Netflix Backs Fewer, Better Films as Dan Lin Courts Charlize Theron for 'Apex'
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 4
Netflix Backs Fewer, Better Films as Dan Lin Courts Charlize Theron for 'Apex'
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 4
Summary
Dan Lin said Netflix targeted Charlize Theron for survival thriller “Apex,” betting she was uniquely suited to a physically demanding lead set in the Australian outback.
“Apex” reflects Lin’s film strategy: make fewer movies with sharper execution, emphasizing action that feels real rather than chasing volume across every genre.
Lin said he and deputy Kira Goldberg even used a cafeteria meeting—not a traditional Hollywood pitch dinner—to test whether Theron was ready to “roll up her sleeves.”
The approach marks a cultural shift from the Scott Stuber era, when Netflix’s film unit tried to prove it could make virtually every kind of movie and wooed top directors with big budgets and creative freedom.
Lin’s broader goal, he said, is to make Netflix’s vast film operation feel smaller and more hands-on as the company resets its relationship with Hollywood.