“I took about 100 episodes of the two-hour movie ‘The Duke’, and the six-part drama ‘Suriname’ had to be completed in 138 episodes. There were many days when I filmed without rehearsal, but it was possible thanks to actors like Hwang Jung-min and Ha Jung-woo. "
This is the underlined line of what director Yoon Jong-bin, who first challenged the drama with Netflix original Suriname, said at the production presentation on September 7th. It was hard to believe that he skipped rehearsals and shot to keep the budget. Netflix is famous for being a cool guy who is as demanding as his mother-in-law until he decides on the production cost, but does not intervene in shooting and editing after agreeing with each other.
In response, Suriname (Narco - Saints) ranked 8th in the world (Flix Patrol tally) on the 12th, three days after its release, showing the ability of K content. Unlike the House of Paper: Joint Economic Zone, Model Family, and Seoul National University Operation, which have been face-to-face, they received a thumbs-up. It is certainly worthy of praise that it has drawn this quality to a relatively small budget of 35 billion won, although it is not as much as Narcos, the loan of this field, which depicts the confrontation between the Colombian drug cartel and the US Drug Enforcement Administration DEA.
Netflix subscribers are slowing down, but OTT's power, which has become a big hit, is not expected to easily break down for the time being. This summer, Hansan failed to mobilize 10 million viewers, and the lonely appearance of HVAC 2 at the Chuseok Theater was also a landscape changed by OTT. If it is all right, is there a word that 'Suriname', which is a competition of 'Hyojo 2', is aimed at the first row of the room?
So many dramas and filmmakers wait and wait in Jongno, where Netflix Korea is located. It is as difficult as the entrance examination of Seoul, where about 12 investment officials are screening and judging K scripts aimed at the global village. A plan called treatment or a script for one to four times will be screened, but the drama version With God is tricky enough to be rejected at the Pre-buy stage. Of course, if the proven 'jack-bae' is attached, many additional points are Buyeo.
Even if you pass the examination and finish shooting safely, you can not avoid the disadvantage if you over budget. In Korea, it covers it with reserve funds and protects investors, but it does not work in tight Netflix because a penalty to recover the stake of the manufacturer is applied as much as the excess budget. A typical example was Lee Jae-Gyu's 'My School Now'. Netflix made hundreds of billions of won for the drama, but the production company had to be satisfied with earning only 300 million won. This is because the director of the heart exceeded the production cost because he wanted to save the plot of the supporting actors.
The production company of Suriname is a film company with a stake in Yoon Jong-bin and a subsidiary of Content Central. Was it to avoid being the second Lee Jae-Gyu? Yoon Jong-bin made the cast with skilled actors who matched his hands and feet. As the situation suggests, there is also an uncomfortable view that Netflix is really educating Korean directors. It is the backdrop that Korea, which makes good work with strong funding, is regarded as a remake supply base.
“It is desirable to have K content on OTT and enter the global village, but it is necessary to support the directors’ creative desire more than now. If you approach it with a false rain, you can soon become a rouse-roose Game " Like Squid Game, it is good to give you a sequel if you comply with the production cost and make it well, but you have to Buyeo more flexibility in the budget.
There is also a counterargument: For directors who enjoy some royal status, Netflix's tight working environment will be an opportunity to reflect on themselves. “The directors of Korea are more empowered than responsibility, but they will be superior to OTT, and there will be mishaps that will get off the road during their work with OTT,” one producer warned.