Latest news with #Sarandos
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ted Sarandos' ‘Studio' Appearance Is a Wink
Let us be more simple and less vain, Rousseau once wrote. But then, he never occupied a C-suite with cameras rolling everywhere. This time of year, we talk about guest appearances by actors on television — Kaitlyn Dever on The Last of Us, Jamie Lee Curtis going full Donna on The Bear, Melissa McCarthy channeling John Cena opposite Meryl Streep in Only Murders in the Building. More from The Hollywood Reporter Gotham TV Awards: 'Adolescence' Sweeps Limited Series Categories Olivia Munn Loved That 'Your Friends & Neighbors' Finale Reveal: "Money Can Corrupt the Soul" Apple TV+ Sets Serial Killer Drama With Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz, Stephen Graham What we talk about less is guest appearances by executives of television, and for good reason. Executives are supposed to stay far from a TV camera. Isn't that the bargain — they have the power to fire everyone, and in return, we don't have to see them? Yet a different guest appearance is filling snack-room chatter across Hollywood and media companies these days — the one where Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos turns up (at a urinal at the Golden Globes) on Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Apple TV+'s The Studio. The industry satire features many Hollywood types playing perfectly exaggerated versions of themselves, starting with Martin Scorsese and working on down. But there's only one big exec — Sarandos — who schools Rogen's green studio-boss character on how an exec should ensure contractually that he's thanked at awards shows, like he is. Sarandos isn't the only member of the suit class showing up on our screens; 'tis the season, apparently, for this weird subgenre. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones materializes in Taylor Sheridan's Landman to give a (moving) speech to Jon Hamm on how family has been his driving force. Knicks games on WBD's TNT have even spotlighted CEO David Zaslav. A recent first-round matchup between the Knicks and Pistons granted us the spectacle of the exec chatting with some celebs. 'On hand here at the Garden, John McEnroe, Paul Rudd and David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery,' intoned broadcaster Ian Eagle; clearly the three men all share the same pop-cultural resonance. An appearance later in the playoffs featured cuts to Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Tracy Morgan and, again, Zaslav. This all might've been funnier if Zaslav pulled a Sarandos and went on an ESPN broadcast. As it was, it just played strangely, considering WBD has recently lost live basketball rights. Brandon Tartikoff started this trend, so we have his late, blessed memory to blame. The NBC pioneer had numerous cameos, including one with Screech et al. on Saved by the Bell mocking the idea of a school sitcom, self-poking at the instincts of TV bosses. The exec cameo is an odd beast, meant to humanize but often doing the opposite — you need to be that important to be making fun of yourself. After all, Tartikoff did greenlight that show, and it was a hit, as his very presence on it attests. At least when Bill Gates cameoed on The Big Bang Theory or Mark Zuckerberg on The Simpsons, they played it straight, avoiding the humblebrags. Sarandos in particular deserves some attention. He is clearly engaging in amusing self-parody, letting us in on (or allowing Rogen to let us in on) the insecurities of the big-bonus class in these days of Wall Street and social media pressure. As Sarandos notes, an exec needs to be thanked because it's the only way people will know about their association with a show. But as with other appearances, what makes the executive cameo fun is also what makes it annoying, a robust exercise in good-humored narcissism. The joke is that they can laugh at themselves, even if the very act of going in front of the camera requires taking yourself seriously. And sorry, going on a rival's show is kind of a flex. Indeed, if all of this wasn't enough, Rogen has revealed Apple actually wanted Tim Cook in the scene instead of Sarandos. The desire for some in-house promo is understandable, but surely the head of the country's fourth- largest company has more to worry about than getting noticed at a fictional Golden Globes urinal? Or, if the flex was the concern, that Apple viewers might suddenly become aware of a rival executive? Ever the mischief-maker, Rogen has not only revealed this but even made an argument for why Apple should mount an Emmys campaign for Sarandos — 'have him take a nomination away from one of his own shows,' he told THR's Mikey O'Connell. Alas, Netflix has no lead contenders in guest actor in a comedy, and there is no indication that Apple will be campaigning Sarandos. And given how many great actors make guest appearances this season without any subtextual agendas, thankfully so. But it does raise the question: If by some chance Sarandos were to win, would he be contractually obligated to thank Tim Cook? This story appeared in the June 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Business Insider
