Netflix’s director risks $4M movie budget on DOGE – The $27M gamble

“Thank you, and God bless crypto” should probably be Netflix’s next biggest hit. Reportedly, the director of the Netflix science fiction series Conquest wagered $4 million of the budget on Dogecoin. Netflix awarded “47 Ronin” director Carl Erik Rinsch millions of dollars for the science fiction series, but he invested the funds in the stock and cryptocurrency markets as a distinct creative endeavor.

The 46-year-old director secured a $61.2 million production contract with Netflix for a science fiction series, according to a November 2018 term sheet cited by John Carreyrou of The New York Times on Wednesday.

Netflix director turns to crypto for help

According to The New York Times, Netflix had spent $44.3 million on Rinsch’s show “Conquest” by March 2020. However, Rinsch later informed the streaming firm that he required more money or production would be halted.

Netflix approved Rinsch’s request and awarded his production company an additional $11 million.

However, none of the money received was used to produce the series. According to court records and financial data from his divorce, Rinsch instead used $10.5 million from Netflix’s 2020 round of funding to speculate in the stock market. Rinsch finally lost $5.9 million in trading.

With just over $4 million remaining, Rinsch transferred the funds to the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken and went all-in on DOGE. According to an account statement seen by the Times, when he liquidated in May 2021, he withdrew approximately $27 million.

“Thank you, and god bless crypto,” Rinsch wrote in a chat with a Kraken representative. Doge has become one of the best-performing memecoins with a constant mention by Elon Musk.

The current value of Dogecoin (DOGE) is $0.075821. The 24-hour trading volume of memecoin is $488,696,305.81. In the last 24 hours, the price has increased by 1.79%. Dogecoin has a market cap of $10,764,187,390, with a circulating supply of 140 billion DOGE.

Carl Erik Rinsch’s crypto wealth expenditure

Rinsch allegedly spent nearly $9 million of his proceeds on expensive items such as luxury furnishings, designer clothing, a watch worth over $380,000, five Rolls-Royces, and a Ferrari. This information came from a forensic accountant hired by Rinsch’s ex-wife during their divorce proceedings.

According to the New York Times, Rinsch filed a confidential arbitration action against Netflix, alleging that the streaming giant breached its contract and owes him $14 million in damages. Netflix claims it owes Rinsch nothing and has called his demands a “shakedown.”

Rinsch stated in a deposition that the items in his nearly $9 million shopping spree were props for Conquest. Later, in his action against Netflix, he claimed that the money was his and not Netflix’s.

Despite investing over $55 million in Rinsch’s series, Netflix has yet to receive any episodes.

Netflix spokesperson Thomas Cherian informed The New York Times that the company has scrapped Rinsch’s series, adding that it was “clear that Mr. Rinsch was never going to complete the project he agreed to make.” 

Rinsch’s filmography consists of only one film, the 2013 action blockbuster “47 Ronin” starring Keanu Reeves. The film received widespread criticism from viewers and was one of the year’s biggest box office flops.