscal responsibility. Don’t ask Netflix too much for that (they are outspending everybody for original content), but Amazon and Apple have been better in that department.

Lower, more sensible, responsible budgets, a smaller theatrical window, better synergy and cooperation between studio and movie theaters and (gasp!) streaming — the entertainment world would be a better, smarter place with these constructs. My argument is we’d receive better movies with an eye to creativity instead of fancy special effects and ridiculously cliched scripts.

What do you think?

Good to see the streamers jump in and bail out budgets? It depends on what director it is? Would you like to see more lower budget, yet quality creative films being made?

How Much Streaming Services Are Spending On Original Content in 2020

Next week HBO Max is being released, how much are they spending on original content in 2020?

Netflix, as of this writing in May 2020, has the most subscribers at 183 million. They are also spending the most on original content, and it shows in the battle for who has the most new to offer every week.

Netflix has something new — movie, TV show, documentary, mini-series, etc — every other day, it seems. It’s challenging keeping up with everything new they’re putting out, even when trying to cover them.

What is everybody else in the streaming wars game up to as far as budgeting for original content? Forbes to the rescue.

Piggybacking on a Bloomberg study, Forbes have further broken down how much the major streaming services are spending.

Coronavirus shutdowns and stay-at-home orders have sparked a new boom in the streaming world as established companies rev up content and new players, like HBO Max and Quibi, look to make a splash.

Streaming Wars Continue: Here’s How Much Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ And Their Rivals Are Spending On New Content

Here’s the numbers in list format from most spent, to least, in 2020 as well as current number of subscribers:

1. Netflix – $16 billion – 183 million subscribers
2. Amazon – $7 billion – 150+ million subscribers
3. AppleTV+ – $6 billion – 33 million subscribers
4. Hulu – $3 billion – 28 million subscribers
5. Disney+ – $1.5-1.75 billion – 50+ million subscribers
6. HBO Max – $1.25 – $1.5 billion – 35 million subscribers
7. Quibi – $1 billion – 1.3 million subscribers
8. Peacock – $800 million – $1 billion – ??? subscribers
9. CBS All Access – $800 million – ??? subscribers

Apple is perhaps the biggest surprise on the list. Clearly, they have the $$$ to compete with others, and are focusing on a bunch of original content. To be spending almost as much as Amazon seems ambitious, but if the content they’re spending on is good (listen up, Quibi), it will work in luring in more subscribers.

Missing from this list is niche player Shudder, owned by AMC, but my guess would be they’re budget is in the small millions. Another standout niche streamer is DC Universe, but you can sort of count part of DC Universe budget as HBO Max, since the parent company for both is AT & T / Warner Bros, and again, just a guess, but probably a tiny fraction (way less than $100 million) of the HBO Max pie.

Those bolded in the list are the services we’re signed up for as of this writing. We just signed up for HBO Max through the HBO Now, so we’re ready for the May 27 launch at a reduced price of $11.99/month for 12 months, should we stay with them that long. We have been long time subscribers to Netflix and Amazon (via Amazon Prime annual). Disney+ we signed up for a year at launch and will likely renew in November 2020 when it comes up again, mostly for our grandchildren and their excellent library of (mostly) animated movies for children. Peacock we receive as part of being Xfinity high speed internet customers. We don’t subscribe as of this writing to any of the others listed, although we do subscribe, binge watch what’s available, and then cancel from all other channels, including the premium add-on channels like Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, Epix and so on. We do not subscribe to any TV streaming channels like YouTube TV, Sling TV, etc.

In November 2019, before Disney+ launched, I asked: How Many Movie/TV Streaming Subscriptions Do You Have? We’re subscribed to the same services, Lifetime has been dropped, but added DC Universe (originals: Harley Quinn, Stargirl), Peacock and HBO Now (soon to be HBO Max next Wednesday 5/27/2020).

Six months plus later, seems like a good time to revisit this inquiry.

What streaming services are you subscribed to?

Why are you subscribed to them? What do you like and dislike about them? Any streamers you’re planning to add or remove?