Hidden Agent, premiere this Friday, April 22 Netflixis the new super production of the streaming service with a big budget, over $200 millionstar cast with Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, RegéJean Pagein addition to the Brazilian Wagner Moura, and directed by Russo brothers Anthony and Joe, known for directing four Marvel films, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. One of the action sequences shot in Prague alone cost around 40 million dollars and took a month to produce.
The film also marks the debut of Ryan Gosling in action movies. “I had to train a lot,” the actor, who plays Sierra Six, a CIAtrained assassin set to become invisible, said at a virtual news conference. “I also had help from a counselor named Chili Palmer, who gave me tips like always having a bag of candy with you and tying your shoelaces on the door when you sleep so you know when someone is trying to come in. “
In the film based on the book by Mark Greney, Gosling is a young man recruited from prison by Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) to become an undercover agent for the CIA’s Sierra program. But now the show is over at the agency, and Denny Carmichael (RegéJean Page) will do whatever it takes to eliminate Six by sending in mercenary killer Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans). “Playing a villain is always a little more fun,” Evans, who played Captain America for several years, said at the press conference. “Working with the Russians gives me a sense of freedom and confidence, which makes me take more risks.”
high heels
Six enlists the help of agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas), but must also try to rescue Claire (Julia Butters), Donald’s niece, who has been kidnapped. “I think it’s really cool to have women in action movies not wearing heels while fighting guys,” said Butters, who is 13. “It’s important to show them respect and power at the same time.” Ana de Armas cheerfully recalled doing it fighting in heels in the James Bond film 007: No Time to Die. But he agreed with Butters. “It’s cool to show female power in a different way.”
Wagner Moura plays Lazlo Sosa, a document forger who plays a small but important role. “Anything I could throw to Ryan, he would take and give back,” Moura said in an interview. “That’s what you feel when you watch a movie, the tension between the actors. It’s like we’re in an intense volleyball game.”
The Russo brothers’ idea is that The Hidden Agent is a spy production for the present day. “Bond is in his 60’s and Bourne is in his 20’s. This film is related to problems that are happening in the world right now.” And who knows, it will open a string of films as successful as James Bond and Jason Bourne.
The company is seeking a franchise that will mitigate the decline in subscriber numbers
Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service with around 220 million members, is looking for a hit that brings in more subscribers and is ideally a platform brand. “I think they expect to find a golden goose at some point,” market analyst Bruce Nash told The Wrap. “Netflix’s biggest weakness compared to Disney+ and HBO Max is that it doesn’t have exclusive rights to a movie franchise, so it makes sense that they continue to try to fill that gap.”
In recent months, the once seemingly unshakable company, the streaming pioneer, has taken a beating. In April, the stock fell 37% on news that it had lost 200,000 subscribers, prompting massive layoffs. The forecasts for the second quarter were even more disastrous. And sure enough, Netflix lost 970,000 subscribers. But stocks rose. That’s because the number, while representing a loss record, was much lower than expected, thanks largely to Stranger Things season 4.
volumes
Hence the desire that super productions like Red Alert bring with them Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson and GalGadot, and now hidden agents are becoming franchises and conquering fans willing to subscribe to the service because of these products. In an interview with the New York Times, world film director Scott Stuber said: “We will not drastically reduce investments, but we will reduce the volume. We’re trying to be more conscious. We were in a business that has long invested in volume. Now we’re more strategic and focused.” This fiscal year, the company plans to invest $18 billion in content.
For decades, the major Hollywood film studios have almost exclusively produced blockbusters worth over $150 million. Hence the need for strong and wellknown brands, whether originally comics or books, to bring huge audiences to cinemas. The point is that Netflix doesn’t have the same profitability as much as it has raised prices, they’re still lower than those charged at the box office. Despite its success, Red Alert was unable to help meet its subscriber goal for the quarter. But Netflix needs to keep trying.