Artists Equity will play the cast and crew of The Rip an additional performance bonus, as the hit film has crossed a key success threshold on Netflix. Artists Equity received the bonus as part of a novel deal with the streamer and is passing it on to cast and crew in accordance with its talent-centric business model. The pic stars Artists Equity founders Matt Damon and Ben Affleck with Joe Carnahan directing.
Following The Rip’s success, in March, Artists Equity and Netflix entered a multi-year streaming first-look, production, and distribution agreement. The deal sees Artists Equity serving as lead studio on films they produce for the global streaming leader.
“We built Artists Equity on the belief that filmmakers should share in the value they bring to a project,” said Affleck and Damon, Artists Equity’s CEO and Chief Content Officer, respectively. “The incredible cast and crew of The Rip are no exception. They each played a critical role in making this film the success that it is. We are grateful for their work and glad to see it connecting so deeply with audiences. We’d also like to thank Netflix for their belief in this project and the unique structure around it. This is a great proof point for our new partnership, and we’re confident it will be just the first in many shared hits.”
Artists Equity’s next film, the crime thriller Animals, is also set up at Netflix. The film is directed by Affleck and written by Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray and Affleck. Affleck also stars alongside Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun and Emmy winners Kerry Washington and Gillian Anderson. The film follows a mayoral candidate and his wife who, desperate to pay their son’s ransom, resort to extreme measures, revealing dark secrets they never intended to bring to light.
Since launching in 2022, Artists Equity has also produced scripted features including SXSW award winner The Accountant 2, Doug Liman’s The Instigators, the Cillian Murphy-led Small Things Like These, William Goldenberg’s Unstoppable, and Air, directed by and starring Affleck alongside Damon, Jason Bateman and Viola Davis.
