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Not many people are as fortunate as the recent weeks that have befallen Jason Bohm.
On January 19th, a film he produced with three others, It's what's inside, It debuted in the Midnight Genre section at the Sundance Film Festival. Less than 72 hours later, Netflix NFLX secured the rights to the film and paid $17 million, the highest price in Sundance's 40-year history.
And this weekend, Baum will once again be in the running for the Best Music Video Grammy for producing Kendrick Lamar's latest visual landmark. Don't count me in, Featuring Oscar winner Helen Mirren. This is Baum's fifth Grammy nomination and third time working with the rap superstar, following his 2018 win. humble and last year's heart part 5.
Baum is modest about his chances of winning a Grammy for his latest album, perhaps because it's becoming a common occurrence. He was previously nominated for the Arcade Fire video. we exist, He produced two of the episodes for Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated visual album. Black is king. Baum was also nominated for a Grammy and an Emmy Award for Best Production of a 2020 documentary directed by Spike Jonze. The story of the Beastie Boys.
Helen Mirren's involvement in the latest Lamar project “came about very organically,” Baum said. “We had a character that we wanted to be notable for.”
Each team contacted them and it became clear that Millen was interested in participating. A meeting was set up between Lamar and the production team.
“We all really hit it off,” Boehm said. “She couldn't be nicer to work with. In fact, they really enjoyed working together.”
Bohm said Lamar and Mirren were so sympathetic that he even asked Mirren to do additional voice-over work on other projects.
And despite its success, it's safe to say it's safe. It's what's inside, Baum was interested in music videos and graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he got his start.
“I really loved music and admired the work that so many people were doing,” Baum recalls. “The heyday (of video request programs) is over.” TRL on MTV when I graduated from college. A lot of money was being spent and a lot of videos were being made. It was really exciting. ”
In fact, in addition to his Grammy-nominated projects, Baum has created videos for an astonishing range of musicians, including Paul McCartney, Sia, Muse, Jack White, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Depeche Mode, Calvin Harris, and Chromeo. is in charge of.
During that time, he interned with several directors he respected, including Dave Myers and Chris Milk. Working in the music video field has proven to be a rich training ground, especially in how to work quickly and create high-quality work while saving costs, and the talent… Equally essential for anyone involved in scripted independent film.
“What I've learned over the years working in short form is not only what moves to cut, but also how to grow money,” Boehm said. “I'm used to doing everything on short films where I don't have a lot of staff. I included post-production on every project and was able to get into the real nitty-gritty.”
This music video background also connected Baum with a wide range of talent on both sides of the camera.
“I think what's been really interesting is getting to know so many of the staff and coaches and being able to stand up with them,” Bohm said. “Many of my classmates at NYU had projects at (Sundance) with people who work in the music industry.”
It's the contents Director Greg Jardine is one example. Baum said the two first worked together in 2010 in a music video with a budget of $5,000.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Greg as we have had a great relationship over 14 years,” Boehm said. It's the contents This was their first full-length project, and it was designed to keep the action largely confined to one location, without making the outcome seem like it was dictated by budget rather than creative decisions.
“This is designed to be easy to do,” Boehm said. “In a way, we've fallen into the trope and genre of the one-location movie. But Greg doesn't fall into that cliché, he pushes it forward, doesn't make it feel like space is limited, and puts a twist on the genre. I was really keen to add that.”
One of Baum's first full-length projects was one in which he served as co-producer. music, A feature-length drama co-written and directed by singer Sia. The film was scheduled to be released in theaters, but the coronavirus lockdown derailed those plans. Baum also served as an associate producer with creator Joey Soloway on one of the final episodes of the Emmy Award-winning Amazon AMZN series. Transparent.
Now he's working on an indie project that sold for big bucks, and he'll play another big festival in March at South by Southwest, before Netflix takes the project to 260 million viewers around the world. It is planned to be delivered to customers. The challenge for Netflix may be deciding which of tens of thousands of categories to put in. that's what's in it. Indeed, for Baum, defining the film's combination of genres is difficult.
“I(It's the contents) as a multi-genre movie experience,'' Baum said in an interview four days after the Netflix sale was announced. “Actually, it's not one or the other. There's elements of thriller, mystery, straight comedy, sci-fi. The Midnight (section) is stereotyped as horror and dark material. From what I've seen on the show and what I've been a part of, I think it's like a place for a more fun genre of cooking overall.”
Netflix offered a $17 million acquisition price in its own big week, reporting 13 million new subscribers and a 12.5% revenue increase.
“We're excited to partner with Netflix on this,” Boehm said. “I'm excited to see how they bring this work to the masses. They have such a global platform, so it's exciting that so many people can see it.” I am.”
The major acquisition comes at a major turning point for the streaming giant, which is moving away from award-winning, prestigious film and directing filmmakers.
Netflix also announced in March that longtime film chief Scott Stuber, who over the past seven years has overseen Netflix's massive spending on feature-length original films, including the 2023 Ridley Scott biopic. announced his impending retirement. napoleonits cost is reported to be between $130 million and $200 million.
After producing 90 original films in 2018, three to five times more than traditional Hollywood studios, Netflix has cut its original production to “just” 49 in 2023. A six-month writer's and actors' strike likely contributed to the film's already-starting decline. Other reasons include Stuber's own preference for fewer, better-supervised projects. However, this trend is expected to continue.
For example, Netflix spent $5 billion over 10 years on WWE's weekly live broadcasts. Living Programs and related “shoulder” content. This is very different from the big prize bait projects of the past few years. Napoleon, Rome, The Power of the Dog, Don't Look Up, Da 5 Bloods, or Mank.
Netflix's programming costs have remained roughly flat in recent years, at $17 billion annually. The company hinted on its earnings call last week that it plans to license more existing programming from competitors.That adds to the price tag It's the contents Particularly noteworthy and a bargain. Baum's talent for low-cost, high-impact projects with deep ties to music may be especially valuable given changing economic conditions and ambitions across the industry.
“This space is where I first fell in love with film,” Baum said. “And I think it's just adapting to the times, as we've seen with some of the (feature-length) music projects like Taylor Swift.” Elas tour and beyoncé's renaissance. There are a lot of interesting things happening and I'm very interested to see what the future holds for the industry. ”
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