Netflix tends to dish out a lot of money for various different projects, but with the expectation that they’ll get content in return. However, something tells me they regret giving “47 Ronin” director, Carl Rinsch, $55 million to produce a sci-fi epic titled “Conquest.”
Netflix actually won a bidding war for “Conquest,” with the likes of Amazon and HBO competitive until the end. Rinsch’s epic was pitched as a 13-episode short form sci-fi series.
In a new feature by The New York Times, it turns out that, as Netflix personally handed Rinsch millions of dollars, he lost his mind, and nobody is entirely sure what is going on with “Conquest.”
The red flags started when Rinsch started writing emails to colleagues claiming he had “discovered Covid-19’s secret transmission mechanism” and that he was now “able to predict lightning strikes.” He also managed to spend the money that Netflix gave him on cryptocurrency and blew it on lavish items like several Rolls-Royces and designer clothes.
Reports have now emerged of Rinsch, during production, punching holes in walls, misusing prescription drugs and accused his wife of plotting to assassinate him. And yet, Rinsch asked Netflix for more money to be sent so production could continue, and they actually adhered to this request! Rinsch then put the money into the stock market and had a few other investments in “Dodgecoin.”
For some reason, Rinsch is now suing Netflix for “breach of contract”, claiming they owe him $14 million. Can we please have a making-of doc about this story?
Netflix has canceled “Conquest,” it’s gone in the wind, and Rinsch is most certainly now persona non grata in Hollywood.
I’m not entirely sure why Netflix gave Rinsch $55 million. The $175 million “47 Ronin,” released in 2013, was an uninitiated disaster — it went over budget, had extensive reshoots and Rinsch was even locked out of the editing room during post-production.
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