Commissar SFLUFAN Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Inside Amazon Studios: Big Swings Hampered by Confusion and Frustration WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM Despite ambitious bets like 'Daisy Jones & The Six' and the upcoming 'Citadel,' insiders complain that there’s still "no vision for what an Amazon Prime show is." But chief Jen Salke says they are missing the point: "You don’t reverse-engineer true creative vision." Quote Many current and former Amazon executives, as well as showrunners who have series at the streamer and agents who make deals there, believe that this is no accident. They describe Amazon Studios as a confusing and frustrating place to do business. When it comes to movies, where Amazon’s footprint is expanding following the $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM a year ago, a veteran producer says that, in recent years, “there has been no sense of what the philosophy is.” On the series side, numerous sources say they cannot discern what kind of material Salke and head of television Vernon Sanders want to make. A showrunner with ample experience at the studio says, “There’s no vision for what an Amazon Prime show is. You can’t say, ‘They stand for this kind of storytelling.’ It’s completely random what they make and how they make it.” Another showrunner with multiple series at Amazon finds it baffling that the streamer hasn’t had more success: Amazon has “more money than God,” this person says. “If they wanted to produce unbelievable television, they certainly have the resources to do it.” Quote The question that makes many in Hollywood nervous is whether the Amazon Studios overlords in Seattle believe they are getting enough bang for their megabucks. The last thing the industry wants at a time of belt-tightening is a cutback in spending from a deep-pocketed buyer. According to Salke, that concern is misguided. “The proof exists that the giant tentpole shows are driving people to subscribe to Prime,” she says. “Do we pressure ourselves to be more disciplined, more strategic? Of course. We consistently examine if we’re producing the right amount of content at the right value to drive the most engagement across our service.” Quote What generates some of the frustration that sources cite in dealings with Amazon is that Salke, who was previously president of NBC Entertainment, seems to be pursuing conflicting goals. Despite her assertion that Amazon is “a home for talent,” insiders say the mandate is increasingly not on finding the kind of curated hit that defines HBO, but more middle-of-the-road, meat-and-potatoes shows like Jack Reacher. “We’re so desperate right now for safe hits,” an Amazon exec says. (Netflix has also been pursuing broader material.) But at the same time, current and former Amazon executives say Salke has a pattern of “chasing what she perceives as hot,” as one insider puts it. That person cites as examples paying a premium for Daisy Jones because of the Witherspoon connection, or making a Dead Ringers series, based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film, that came with Rachel Weisz attached. Salke makes deals with auteur talent to “deliver Jack Reacher results,” says an Amazon veteran. “But they don’t.” It's a pretty extensive, interesting article! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Saving this for later. I also have no idea what an Amazon show is. All of the other streamers have seemed to find a "style". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 ‘Citadel’ Is a $300 Million Disaster for Amazon WWW.ROLLINGSTONE.COM Executive-produced by the Russo brothers, this globe-trotting spy thriller stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Too bad it’s so bland. $50m an episode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 1 minute ago, Brian said: ‘Citadel’ Is a $300 Million Disaster for Amazon WWW.ROLLINGSTONE.COM Executive-produced by the Russo brothers, this globe-trotting spy thriller stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Too bad it’s so bland. $50m an episode I'd love to know where that money went because it sure as hell looks about on par as one of those "CBS Crime" shows visually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatoneshere Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 I mean, Citadel is something else, from the Russo Brothers, who also see AI as an inevitability. Prime Video’s Citadel is a multilevel marketing scheme disguised as a show WWW.POLYGON.COM There are too many spies on TV to bother with these two, unfortunately Avengers: Endgame's Joe Russo expects a fully AI movie within two years WWW.AVCLUB.COM Joe Russo has a lot of predictions about the future of artificial intelligence in cinema 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury33 Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 That’s a pretty interesting article. I dunno if I agree that all the other streamers have a clear vision. Other than apple+ who seem to enjoy living in the “this show is fantastic and also fucking weird” space. Netflix and Hulu I feel make shit that’s all over the place. Honestly I don’t think any of them have successfully pulled off an HBO level show. When HBO gets one right they still feel like truly the elite level of TV. Amazon doesn’t feel a ton different to me other than they don’t seem to ever hit quite as big as the others. I dunno if I call a studio that produces The Boys as “looking for safe hits” either. I dunno 🤷🏻♂️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Why is it bad to not have a style and instead be willing to greenlight all kinds of shows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury33 Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 8 minutes ago, Jason said: Why is it bad to not have a style and instead be willing to greenlight all kinds of shows? Lol that was my initial thought too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodyHell Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 10 hours ago, Jason said: Why is it bad to not have a style and instead be willing to greenlight all kinds of shows? Because it mostly seems like they are throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks, instead of actually green lighting stuff fans want. Honestly, aside from Rings of Power, Critical Roles cartoon, and a documentary called The Giant Killer, I can’t think of anything else I have started and actually finished there in years. They do have Air coming up, and im definitely looking forward to that, but 160m for it seems ridiculous. Affleck and Damon basically broke even before the movie released, it reportedly cost 90m to shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatoneshere Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 12 hours ago, Jason said: Why is it bad to not have a style and instead be willing to greenlight all kinds of shows? I think it's the approach and mentality, not the idea to greenlight all kinds of shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal-El814 Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 The notion that any of these streaming services have any kind of "brand identity" beyond Disney+ and maaaaybe HBO in the Game of Thrones era is bananas, but I'm sure they all spend heaps of cash on market research that suggests the opposite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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