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.
