The entry of new players into the market is creating more buyers for content, but the evolution of the industry is only in its infancy, Mr Brunetti told Fairfax Media during a recent trip to Australia.

"Unfortunately, my business didn't learn from the music business and what happened to them has now crept into our business. It is starting to adapt, but adapt by force. I look at it as a great opportunity for creators such as myself to do interesting and new things," Mr Brunetti, who has been nominated for Academy Awards for his work on The Social Network and Captain Phillips, said.

"They're kind of the model: 'If it's not broke, don't change it', but they're not looking at the elephant in the room and they're slowly being forced to. Maybe it's not broken in your eyes, but it's definitely changing; it's adapt or die, otherwise you're going to get left behind."

Mr Brunetti, who formed production company Trigger Street with Kevin Spacey in 1997, said it worked to the advantage of content creators to have more buyers for their work and he expects that group to expand over the next five to 10 years.

"I don't think it's making it any easier; it's still pushing rocks up a hill, and I say every time I get a project going or a film made it's like flipping one through the net when no one was looking because it's a f----ing hard job," Mr Brunetti said.

"Facebook and Twitter are missing a great opportunity because they're huge networks that have a huge reach, basically they can do the same thing that the [Netflix, Amazon and Hulu] keep doing, and do it on a huge scale because they have such a large audience."

By the book

The decision to release entire seasons of House of Cards on Netflix was easy, Mr Brunetti said, because the streaming giant had the data to prove that the show would be well watched.

"It's a great way and it works for our show; it may not work for every show, but it's the way we've always approached it, and that's why we call our shows chapters, as opposed to episodes, because the way we look at it is like books. If you have a book and you sit down and you read it, you can read one, two or three chapters, or you can finish a whole book in one sitting.

"Who are we to tell you how you should consume it and how you should take it in? If you're into it and enjoying it and want to continue, keep going. If you want to watch it one chapter at a time, or read a book one chapter at a time once a week or however then that's your prerogative."

Both House of Cards leads Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright have won Golden Globes for their performances in the series.

Asked what happens in season four of the political thriller, Mr Brunetti responded: "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

Hollywood headliners such Mr Spacey and Matthew McConaughey are changing the game with roles on television, and studios are now less interested in making feature films, Mr Brunetti said.

"The model of studios has changed so much that they don't want to do films. I'll use my films as examples – Captain Phillips and The Social Network – I couldn't get those films made today in the studios in the way that they're operating. It's all about great storytelling and television is now the medium where people like that, stories like that and projects can be told.

"The studios are looking for the big tent-pole blockbuster movies that make tonnes of money, with television you have the ability to build those characters and the story arches in a way that the big feature films that are being made now don't get the chance to any more."