Netflix tends to dish out a lot of money for various different projects, but with the expectation that they’ll get “conten”t in return. However, something tells me they regret giving “47 Ronin” director, Carl Rinsch, $61M to produce and direct the sci-fi epic “Conquest.”
Rinsch was recently indicted by the Feds for allegedly ripping off Netflix for $11M. He promised them a sci-fi project that was never made. He is looking at likely the rest of his life behind bars, if found guilty.
Here’s an update (via Deadline), reporting that, a month before his fraud and money laundering trial is set to begin, Rinsch is so “broke,” with “no income,” his public defenders told the court he can’t even afford to travel from L.A. to New York for a pre-trial hearing on August 19.
In response, Judge Jed Rakoff ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to cover his travel expenses, ensuring his arrival by August 18. Originally slated for September 8, Rinsch’s trial is now set for December 2, 2025, with possible witnesses including former Netflix executive Cindy Holland, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, and even Keanu Reeves.
In 2019, Netflix had won a bidding war for “Conquest,” with the likes of Amazon and HBO competitive until the end. The story goes that Netflix personally handed Rinsch millions of dollars in advance to make “Conquest.” However, red flags started to appear when Rinsch sent out emails to colleagues claiming he had “discovered Covid-19’s secret transmission mechanism” and that he was now “able to predict lightning strikes.”
Rinsch also started spending the Netflix cash; some of his purchases included crypto investments, five Rolls-Royces, high-end, mattresses, designer clothes, and legal representation in his divorce proceedings. Once production began on “Conquest,” Rinsch’s erratic behavior included punching holes in walls, misusing prescription drugs and publicly accusing his wife of plotting to assassinate him.
And yet, mid-way through production, Rinsch asked Netflix for more money to be sent so he could continue the shoot, $11M to be precise, and they somehow agreed to his request. Rinsch then took the money they deposited into his account and invested it all into “Dogecoin.”
For some reason, Rinsch tried to sue Netflix for “breach of contract”, claiming they owed him $14M — he used the money the streamer gave him to pay his lawyers. No surprise, Netflix canceled “Conquest” soon after.
I’m not entirely sure why Netflix gave Rinsch $55M to begin with; he was coming off “47 Ronin,” released in 2013, which was a $175M disaster — it went over budget, had extensive reshoots, and Rinsch’s erratic behavior led him to being locked out of the editing room during post-production work.
Can we please have a six-episode Netflix True Crime doc about this man?
There's a lot of talent. Julianne Moore, Elle Fanning, Josh Hartnett, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins, Danny Huston, Robert Aramayo and Chloe Pirrie will all be part of the sprawling ensemble.