An arbitrator has ruled in favor of Netflix in a high-profile dispute between the streaming giant and Hollywood director Carl Eric Rinsch over an unaired sci-fi series, awarding the company roughly $9 million in damages.
Mr. Rinsch sold the TV show “Conquest” to Netflix at the height of the streaming boom in 2018, but never released a single episode. Netflix had to write off the $55 million it spent on the project, a debacle that symbolized the end of an era of extravagance as Hollywood studios focus on increasing profits rather than simply adding subscribers.
Netflix halted production on “Conquest” in early 2021 after Mr. Rinsch's behavior became erratic. In text messages and emails to Netflix executives, Mr. Rinsch claimed to have discovered a secret mechanism for the spread of COVID-19 and told his wife, a producer on the show, he could predict earthquakes and lightning strikes.
After Netflix notified Mr. Rinsch it was cutting off funding for “Conquest,” he spent the show’s remaining production funds on a spree, staying in five-star hotels in California and Spain and buying luxury cars and furniture. Mr. Rinsch argued that the cars and furniture were props for the show, but the arbitrator, former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rita Miller, ruled that none of the purchases were necessary for the production, according to a court decision reviewed by The New York Times.
Rinsch filed for arbitration, alleging that Netflix breached the contract and is owed at least $14 million.
But Miller ruled that Rinsch was at fault: She awarded Netflix $8.78 million to cover the production costs that Rinsch allegedly squandered, and she also gave Netflix control of the “Conquest” footage that Rinsch previously owned.
Rinsch did not respond to a request for comment.