Cait Buckalew, Campus Carrier Entertainment Editor
Earlier this month, Amazon announced plans to start producing their own movies. The studio is already producing a variety of television series, which are available on Amazon Prime Instant Watch. One of the shows, “Transparent,” won the award for Best Musical or Comedy Series at the Golden Globes.
The studio will now be producing movies as well. According to “Hollywonk,” the studio’s official blog, they are planning to produce “with the goal of offering a dozen original, prestige movies annually.”
These new movies will likely span a variety of genres and will primarily consist of content from newer creators who present unique stories and characters. The studio’s website is open for submissions of scripts, storyboards and concept videos. They have even established a set of programs to help creators get their content for submissions. The programs, Amazon Storybuilder and Amazon Storyteller, are still in beta testing stages but will help creators with screen writing and turning their scripts into storyboards and animatic videos.
Creators whose submissions are chosen for development will receive $10,000 to get their projects off the ground. Submissions from anyone are welcome, and creators can submit their ideas on the Amazon Studio website.
There have already been 14 submissions to the website ranging from horror to kids’ film.
Independent film producer Ted Hope will lead the project. According to “Hollywonk,” he is very excited to take on his role. Hope has worked on films such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Eat Drink Man Woman.” His films have received awards at the Sundance Film Festival and nominations for both the Academy Awards and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards. With such an esteemed background in film, it come as no surprise that Amazon chose him to head the cinematic expansion.
One of the most exciting aspects of the project is their plan for distribution.
Amazon is planning to release the films theatrically, but also plans to have the available for online streaming to U.S. customers within a month or two of theatrical release. This is a vast jump from the industry standard wait of six months to a year for streaming and DVD release.
The studio’s head, Roy Price, told “Hollywonk” that in addition to providing their customers access to more unique and innovative materials, “We hope this program will also benefit filmmakers, who too often struggle to mount fresh and daring stories that deserve an audience.”
The studio aims to start production on films later this year.