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The studio head talks about his Sundance shopping, his successful ambitions and the secret room where Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings" series is writing.
The head of Amazon studios, Jennifer Salke, caused a sensation at Sundance, while his company bought five films, including Late at night, Brittany runs a marathon, and The reportand spent $ 47 million, a record for only one company at the Park City, Utah festival.
A year after taking office, the former president of NBC Entertainment is cementing its cinematic strategy: a mix of theatrical drama and blockbuster titles, as well as other films that will be screened directly on Prime Video. In total, Amazon Studios will broadcast approximately 30 films a year.
The Hollywood journalist Salke met early February on the campus of Amazon in Culver City to talk about his Sundance buying fever, his successful ambitions and the secret room where the Lord of the Rings the series is being written under lock and key.
Have you ever been to Sundance?
I have a place in Deer Valley, so I know Sundance, and I have been, but not as a buyer. There have been a few things that say we adopted a strategy and then we did it. It was really not that. The only strategy is to invest in activities that we believe will benefit the service. The change in direction led to a lull last year. Now the movie studio is lined up beneath me, with an aggressive plan going from the front. But it was not like, "Oh, you have to spend that money, you have to go."
How did you go after the movies you really wanted?
In this environment, money speaks, but [filmmakers] also want to feel like their partner, and they have a connection with you, they can take the phone and they can trust the way the ball is going to be advanced. We had a small advantage there, because we were so present and passionate.
What is the movie that escaped?
We were after the doc of AOC.
How did the world of television and the cinema get along?
People have assumed that I may not know anyone in the film industry. Coming from this industry and knowing everyone socially, I have a lot of relationships with people who are on the side of the cinema, so I was getting a lot of good advice from people, and very high level advice from the share of agents, bigger producers.
I do not want talent to feel like their movie, or that their creative project takes place in a factory. I do not want it to be transactional. We do not want our customers to have endless scrolls. We want to be much more focused on what we put in place, what we broadcast in theaters.
How do you determine if a movie is successful from Amazon's point of view? Is it rewards? Does this convert people into premium subscribers? Is it tied to the box office?
Coming from traditional television, I was very clear on my report card. It was evaluations. It was advertising dollars and all we could sell to Netflix. Basically, how do you improve Prime membership and how do you bring in new Premium subscribers?
Part of what sets Amazon apart from Netflix is the complete theatrical versions you give to the movies. Will it continue?
You will see less of the window of three months and you will see different variations. Even at Sundance, I've learned a lot about flexibility with these models, and they really vary. In some cases, it will be important for the film to move quickly to service while continuing with a theatrical release that looks much shorter, two weeks or even two to eight weeks. And in other cases, we will allow, where it is justified, a broader dissemination strategy.
Do you think so Roma ends up winning the best image that indicates that a theatrical release is less important than it was in the conversation about rewards?
Did not he have a theatrical release?
A much smaller one. He did not have any Manchester by the Sea exit in the room.
Yes, and that puts all theaters on the stage. We still want to be able to really support a theatrical release. I mean, look Cold War. We are entirely behind that. We would do that tomorrow. Roma was [shopped] right here. I love Alfonso [Cuaron]. I did a show with him at the NBC called Believe. And I have dealt with him. He was so great, he is so smart and full of soul, and I would like it to be our movie.
You have recently started making movies that will go directly to the service and will not be played in theaters. What can you tell me about them?
Jason Blum makes eight movies for us. And then I work with Nicole Kidman on this selection of sexy movies that nobody does anymore, like No Exit or Cruel Intentions. This kind of, "I have to stay home and drink wine with my girlfriend, my boyfriend, my husband and watch this." That's really Nicole's thing. When I met her during my second week of work, we proceeded to the first transaction of this lunch. She was like, "Where are the hot and sexy movies?" We had a meeting of minds about it, and I thought, "Let's just say these movies directly, where we could go out during the summer." Every Saturday night, one of these comes out, and then you create some frenzy and a marketing story behind it. But then, Will Packer just called me, and he would say to me, "I have a little horror film that he could incorporate into your live to serve Blum." Send it. Great, I want it to be seen, because we can feed these ways. And then the space YA will be the other. There could also be at least 20 direct-play films managed in a given year.
Could you ever imagine that Amazon is making a mega franchise, as if, for example, the Bond franchise became available?
Totally. I mean, look the Lord of the Rings. We are behind a franchise in a major way. The Tolkiens arrive in New York, all these owners. Older women, who now, I think, are between 80 and 90 years old. His daughters and grandchildren come to New York, and Jeff Bezos, myself, Jeff Blackburn, a team of us going there and they invited us to a dinner to see some works of art , creative works that they do not have. not yet shown to the world.
What can you tell me about the Lord of the Rings series?
There is a fantastic writers room working under lock and key. They already produce really exciting material. They are in Santa Monica. You have to go through such a release, and they all have their windows closed with duct tape. And there is a security guard who is sitting outside, and you must have a fingerprint to get in, as all their board is in place throughout the season.
You have just acquired a lot of movies. Do you see the originals as an important part of the movie's strategy?
This is not a huge volume, but we have some key elements that are moving forward. Viola Davis is committed to playing Shirley Chisholm in a movie, so I'm waiting for this rewrite, but she's already there, and we're delighted. There are some big films in the works. We have just finished The aeronauts, which is the movie Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, that will be released.
What does the green lighting process look like here?
We see the movie. I buy it a few hours later. When I was at Sundance, not one person called me and said, "What are you doing? Are you spending too much?" I also maintain a very close relationship with the Seattle team. I have developed with them a relationship of mutual respect very close, in which I can send them text messages about any matter.
When you were hired, one of your mandates was to change the culture at home. So what is the culture here?
I can not stand a lot of negative politics and shit. I am too old. I'm not in it. This is not fun.
[The three co-heads of Salke’s film division, Ted Hope, Matthew Newman and Julie Rapaport come to the office to introduce themselves.]
As a team, what do you do when you know you want a movie?
Hope: We live in this age where everything is immediately accessible. So much content to be done. You can watch anything, anytime, anywhere, on any device. We are turning films into commodities. And these are all incredibly personal stories that people literally sacrificed their lives, their marriage, and their families to make. Even in a big company like Amazon, you can take a personalized approach to these movies. We operate as this small custom agency owned by a large company. Our best publicity is that of the filmmakers we worked with. Take the phone with them.
Salke: We're like, "Call Jordan Peele, call Dan Fogelman."
What happened with Life itself?
Life itself, in theaters, of course, it played very well in Toronto. I was in it. It was a standing ovation. Then the press murdered him. Today, the service is in service and our customers love it. And then, they give him five stars. It's just interesting to see that this is not a knell for that. This provides something to a huge audience about our service and in a positive way.
Could you ever see the Oscars broadcast on Amazon?
Hope: Hosted by Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling.
Salke: We would be open to that. I received the call while the Golden Globes were conducting their horrific ongoing negotiations with NBC, which allowed me to know what those negotiations look like. They are like, "Are you sure you do not want to put your hat in the ring?" And I thought, "I do not think we're going to do that." Because I know the price to pay for it. But yes, we would be open to that. The rewarded shows should reinvent themselves. If you talk to someone in the center of the country, or even in your own backyard, who does not have the same political lifestyle, in Hollywood or New York, it's like yours They did not really give you anything for these people. I obviously enjoy watching, but it's nearsighted. This does not facilitate the task of a network because no evaluation is assigned. He fell off a cliff.
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