Columbia Pictures
There’s no doubt that the people over at Netflix love movies, but there’s something that we were all blissfully unaware of until now: they really love Adam Sandler movies. It’s not just that they love the artistic stylings of the man who brought us the likes of Bobby Boucher, Longfellow Deeds and Zohan. It’s that they’re so smitten with Sandler that they’ve struck a deal to develop a “quartet of films” each with him in the starring role. Welcome to the future.
Sandler’s Netflix deal (the Sandflixocalypse? the Netlerpocalypse?) brings the site four features all produced under the ever-present Happy Madison banner. The movies will forgo showings in theaters and be featured only on the site, just for Netflix subscribers (and any of the freeloaders with a friends’ passwords). This news comes days after Netflix announced they would be introducing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend as their next foray into the world of original film programming. That sequel will be available on Netflix and IMAX screens the same day, unlike Sandler’s bypass.
You have to hand it to Sandler. Say what you will about his filmography or his penchant for making up silly non-words to express his innermost feelings, but the guy is a savvy businessman and a dedicated worker. Think about it, save for the years 1992 and 1997, Sandler has made at least one film per year, and in many cases that number is far more. No wonder we’re grumbling that his shtick is getting too familiar; we just forgot about a world where it didn’t exist. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s doing it well. He’s crafted a brand for himself and the same audiences who were eating it up in 1994 are still on board in 2014. It’s a feat.
And now, Netflix is going to ensure that we’ll have Sandler at our fingertips, just a click away. And there’s no reason to believe this won’t work out favorably for the company. Their venture into original television programming has far and beyond achieved success, and with a slate of films featuring a prominent, widely liked star in their bank, it’s going to be a lucrative subscription season whenever these features are released.
Thus far, there’s no news on what the schedule might be for Sandler’s quartet (dibs on the new band name), or when we’ll even see that first film drop. The contents of these features are also unknown, but it feels like we’re probably getting traditional Sandler fare – though you never know what they have planned. Sure, they’ll be under the Happy Madison banner, land of great fart jokes and opportunities for Sandler to woo ladies way out of his league with his certain brand of charm, but outside of his own productions, nestled between the Happy Gilmores and the I Pronounce You Chuck & Larrys and the Little Nickys are pockets in which we see that Sandler has something more to his game, as with Punch-Drunk Love and Spanglish.
There’s always the possibility that Netflix could be giving us the Adam Sandler who can do serious and smart. This is a deal unlike anything out there, so the possibilities are really up to them. Then again, Sandler’s official stance on the subject is: “When these fine people came to me with an offer to make four movies for them, I immediately said yes for one reason and one reason only: Netflix rhymes with ‘wet chicks.’ Let the streaming begin!”
Nevermind.
Related Topics: Adam Sandler, Netflix