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Netflix's Ted Sarandos says AI will make it cheaper to tell epic stories — and won't kill creativity
AI may be a game changer for Hollywood budgets, but it won't replace human creativity, says Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. In a conversation on the WTF podcast with entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Sarandos said he wasn't afraid of AI. "I hope creators aren't either because it's going to make a great tool to tell stories even better, and make it possible to make movies they couldn't before," he said. Sarandos highlighted AI's potential to reduce the cost of visual effects. He said Martin Scorsese's Netflix film "The Irishman" used de-aging technology that was thought to have added about $30 million to the budget: "Today, we can do that exact film better for a fraction." That kind of cost reduction, Sarandos explained, could allow a wider range of creators to tell more ambitious stories without requiring blockbuster-size budgets. "Those tools will become very much like visual effect tools, very much like computer animation," he said. "You're using the tools to tell the story and express yourself in a way that you couldn't before." Sarandos didn't believe that AI would replace the emotional core of storytelling. "What AI is doing today is like the antithesis of imagination," he said. "It's giving you the most predictable outcome based on these kinds of rough ideas you're giving it." Sarandos admitted that some creators could simply accept AI-generated content without "taking the step of saying, 'Not like this,' and just go with what was spit out — that would be the danger." He was confident that the tech can "lower the cost of doing things in a way that makes it possible to tell bigger and better stories — but still requires people to do that." Director James Cameron echoed similar concerns in an April appearance on Meta's "Boz to the Future" podcast, suggesting AI could as much as halve the cost of effects-heavy blockbusters, but not replace human creators. Meanwhile, several tech giants now offer AI video tools. In December, OpenAI released Sora, an AI video generator that can create short videos from written instructions and edit existing videos by filling frames. Last month, Google unveiled Flow, which uses its latest AI models to generate visuals, sound effects, and dialogue.
India.com
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Anurag Kashyap Claps Back At Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, Calls Him Dumb Over Sacred Games Remark
New Delhi: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has fired back at Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos following the latter's recent comments about Sacred Games. During an appearance on Nikhil Kamath's WTF podcast, Sarandos spoke about Netflix India's evolution, mentioning popular titles like Sacred Games, Heeramandi, CID, and The Kapil Sharma Show. In the podcast, Sarandos expressed doubt over the decision to launch Netflix India's original programming with Sacred Games. He suggested that, in hindsight, something more "populist" might have been a better starting point. 'Our very first Indian original show was Sacred Games, and I thought, 'This is going to be great. People in India love movies. This is a TV show that feels as big as a movie — it has movie stars.' What was interesting was that it was very, very novel,' Sarandos said. 'But what I didn't understand was that we were introducing a brand-new kind of entertainment in a country the size of India.' He added: 'If I did it all over again, would I have done Sacred Games a couple of years later and started with something more populist instead? Maybe. We knew that India was going to be a slower journey to reach our goals. But it's a great prize at the end of the day. The addressable market is growing in India in the next couple of years, so it's exciting.' Following Sarandos's remarks, Kashyap responded sharply, calling the Netflix CEO 'dumb.' Sharing his response on Threads, Kashyap wrote: 'He should have started with Saas-Bahu... he would have done well. Which he is doing now :)) I always knew the tech guys are dumb when it comes to storytelling, but @tedsarandos being the definition of dumb — that I didn't know. Good to discover that. This explains everything now.' Sacred Games was Netflix India's first original series, directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. The show, which starred Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, gained massive popularity for its gritty storytelling and cinematic scale. However, the second season received mixed reviews, and the show was ultimately not renewed for a third.
