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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Amazon to produce and acquire original movies
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Martin Thuss
Film Handler
Posts: 20
From: Strathoy, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Nov 2013
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posted 01-19-2015 12:01 PM
Link to story on CBS News
Amazon says it will significantly expand into movie production by acquiring movies for theatrical release and early online streaming.
Amazon Studios announced Monday that it has created a new hub for movies, Amazon Original Movies. It will produced and acquire original films for both traditional release in theaters and early-window distribution via its subscription Amazon Prime Instant Video service. It says movies will premiere on Prime Instant Video in the U.S. 4 to 8 weeks after their theatrical debut.
"Audiences already recognize that Amazon has raised the bar with productions in the episodic realm, tackling bold material in unique ways and collaborating with top talent, both established and emerging. To help carry the torch into the feature film world for such an innovative company is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility," said Ted Hope, the new head of production for Amazon Original Movies.
The announcement marks a new foray into the movie business for the online retail giant, which has in recent years developed a slate of TV series. Most recently, its acclaimed "Transparent" won two Golden Globe honors.
The move comes on the heels of Sony Pictures' unprecedented digital distribution of the Seth Rogen comedy "The Interview." Netflix has also pushed into movies, inking deals with Adam Sandler and the Weinstein Co.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 01-19-2015 05:23 PM
It's race to the bottom economics. And the "content providers" have no clue in how they're screwing themselves. In their bid to get the movie into the living rooms of home viewers in a faster, more convenient manner they end up making less and less money in the process.
I understand the motivations behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. They're going to do whatever they can to improve their business from their extremely narrow business perspective. However, they need to be paying attention to the overall big picture view of the movie industry otherwise they're going to be stuck producing even more of their own shows while struggling to keep those production costs from dramatically jacking up subscription costs. They need a healthy movie industry, which includes a healthy movie theater industry, in order to sustain a steady supply of big budget movie content.
I'm pretty skeptical about Amazon's proposal. We've already seen concepts like this that are somewhat similar but have gone nowhere. Mark Cuban has used the HD Net premium network to showcase movies before they played in theaters, but the problem is his own Landmark Theaters chain was pretty much the only chain willing to play those movies. All the other chains turned up their noses.
Amazon owns no brick and mortar commercial movie theater chains. Yet they expect theaters to show their Amazon-produced movies that Amazon is going to show on Prime after only 1 or 2 months. How does Amazon expect to get bookings? Theater chains big and small are probably going to avoid those releases unless they get some very attractive rental prices. Even then the appeal of those movies might be limited. Are these movies going to be of the art-house/indie variety that most chains avoid anyway?
My prediction: these Amazon-produced movies aren't going to be bundled in for nothing with a Prime Instant Video subscription. I predict they'll be like many other movies available to download for an extra fee. Lots of movies and TV shows cost anywhere from $2 to $6 to rent and considerably more to buy virtually. The Amazon-produced movies will probably end up costing an Amazon subscriber an extra $15-$20 to "buy" in that early premium VOD window.
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Everybody is trying to get into the streaming or online business. I have pretty much replaced my physical media usage with Netflix or iTunes rentals most of the time.
Lots of people have done this at the expense of both video rental stores and retail stores that sell movies. Ultimately the movie industry is making less money than it did previously when viewers had to buy or rent physical discs. It's a whole lot cheaper to have Netflix. Hell, one might be able to save money subscribing to Netflix, Amazon and Hulu+ altogether versus the cost of a few trips to the video store per month.
I still prefer renting movies on Blu-ray due to the far better picture and sound quality. That quality difference is going to narrow quite a bit or disappear as Internet download speeds continue to increase. The rental Blu-ray discs don't appeal to me as much as they did years ago due to the rise of rental-specific discs. Many are bare bones with no extras. Some feature forced trailers and TV commercials that can't be skipped. That's a major selling point for Netflix right there.
quote: Marcel Birgelen
I recently saw a trailer for "The Wrecking Crew" by Magnolia Pictures, they clearly stated "In Theatres and On Demand March 27, 2015". So, even the smaller production houses are giving a shot at it...
That would be part of that Mark Cuban effort. The Magnolia releases often play only in Landmark Theater locations.
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Martin McCaffery
Film God
Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 01-19-2015 06:54 PM
quote: Marcel Birgelen
I recently saw a trailer for "The Wrecking Crew" by Magnolia Pictures, they clearly stated "In Theatres and On Demand March 27, 2015". So, even the smaller production houses are giving a shot at it...
Several of the very small art disturbs - eg:Magnolia, IFC, Music Box- have all had VOD simultaneous,close to and even before theatrical release for several years now. As far as I know, it hasn't hurt their numbers. Art film audiences are different, and much smaller. They also have a much more limited distribution, so it probably helps their numbers overall.
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Marcel Birgelen
Film God
Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 01-19-2015 07:36 PM
quote: Martin McCaffery
They also have a much more limited distribution, so it probably helps their numbers overall.
Personally, I find those limited distribution models of many of those "art" or "indie" films rather annoying. There are a lot of those movies I want to see and I really prefer seeing them in a proper movie theater. Those things floating around on VOD and rental services doesn't really help the exhibitors that still try to make a few bucks of them.
quote: Mike Blakesley
Whereas a big Hollywood blockbuster needs those mega-millions to break even, so they put money into a theatrical release and hold back on the video for 3 months (or if they want to make more money, they hold back the video longer, except nobody gets that anymore).
This discussion obviously is not new. I totally agree on this, Hollywood just needs the exhibition market in their current model. Nothing else is currently going to pay for those mega-productions.
What we definitely will see though, are some mid-sized productions by the likes of Amazon and Netflix and who knows, maybe even the likes of Google. Those companies have pockets as deep as those major studios and are seemingly convinced their model can somehow work...
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Video stores and Redbox are posting double digit drops in revenue year over year.
The traditional DVD/Blu-Ray rental model already died years ago, what's left are the rotting corpses refusing to die. The last one that went out of business around here, made most money out of selling ice cream and candy, not by renting out or selling videos or video games.
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