Adam Sandler Says Netflix Removed China Storyline From His Upcoming Movie

Adam Sandler claims Netflix asked him to change the setting of his upcoming movie Hustle from China to Spain because the streaming service isn’t available in the country where the film was originally to take place. Sandler plays a basketball agent attempting to revive his languishing career in the sports comedy, who decides to recruit overseas talent to the NBA.

In the revised version of the movie, Sandler’s character recruits a talented player from Spain, played by real-life Memphis Grizzlies forward Juancho Hernangómez. During an interview on The Dan Patrick Show, Sandler admitted, “It was written originally that I find a player in China and somehow, Netflix is not in China. So they were like, ‘Would you guys please make it, so we find someone in Latin America or Europe?’”

“So the next thing you know,” he continued, “I’m in Majorca.” Sandler may be a seasoned comedic actor, but he admitted Hernangómez was showing him up in every scene they filmed together. “He acts better than me in every scene,” he said. “It’s just like, goddammit, this guy is falling, crying in the middle of a scene, doing the right thing. Every joke he says, I’m like, ‘He said it smoother than I would have.’”

While Netflix has expanded to parts of Asia, including Japan, it is currently unavailable in China and Crimea, North Korea, and Syria. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said last year in an interview with CNBC that the streaming giant didn’t have any focus at the moment on getting into the Chinese market after problems with the government.

“We got turned down by the Chinese government several years ago. And we have not been spending any time on China in the last couple of years,” he said. Hastings added later, “There’s so much opportunity for us in Asia, the rest of Asia – India, in particular, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and then all through Europe and Latin America.”

Sandler, meanwhile, has become a darling for the streaming service, which just extended its partnership with the Billy Madison star to produce four more original movies with the comedian. Hustle has yet to announce a release date but also stars Queen Latifah and Robert Duvall. NBA star LeBron James is a producer on the film.