Netflix is pivoting to lower-budget filmmaking projects, moving away from the high-octane big-budget action flicks, the New York Times reports. That would be a piece of great news for filmmakers as it opens up more opportunities to screen your next project on the Netflix platform.

Enough with the mega-budget projects

The story begins with Mark Wahlberg. According to BI in 2020, Netflix paid Wahlberg a whopping $30 million to star in “Spenser Confidential,” which clocks in at 24 on the highest-paid film roles of all time. Critics panned the action thriller, an adaptation of Robert P. Barker’s 2013 novel “Wonderland.” It scored a dismal 36% on Rotten Tomatoes despite the hefty investment. That caused some turbulence in the screening giant, in which Netflix’s previous film chief, Scott Stuber, left the company in January following clashes with bosses over what kinds of films to produce. Before Stuber’s exit, Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria met with the company’s film department, where she said film quality needed to improve, according to the Times. In the meeting, Bajaria told staff that the company was moving in a new direction and to consider leaving if they were not on board, according to the outlet. Now, Dan Lin is the streaming service’s new film chief, and he wants to produce a more varied slate of movies to better appeal to the array of interests among subscribers.

The indie-style filmmaking is the preferred approach

Dan Lin arrived as Netflix’s new film chief on April 1 and has already started making changes. He laid off around 15 creative film executive group members, including one vice president and two directors. (Netflix’s entire film department is around 150 people.) He reorganized his film department by genre rather than budget level and has indicated that Netflix is no longer only the home of expensive action flicks featuring big movie stars, like “The Gray Man” with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans or “Red Notice” with Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson, Michael Bay and more. NYT reports that Lin is now tasked with producing a wider variety of films, which the company thinks can be done at a lower budget, to connect better with the site’s audience. One of his first moves was ending massive upfront paychecks for actors.

Good news for filmmakers

Netflix has learned (in the hard way), that the story is the most important factor, and making low-budget films might be preferred over the high-octane mega-budget action flicks which cause the audience to turn off the TV. What does it mean for us? Netflix might be more tolerant to accept projects from independent creators, as far as the content will appeal to its large audience and subscriber base.