‘King Richard’ producer Peter Dodd joins Netflix’s film team as director
(Credit: Cameron Venti)

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'King Richard' producer Peter Dodd joins Netflix's film team as director

Peter Dodd, the VP Producer for Warner Bros Pictures, will join Netflix as a film team director. Dodd will become part of VP Niija Kuykendall’s group focused on midsize features, having joined Warner Bros in June 2018.

The producer has since created various features released in theatres and HBO Max. In addition, Dodd has overseen Mickey 17, the upcoming film by Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho, in his development and production stages. Mickey 17 will star Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Colette, Steven Yeun and Naomi Ackie.

The producer also worked on the development and production of King Richard, directed by Reinaldo Marcus and starring Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal. The 2021 sports drama earned six nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including ‘Best Picture’ and earned Smith a ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ for his performance as tennis players Venus and Serena Williams’ coach and father. 

Samba TV told Deadline Hollywood that 707,000 American households streamed Marcus’s film on HBO Max in its first three days of release. “There are a lot of reasons in an on-demand world you’d have interruptions, and that clearly didn’t happen with this movie,” Andy Forssell, the HBO Max Head, shared on the viewing habits with King Richard.

He added: “There’s a strong output here with this movie that’s distinctive versus other day-and-date event titles, which are effects driven. That strong word of mouth is jet fuel, and it’s multiplied by people talking about the movie.”

Deadline addressed how this response is intriguing for a two-hour and 24-minute movie. In contrast to films with long running times at the pandemic box office, HBO Max subscribers were fully engaged.

Dodd also worked as a Motion Picture Literary agent at United Talent Agency, representing filmmakers, writers and actors for a decade. He negotiated over 100 film deals for writers and directors, discovering emerging talent and promising material for studios and financiers.