'Marriage Story' director Noah Baumbach says Netflix's head of original movies has found a balance between traditional Hollywood and digital disruption
- With more and more streaming services launching from major players like Disney and Apple, Netflix is trying to make inroads with Hollywood and shed its outsider status.
- The man responsible for that is Scott Stuber, its head of original films.
- In just over two years, Stuber has found ways to interest the big stars in Netflix projects, and tried to settle the rocky waters between the streaming giant and theater owners.
- "Marriage Story" writer-director Noah Baumbach told Business Insider he believes Stuber "has found, and continues to find, a balance between the traditional Hollywood model and Netflix's innovations."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Netflix has been a major disruptor to the movie business since it began making original, feature-length movies a few years ago. With its millions of subscribers, it had no need to play them in theaters (other than to appease the filmmakers who created them).
And Netflix's success has since spawned the current streaming deluge: Amazon, Hulu, Apple, and all the major studios - everyone it seems is launching a streaming platform to give customers on-demand access to movies and TV.
With Netflix no longer the only game in town, the streaming giant is figuring out ways to take its style and work more effectively in the Hollywood system.
And that's where Scott Stuber comes in.
The head of Netflix's original films division, Stuber in just over two years has helped turned the streamer from something actors and filmmakers were wary of to something they are finally embracing.
Once the golden boy of art-house distributors in the early 2000s with movies like "The Squid and the Whale," "Margot at the Wedding," and "Greenberg," recently he's found a home at Netflix with 2017's "The Meyerowitz Stories" and his latest, "Marriage Story."
The heartbreaking drama starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple on the verge of a divorce has found critical acclaim and is an Oscar contender in multiple categories. But getting to this point took a lot of effort from Stuber and his team over a span of years.
Since he came on the job in 2017, Stuber, a former executive at Universal and later a producer, has not just been working his connections with stars for Netflix titles, but also making inroads with theater owners.
To receive Oscar consideration, a movie must screen in New York and Los Angeles theaters, and numerous Netflix titles have done that since the fall, including "Marriage Story." But Baumbach's movie has also become the face of Netflix's surprising contribution to the theatrical scene in New York City.
Stuber was heavily involved in the reopening of The Paris, according to a Netflix source, and now the streaming company has taken over its lease and plans to run more titles there (likely retrospectives and special screenings).
Baumbach believes Stuber's influence is strengthening Netflix's bond with Hollywood.
"Scott has found, and continues to find, a balance between the traditional Hollywood model and Netflix's innovations," Baumbach told Business Insider. "He also does what he says he's going to do. I've never been let down by Scott."
Read our full Scott Stuber profile on Business Insider Prime, in which Netflix insiders describe his career rise and strategy to charm Hollywood and theater owners
