Amazon Studios

Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010.[3] Content is distributed through theaters and Prime Video, Amazon's digital video streaming service that competes with services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+.[4]

Amazon Studios
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedNovember 2010
HeadquartersCulver City, California, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jennifer Salke (CEO)[1]
ProductsTelevision production
Film production
Film distribution
ParentAmazon
DivisionsPrime Movies[2]
Websitestudios.amazon.com

Overview

Scripts for television and films used to be submitted online to Amazon[5] and read by staff; however, the website states they no longer accept submissions. Amazon aimed to review submitted scripts within 90 days (although the process may be longer). If a project was chosen for development, the writer was paid $10,000.[6] If a developed script was selected for distribution as a full-budget movie, the creator was paid $200,000; if it was selected for distribution as a full-budget series, the creator was paid $55,000 as well as "up to 5 percent of Amazon's net receipts from toy and t-shirt licensing, and other royalties and bonuses."[7]

In 2008, Amazon expanded into film production, producing the film The Stolen Child with 20th Century Fox.[8] In July 2015, Amazon announced it had acquired Spike Lee's new film, Chi-Raq, as its first Amazon Original Movie.[9][10][11]

Amazon Studio has also released its first and only comic book series, Blackburn Burrow in 2012 as a free download.[3] It contained a survey allowing Amazon to collect feedback to determine whether or not it was worthwhile to make the comic into a film.[3]

Amazon Studios had received more than 10,000 feature screenplay submissions as of September 2012[3] and 2,700 television pilots as of March 2013;[12] 23 films and 26 television series were in active development as of March 2013.[3][6] In late 2016, it reorganized its film division into Prime Movies.[13]

On July 27, 2017, it was announced that, starting with the December 2017 release Wonder Wheel, Amazon Studios would be its own self-distributing company. Previously, Amazon Studios had relied on multiple external studios to distribute their projects.[14] The company also acquired global TV rights to The Lord of the Rings for $250 million.[15] However, Amazon still has external distribution clients outside of the United States, such as Elevation Pictures in Canada, as well as Warner Bros. and StudioCanal in the UK and France.

In April 2018, Amazon Studios announced that they will no longer accept open submissions of screenplays.[16] In September 2020, Amazon signed an overall deal with Francesa Sloane.[17]

Accolades

In 2015, Transparent was the first show produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award and the first show produced by a streaming media service to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (aka "Golden Globe for Best Series").[18] In 2017, for Manchester by the Sea, Amazon Studios became the first streaming media service to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture;[19] the film was nominated for a total of six Academy Awards, winning two: Best Actor for Casey Affleck and Best Original Screenplay for Kenneth Lonergan. The film The Salesman (2016) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; it was directed by Asghar Farhadi and distributed in the US by Amazon Studios.[20] In 2018, the period comedy-drama television series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, starring Rachel Brosnahan won two Golden Globe Awards (Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for Brosnahan) and five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Brosnahan.

Original productions

Television series
See also: List of Amazon original programming

Films
Main article: List of Amazon Studios films

References
  1. Lumb, David (February 10, 2018). "NBC's Jennifer Salke is the new Amazon Studios chief". Engadget. Her predecessor, Roy Price, resigned in October 2017
  2. Andreeva, Nellie (17 October 2016). "Amazon Studios Comedy Chief Joe Lewis Adds Drama Oversight, Morgan Wandell To Head International Productions". Deadline.
  3. Fritz, Ben (September 12, 2012). "Amazon Studios going into comics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  4. Perez, Sarah (May 2, 2012). "Amazon Studios Now Funding Original Content Series For Amazon Video Service". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  5. "FAQ". Studios.Amazon.com.
  6. Moyer, Edward (June 23, 2012). "Amazon's 'Studios' effort picks first TV shows to develop". CNET. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  7. West, Kelly (May 2, 2012). "Amazon Studios Invites TV Writers To Submit Comedy And Children's Series Ideas". Cinema Blend. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  8. Graser, Marc (February 21, 2008). "Amazon, Fox nursing 'Stolen '". Variety. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  9. "Amazon Studios acquiring Spike Lee film as its 1st release". The Denver Post. The Associated Press. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  10. Barnes, Henry (2015-07-16). "Spike Lee's Chiraq gets Amazon release – and Oscars push". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  11. Kharpal, Arjun (2015-07-16). "Spike Lee directs Amazon's first ever movie". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  12. Vanderbilt, Tom (March 28, 2013). "The Nielsen Family Is Dead". Wired. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  13. Andreeva, Nellie (17 October 2016). "Amazon Studios Comedy Chief Joe Lewis Adds Drama Oversight, Morgan Wandell To Head International Productions". Deadline.
  14. "Amazon Moves Into Self-Distribution With Woody Allen's 'Wonder Wheel' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  15. "Amazon's $1bn bet on Lord of the Rings shows scale of its TV ambition". The Guardian. November 21, 2017.
  16. Spangler, Todd (April 14, 2018). "Amazon Studios Shuts Down Open Script-Submission Program". Variety. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  17. Petski, Denise (2020-09-23). "Writer-Producer Francesca Sloane Inks Overall Deal With Amazon Studios; Sets First Project With Legendary Based On Works Of Anaïs Nin". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  18. "Amazon.com Announces Fourth Quarter Sales Up 15% to $29.33 Billion" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. January 29, 2015.
  19. "The Snubs and Surprises of the 2017 Oscar Nominations". Vulture. 24 January 2017.
  20. Jaafar, Ali; Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 18, 2016). "Amazon Acquires Asghar Farhadi's 'The Salesman', Partnering With Cohen Media Group On Domestic – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
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