In this weekend’s SVoD news, we look back at the triumph of streaming at the Oscars, the first spin off of James Bond developed by Amazon after its acquisition of MGM, and a very surprising announcement about the sulphurous biopic of Marilyn Monroe.
Unless you live in a cave, you have certainly heard of the Oscars, the 94th edition of which was held overnight from Sunday to Monday. You will at least have had wind of a certain slap, on which we will not return here. But what you may not know is that this ceremony signed the first real triumph of streaming platforms in Hollywood. Despite its number one status worldwide, however, Netflix will not be the first SVoD service to take home the best film statuette. This has in fact been attributed to a outsider, CODAAmerican remake of The Aries Family produced by Apple for its Apple TV+ platform. The film also walked away with Oscars for Best Adaptation and Best Supporting Actor.
For its part, Netflix still recovered the prize for best director for Jane Campion and her acclaim Power of the Dog, who had already collected the same trophy at the Venice Film Festival last year. The Los Gatos serve also won the all-new People’s Choice Award for Army of the Dead, which probably owes its success to the method of awarding this award – a Twitter hashtag – which benefited the very enthusiastic community gathered around director Zack Snyder. Finally, note the victory of In the eyes of Tammy Faye for the performance of Jessica Chastain, a film available since March 23 on Disney+ – but released in theaters in the United States.
Kisses from Beijing (Express)
Absent of the winners, Prime Video still made people talk about it with a singular announcement to say the least. A few weeks after formalizing the takeover of MGM, Amazon already seems determined to make the operation profitable. The e-commerce giant has announced the start of a project around James Bond. Logical, given that it is the most lucrative franchise recovered in this transaction. Except that the project in question is surprising. According to variety, no series, film or even documentary, the first content stamped 007 produced by Amazon will be… a game show. The pitch? Duos of candidates compete in a chase taking place in mythical places of the saga around the world, with physical tests and trivia on the menu. The reward for the winner: one million pounds. We hope to see at least a few Aston Martins in this Bond-style Beijing Express…
A more sulphurous Marilyn than ever
Back to Netflix for the next announcement. For several years, a biopic dedicated to Marilyn Monroe has been in preparation on the Los Gatos service, under the name of Blonde hair. We already know that Andrew Dominik is in charge of the production, and that Ana de Armas will take on the features of the iconic actress. We also knew that the film would be as sulphurous as the life of the latter, to the point of shocking Netflix in its first version. This aspect has just been confirmed by the NC-17 classification assigned by the Motion Picture Association – the strictest possible – for scenes of a sexual nature. It is the first Netflix film to receive such a ranking.
On Disney +, we remain much wiser. The latest project concerns the sympathetic The Full Monty, which will get its own mini-series with the original cast. This comedy released in 1997 told the story of a band of strippers made up of workers from the north of England, against a backdrop of social crisis. The Disney+ series will return to meet them 25 years after the events of the original. A funny idea from which we will not expect much, but which, we hope, will surprise us.
The return of the Derry girls
Let’s end as is the custom with the or rather the trailers of the week. We told you about it not long ago in our weekly suggestions, the unknown Derry Girls is a little gem of Irish-style comedy. Luckily, this is the moment chosen by its original broadcaster, Channel 4, to reveal a first trailer for the third season, which should be released this year on Netflix. We are very, very excited.
The other promising trailer released at the end of last week is that of The Offera series centered on the genesis of the Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, scheduled for late April on Paramount+. First images extremely enticing both in terms of rhythm and plot or casting. We are particularly enthusiastic about the very faithful look of Dan Fogler (seen in Fantastic Beasts) as the director. A priori, the series should land on Canal + by the time the American service arrives in France, the two having recently signed an agreement.