Scott Stuber, who brought Oscar-winning filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Jane Campion and Alfonso Cuarón to Netflix and, in doing so, helped usher the entertainment industry into the streaming era, will step down as president of film at service, the company said on Monday.
News of Mr. Stuber's departure came on the eve of the Oscar nominations. During his tenure, which began in 2017, Netflix had eight films nominated for best picture, although winning in that category proved elusive.
“Scott has helped lead the new paradigm for how movies are made, distributed and watched,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “He attracted incredible creative talent to Netflix, making us a top film studio.”
While Stuber's slate of films helped substantially boost Netflix's business, he often clashed with Sarandos over strategy. Stuber often tried to appease filmmakers by pushing for wider theatrical releases than Sarandos was willing to undertake.
Still, Netflix received the most Oscar nominations of any studio in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In addition to critical hits like Scorsese's “The Irishman,” Campion's “The Power of the Dog” and Alfonso Cuarón's “Roma,” Stuber's tenure also produced popular hits like “Red Notice,” “Bird Box” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”
He made big bets on the filmmakers he wanted to attract to the studio, spending $450 million to land two sequels to Rian Johnson's “Knives Out” and more than $160 million for Zack Snyder's recent release, “Rebel Moon.” Greta Gerwig, who directed and co-wrote the box office hit “Barbie,” is also working with Netflix on a film adaptation based on the “Chronicles of Narnia” book series.
“Maestro,” a biopic of composer Leonard Bernstein, written, directed by and starring Bradley Cooper, is one of the Netflix films expected to earn several Oscar nominations this year. (Netflix will also announce its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday.)
Netflix was sometimes criticized for prioritizing quantity over quality in its film strategy, a knock Stuber acknowledged.
“I think one of the fair criticisms has been that we do too much and not enough is great,” he said in an interview in 2021, adding: “I think what we want to do is refine and make a little bit less better and bigger.” . .”
In a statement Monday, Stuber thanked Sarandos and Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, for “the incredible opportunity to join Netflix and create a new home for original films.”
“I'm proud of what we accomplished,” he said, “and I'm so grateful to all the filmmakers and talent who trusted us to help them tell their stories.”
Stuber is scheduled to leave in March and start his own media company. Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, will take over Stuber's duties when he leaves. Last year, she essentially became Stuber's boss, putting an administrative layer between him and Sarandos.
