An attempt to mount a sequel to 2001 medieval action-comedy classic “A Knight’s Tale” was scuttled by poor results when Netflix analyzed the concept using its audience data, says a film director involved. Algorithmic data of viewing patterns prompted Netflix to drop the idea.
Algorithms are mathematical problem-solving calculations that detect patterns in data.
“My understanding is that Netflix tested this sequel idea through their algorithms, which indicated that it would not be successful,” “Knight’s Tale” filmmaker Brian Helgeland recently told entertainment website Inverse. “‘A Knight’s Tale’ seems to get more popular with every passing year; it’s the strangest thing.”
A Variety story by Zach Shraf notes that Sony Pictures holds rights to the movie and approached Netflix to make a sequel over the years. The original “A Knight’s Tale” generated a so-so $117 million in worldwide boxoffice, but subsequently became something of a cult film with its mix of dry comedy, romance and drama.
Meanwhile, Netflix says, “Recommendation and Search algorithms are at the heart of Netflix’s services.” They drive personalization, recommendations and search capabilities. Netflix subscribers have universally praised the ability to recommend content that they like, and algorithms are a big part of the success of music video streamer TikTok.
“The proprietary technology that Netflix uses to gather and analyze data remains key to the company’s success,” Christopher Mims wrote in the Wall Street Journal in July. “That data is, in turn, used to inform decisions about what shows and movies to produce, whether to renew them, and whether to share them with any given viewer through the company’s famous recommendation algorithms.”
Music streamer Spotify was granted a patent in 2021 for what it called “identification of taste attributes from an audio signal.” It recently launched an AI-driven DJ feature that creates a personalized radio station.
As for “A Knight’s Tale,’ star Heath Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose in 2008.
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