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Netflix’s Origin Story: How the Streamer Killed Blockbuster Video, Snagged ‘House of Cards’ From HBO and Changed Hollywood Forever
Ted Sarandos, Reed Hastings and other Netflix execs explain battles with Blockbuster and HBO, winning 'House of Cards' and streaming domination.
Instead of making money, Total Access put Blockbuster, a legacy company with massive overhead, in a financial hole; after shipping and other costs were factored in, it was losing $2 on every disc it rented. Every network and cable channel was desperate to land the project because of the talent involved — David Fincher was producing and directing the first two episodes, with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright set to star as a villainous power couple. He worried initially that the show would be too focused on politics, but after reading the script for the first episode, Sarandos appreciated that “House of Cards” was more interested in Shakespearean backstabbing than the intricacies of turning a bill into law.
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