Netflix is in arbitration with a rookie series creator after he blew through $55 million of the streaming giant's money and came up with nothing to show for it.
As detailed in a fascinating New York Times report published over the long holiday weekend, Netflix under the direction of then original content VP Cindy Holland and nearing the zenith of the streaming boom in 2018, outbid Amazon and other suitors to buy an original sci-fi series called Conquest from filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch.
Netflix did this even though Rinsch's first and only movie, 47 Ronin starring Keanu Reeves, grossed only $152 million globally on a production budget of $175 million for Universal Pictures. And not only did the movie bomb, Rinsch's clash with producers including Scott Stuber resulted in the director being exiled from the editing bay.
Oh, and it gets worse. Not only did Holland offer Rinsch, now 46, and his then Uruguayan model/fashion-designer wife, Gabriela Rosés Bentancor final cut for a partially self-produced pet project that already had its own baggage attached to it, she didn't talk to Stuber at all about Rinsch ... even though the Stuber was employed by Netflix by this time. (Stuber remains at Netflix today while Holland was sent packing in 2020.)
Rinsch's series, a dystopian tale about artificially created humans that go bad, never made it close to the finish line, but Netflix ended up around $55 million in the hole, with the creator reportedly spending some of the money on a fleet of Rolls Royces, bad crypto investments and a $400,000 watch, among other largesse.
Here's one of several kickers: It was Rinsch who actually initiated the current arbitration process, claiming Netflix still owes him around $12 million more.
Frankly, this would still be a somewhat interesting once-upon-a-time-in-Hollywood read even without the Netflix intrigue. The Brown-educated Rinsch was a hot up-and-coming commercial director at the end of the aughts, having worked under Ridley Scott. In fact, there was reportedly talk at one time about him cutting his teeth on an "Alien" franchise film.
Despite the tumult with Universal and Stuber, Rinsch still had viable career ahead of him. He convinced billionaire entrepreneur Dan Friedkin and his production company, 30West, to underwrite the passion project that became Conquest. However, after a series of overseas production mishaps -- including a hypothermia incident that affected the lead actress in Romania when she was asked to trudge bare-legged through snow -- 30West threatened to pull the plug.
Into the financial rescue came 47 Ronan star Reeves, who reportedly had become friendly with Rinsch.
The downward spiral only continued, with Rinsch reportedly abusing amphetamine-based ADHD medication on set, freaking out cast, crew and local production guilds, and destroying his marriage to Bentancor, in the process.
Further cementing Reeves' growing public reputation as a mensch -- he reportedly stood by Rinsch, and even tried to him into rehab.
