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They are going to produce 20 films and TV series in Mexico annually, so 80 total over 4 years, at an average cost of $12.5 million per piece of content. The sam
by paxys 2y ago
They are going to produce 20 films and TV series in Mexico annually, so 80 total over 4 years, at an average cost of $12.5 million per piece of content. The same production in the USA would easily run 10x that, maybe more. No brainer to move more production overseas.
- crazygringo 2y agoThis doesn't say anything about moving US production there. It's presumably mostly Spanish-speaking content for Spanish-speaking audiences. Yes you can get Vancouver to stand in for New York City. No, you can't get Mexico to stand in for the US in most scenarios.
- alephnerd 2y ago> No, you can't get Mexico to stand in for the US in most scenarios I'd disagree. A lot of CDMX, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Leon looks like a similar if slightly dated version of LA, San Jose, or flatland parts of SF and Oakland - sort of like a 1980s or 1990s kind of aesthetic because of Mexico's economic boom back then. But this is absolutely about Spanish language content for the Hispanoblante world.
- blahyawnblah 2y agoWhat was their boom based on?
- alephnerd 2y agoManufacturing. Mexico was the original "China". China began booming in the 2000s because Mexico became expensive so a lot of low margins manufacturing left Tijuana and Guadalajara for Tianjin and Guangzhou [0], the same way how you now see manufacturing leaving China for cost reasons having a similar economic impact/shock [1]. It's telling that China only caught up with Mexico's GDP per Capita and HDI around 2019-20, and economic issues similar to those in Mexico in the 2000s (excluding the drug war related ones) began manifesting in China as well. For example, NPR [2], NYT [3][4], and BBC [5] reports from the early 2000s about Mexico are pretty similar to those you'd hear about China today. History doesn't repeat but it sure does rhyme. [0] - http://international-economy.com/TIE_Sp03_Rosen.pdf http://international-economy.com/TIE_Sp03_Rosen.pdf [1] - https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/cfer-2024-0023/html https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/cfer-2024-002... [2] - https://www.npr.org/2003/12/22/1556267/mexican-economy-struggles https://www.npr.org/2003/12/22/1556267/mexican-economy-strug... [3] - https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/20/business/mexico-s-jobless-rate-hits-a-6-year-high.html https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/20/business/mexico-s-jobless... [4] - https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/business/mexico-misses-growth-forecast.html https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/business/mexico-misses-gr... [5] - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/812893.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/812893.stm
- golergka 2y agoGreen screens are international
- devindotcom 2y agoI would expect them to build and staff studios and soundstages down there. Location shooting is expensive wherever you go - this is about getting away from US labor and other costs. They're not the only ones doing it either.
- nonethewiser 2y agoPoint remains though, doesnt it? They should shoot more movies in Mexico because it's drastically cheaper.
- hx8 2y agoI think you missed a point. It might be harder to sell Americans on films shot in Mexico because the filming location will not pass as US. So they likely cannot move projects targeting US audiences to Mexico. However, films targeting Latin + South America audiences might do really well if filmed in Mexico. So the expansion is probably mostly about catering to that market. To be honest, I don't envy Netflix's position. They release a show, it's culturally relevant for 2-8 weeks, and then they have to release another show to keep the subscriptions active. Traditional television has weekly releases that maintained relevance longer. Movies generate much more revenue per hour on content in theaters, and have long term licensing revenue. Their P/E ratio is higher than other content companies that offer similar streaming services, so shareholders expect revenue growth but their developed world marketshare doesn't have room for growth. So now they are going after new audiences, but they are targeting markets where their subscription fees are way lower, and they'll be on the same hamster wheel of keeping audiences engaged.
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- trilbyglens 2y agoThis is pretty simplistic though considering that a lot of TV work can be shot indoors on sound stages and outdoor shots where a recognizably American settings are needed can be shot in the US. There's no reason at all that a show needs to be filmed entirely in one location. I live in Prague and there's a huge movie industry with lots of American movies being shot on sound stages here. To give one example off the top of my head, all of the Narnia movies were shot here.
- soco 2y agoHow about they planning to sell those productions outside the US? Even for Netflix, not everybody is American and has those requirements. I'm watching a Senegalese police flick so I actually expect and appreciate it happening in Dakar - it's an important part of its world building.
- silisili 2y agoOr even Toronto. I was surprised to learn Suits was filmed there, despite depicting NYC. That said, I'm not sure Netflix cares from that regard. They've been pushing me increasingly foreign content that I don't particularly care for, because it's usually dubbed horribly or not at all. I'm of course not against it existing in their library, but I'd have thought their recommendation engine would realize I'm not at all interested in it by now.
- wkat4242 2y agoI think the different countries pushing Netflix to make local content has really paid off. Some real good stuff has come out. Like DARK from Germany. Casa de Papel from Spain (though they dragged it out too long). Squid Game from Korea. It's become a lot better since it isn't just Hollywood stuff. Here in mainland Europe we're more open to content from all kinds of places. I think part of it is because we're used to not being able to understand every language. There's so many here we can never speak them all. Thus subs or dubbing are common things and don't ruin the immersion for us. In English speaking countries (even in Europe) those are often considered weird, alternative or "arthouse".
- mekoka 2y ago> In English speaking countries (even in Europe) those are often considered weird, alternative or "arthouse". It's not that dubbing can generally be considered weird in a particular culture, it's that it's just really shitty in English. I'm fluent in English and French. I'd also hardly had any experience with dubbed content at all when I started sampling Netflix's foreign offering. When I started, I picked English. It was really off-putting. I was ready to rule out dubbing altogether, then on a whim I tried the French (from France) dubbing and the difference is incredible. So, I think some countries just have more experience doing this kind of work. Americans don't seem to have it, aside from animation that is.
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- Fire-Dragon-DoL 2y ago
- SmellTheGlove 2y agoWhat are you talking about? You just apply a yellow tinted filter.
- blharr 2y agoOther way around. Mexico naturally has a yellow tint, so you apply a purple hue to cancel it out.
- 0xTJ 2y agoAh yes, overseas, as in partially across the Gulf of Mexico.
- osrec 2y agoGulf of where?! /s
- nonethewiser 2y agoPartially across the Gulf of Mexico must mean Texas or something, since its the Gulf of America from the US perspective.
- Rexxar 2y agoHe means "Golfe de Louisiane", obviously.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]