Margot Robbie Is Not Making a Vertical Series. Her Old 'Neighbours' Scenes Are Being Recut Into One
Two archival storylines are being repackaged into roughly 150 minutes of vertical episodes. That distinction raises consent, credit and compensation questions for the original cast.
Margot Robbie is not filming a new vertical series. That distinction matters.
Two of her former Neighbours storylines, including her scenes opposite Sam Clark, are being recut into approximately 150 minutes of vertical episodes. No new footage, no new performance. An archival run on an Australian soap is being turned into a new product for a new market.
The question the industry has to answer
When an archival performance is repackaged into a new product, should the original cast receive fresh consent, credit and compensation?
The contracts actors signed for daily soap work years ago did not contemplate a vertical streaming app. Whether those contracts technically permit the recut is a matter for the rights holders and their lawyers. Whether the recut is fair to the performers whose faces sell it is a matter for the industry.
Why vertical makes this urgent
The format has an enormous appetite for content and a production model that rewards speed. Recutting existing library footage is faster and cheaper than shooting anything. As more rights holders notice, the Robbie case will not be the last of its kind. Library television from every market is a candidate.
The association’s position is that performers should have a say when their past work is reformatted into something they never agreed to, and that credit for the new product should name the people in it. A vertical episode built from a soap star’s early work is still her work.
The Neighbours recut will likely find an audience. The industry’s job is to make sure the people on screen are treated as participants, not inventory.