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Netflix CEO is ‘Dumb', says Anurag Kashyap after Ted Sarandos makes critical comment about 'Sacred Games'
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has strongly criticized Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos following the latter's recent comments about the streaming giant's first Indian original series, Sacred Games . The show, co-created by Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, debuted in 2018 featuring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It marked Netflix's first original content production in India and was initially well-received. However, the second season met with mixed reviews, eventually leading to the show's cancellation. Sarandos recently appeared on Nikhil Kamath's podcast, where he reflected on Netflix's Indian strategy. He expressed doubts about starting with Sacred Games and suggested the platform might have benefitted from launching with more populist content. This perspective did not sit well with Kashyap, who responded sharply on social media. Ted Sarandos' Comments on Netflix India During the podcast, Ted Sarandos acknowledged the challenges of entering the Indian market, noting the country's vast size and diverse audience made it difficult to introduce new entertainment formats. He explained, 'Our very first Indian original show was Sacred Games . And I thought, 'This is going to be great. People in India love movies. This is a TV show that feels as big as a movie, it has movie stars.' What's interesting about it is that it was very, very novel, but what I didn't understand was that we were introducing a brand new kind of entertainment in a country the size of India.' Sarandos further admitted that, looking back, he might have delayed the release of Sacred Games and chosen more broadly appealing content initially. He said, 'For me, if I did it all over again, would I have done Sacred Games a couple of years later, and did things that were more populist instead? Maybe. But we knew that India was going to be a slower journey to get to where we wanted to get to. But it's a great prize, at the end of the day. The addressable market is growing in the next couple of years in India, so it's exciting.' Anurag Kashyap's Reaction Kashyap did not hold back in his reaction. Sharing a screenshot of a news report on social media platform Threads, he sarcastically suggested that Netflix should have started with 'Saas Bahu,' referring to traditional soap operas popular in India. He wrote, 'He should have started with Saas Bahu .. he would have done well. Which he is doing now.' He continued to criticize Sarandos, stating, 'I always knew the tech guys are dumb when it comes to storytelling but @tedsarandos is the definition of dumb is what I didn't know. Good to discover that. This explains everything now.' The remark alluded to Netflix's recent partnership with Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms , known for producing saas-bahu soap operas, hinting that the streaming platform is now focusing on more populist shows similar to those Sarandos mentioned. Public Response Fans of Sacred Games showed support for Kashyap's outburst, emphasizing the show's role in establishing Netflix's presence in India's OTT space. Many social media users praised the series, calling it a gateway to web content in India and expressing disappointment with Sarandos' take. One user commented, 'Sacred Games was the show that got Netflix in the game,' while another said, 'Imagine not starting with Sacred Games .' Some viewers humorously predicted Netflix's decline in India if the platform moved away from quality storytelling. This is not the first time Kashyap has criticized Netflix India . Earlier, he expressed frustration about the platform's reluctance to back unconventional content. When the show Adolescence was gaining attention, he remarked that Netflix India would likely have rejected such a series or forced it into an unsuitable film format due to its ambiguous ending and complex themes.
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First Post
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
Shocking! Anurag Kashyap blasts Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos for this reason, says 'Always knew tech guys are dumb but...'
Sarandos touched upon the timing of the show's launch: 'If I did it all over again, would I have done Sacred Games a couple of years later, maybe.' read more Anurag Kashyap revolutionized the OTT space with the iconic Sacred Games back in 2018 also directed by Vikramaditya Motwane. The series starred Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, along with Radhika Apte and Kubbra Sait. However, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said in an interview he is unsure if starting the programming of the streaming giant with this show was the right idea. Kashyap isn't pleased. In fact, he has severely criticized his comments in his statement that reads- 'He should have started with Saas Bahu .. he would have done well. Which he is doing now Z I always knew the tech guys are dumb when it comes to story telling but tedsarandos is the definition of dumb is what I didn't know . Good to discover that. This explains everything now.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What Ted said Our very first Indian original show was Sacred Games. And I thought, 'This is going to be great. People in India love movies. This is a TV show that feels as big as a movie, it has movie stars.' What's interesting about it is that it was very, very novel, but what I didn't understand that we were introducing a brand new kind of entertainment in a country the size of India. At the time, India's television landscape was largely defined by sports, talk shows, and family dramas - very different from the cinematic format Netflix was offering. 'There was nothing else like it,' he reflected, highlighting the difference between existing formats and the kind of 'cinema-infused television' Netflix was producing globally. Sarandos also touched upon the timing of the show's launch: 'If I did it all over again, would I have done Sacred Games a couple of years later, maybe.'
