CAREER CHAOS
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have ‘no original ideas’ ahead of ‘make or break year’, Hollywood exec claims
The pair are entering the final year of their contract with Netflix that hasn't proven to be a success
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are set for a "make or break year" as they have "no original ideas", claims a top Hollywood executive.
And the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now "walking a financial tightrope".
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A senior studio executive warned the couple face a very important year if they want to turn their floundering Archewell production company into a Hollywood fairy tale.
The couple cut themselves off from the Royal Family in 2018 - saying they wanted to be "financially independent".
And they have gone on to make a string of commercial deals, signing on with Netflix for a reported £78m and £18m with Spotify.
They have also shared their story widely, with Harry opening up in memoir Spare, while the couple sat down in an explosive interview with Oprah.
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But after years of telling their side of the story, the couple have been warned they now face an "alarming lack of original content".
The executive told the : "They could find themselves walking a financial tightrope simply to survive."
Like hundreds of independent Hollywood companies, Archewell is being attacked by soaring costs and massively inflated wage bills for actors and writers after last year’s crippling strikes.
Reports suggest the entertainment industry has suffered an estimated £5billion increase to production costs across the board.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have just one new project on their plate for the upcoming year as part of their $100million Netflix deal.
Their five-year deal is into its final year and is up for renewal in 2025.
The project is a film adaptation of the best-selling romantic novel Meet Me at The Lake.
Netflix paid a whopping $3.8million for the rights and gave it to Harry and Meghan as the first project outside of their documentaries.
A source said: "Netflix bought the book they are adapting but the question everyone in Hollywood is asking is: Can they actually pull this off without either of them having any real prior experience?
“This is a make-or-break year for them in every sense. Either their company turns this project into a success or they could face a financial nightmare if pulls the plug on a new contract with them in 2025.”
As another senior studio source said: “Given their very limited success so far, you would have to realistically ask if they would be prepared to walk away from it altogether if, say, Meghan were to launch herself as a powerful internet influencer with a worldwide following and a huge revenue stream.
“Until they fully figure out what they want to do – and what they’re actually good at – they could find themselves walking a financial tightrope simply to survive.”
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has also said the couple could lose everything if they don’t knuckle down and get producing before their contract ends.
And he pointed to the recent Golden Globes that saw the couple roasted over "asking for money".
HARRY AND MEGHAN'S INCOME
How the couple have been making money...
Netflix
£88million
Spotify
£18million
Spare
£16million
The royal expert told The Sun: “You know that your influence is failing is when people start laughing at you, and you can't produce something that you've actually done.
“The facts of the matter are that he pointed out pretty categorically that they have done absolutely nothing for Netflix, really, and the one exception, of course, being Invictus, and that was very worth it but too long of a wait.
“If you simply trash your family, which is the only time it does seem to mean that you get megabucks, and do nothing else, then you must expect people not to take you seriously.”
Alongside Netflix, another giant media company had their doubts over the pair.
The couple were slammed as being "f***ing grifters" by a Spotify chief after their £18m Archetypes podcast was axed.
The couple were dropped from the streaming giant in June following reports they did not meet "productivity requirements".
The stern warnings come days after royal author Tom Bower claimed the couple has “run out of fuel” in America.
Speaking on Talk TV, Bower said Harry and Meghan's only income since arriving in the US has been by “exposing their own unhappiness with the Royal Family,” despite the absurd claims saying they wanted privacy.
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He added: “The idea they have anything else to contribute beyond their trashing of the Royal Family is laughable. They’ve been found out.
"They are now ridiculed in and they are ignored in New York."
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