What's up with Amazon?

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  • What's up with Amazon?

    Why is it that Amazon keeps taking on these not so great scripts?

    http://studios.amazon.com/scripts/26110

    I mean, they aren't written that great, and many don't seem to be very interesting - is it the concept they are going after?

    (Sorry if the writer reads this and is offended - but hey, you got a nice paycheck and I didn't, so don't be too offended)
    www.JustinSloanAuthor.com

    http://www.CreativeWritingCareer.com
    http://www.MilitaryVeteransinCreativeCareers.com

    Twitter: @JustinMSloan

    Want a free book?

  • #2
    Re: What's up with Amazon

    I guess we should feel bad for not just making a script that's slightly better and cashing in.
    what the head makes cloudy the heart makes very clear

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    • #3
      Re: What's up with Amazon

      Amazon is clearly just going after concepts they could sell to WB, not great scripts (or even good ones, for that matter). Just give "LEON" a look, then look at Amazon's notes on it and you will see that by "development" they mean completely gutting the plot and taking the original concept and doing something better with it...

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: What's up with Amazon

        Yes, I was surprised with the quality of Leon... then again, it's sour grapes until I sell a script, so I keep my mouth shut.

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        • #5
          Re: What's up with Amazon

          That premise sounds like the last Rambo movie... without Rambo.

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          • #6
            Re: What's up with Amazon

            I gave up trying to figure out what Amazon was doing a long time ago. But on this BURMA RISING, look at the dates. The site says it was "created" on Sept. 13, 2012. Done Deal has it "optioned" on Sept. 14th. So logic dictates that this script was never found on the site....it was submitted through the writer's manager or agent.
            http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: What's up with Amazon

              Originally posted by LIMAMA View Post
              I gave up trying to figure out what Amazon was doing a long time ago. But on this BURMA RISING, look at the dates. The site says it was "created" on Sept. 13, 2012. Done Deal has it "optioned" on Sept. 14th. So logic dictates that this script was never found on the site....it was submitted through the writer's manager or agent.
              Amazon is just another way to submit material for non-wga writers. For wga members, it says you should consult your rep/management. It states that in the FAQ. It also states they offer a purchase price of $200k on their option.

              Here's the rub,... since they are not WGA, they are not obligated to give you writing credit. One Amazon project you can study is "Touching Blue" -- It has 6 contributors (writers) and it says Denise Di Novi is attached to produce. However, Touching Blue is listed on IMDB without any writer's name listed. Curious to see what unfolds there.

              Then there's Leon. It says they're paying "up to $33k" for a rewrite. All you have to do to apply is submit a pov and treatment on the concept. If you're not working right now, it wouldn't take a lot of labor to write 3 pages and then submit for this non-union gig.

              I'm interested in these work-for-hire jobs -- are they for real? Does anyone know how they structure these assignment jobs? Do they actually pay you?
              Being a screenwriter is not enough for a full creative life. ~ William Goldman

              homeslice

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: What's up with Amazon?

                "Touching Blue" is Scott the Reader's script. I know from his postings elsewhere that he is the only writer working with Di Novi in developing it, and that it's been changed substantially from the Amazon draft. I would be surprised if any of the other Amazon writers who did anything before it was picked up received any credit.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: What's up with Amazon?

                  What's really going on (I am a business journalist) is that Amazon is trying to take control of the movie business (the assumed 21st century digital distribution platform that Jeff Bezos thinks will transform the movie business the same way e-books did the book business and iTunes did the music business). In both of those instances, technology broke the back (and business model) of the "old" model. Amazon now largely controls the book business and Apple now largely controls the music business. The traditional publishers and record labels were almost destroyed financially -- and might still be in the long run -- because in their arrogance they did not see the train coming and blithely dismissed the threat (the same thing out Kodak outr of business and just drove Fuji out of the movie business).
                  Amazon thinks it can replicate those seizures of major media markets with movies. And in the long run, they might be right. IMHO, there's no disputing the fact that the traditional Hollywood studio/theatrical distribution model is in BIG trouble and cannot survive as is. One of the main reasons is that they are generally producing garbage that fewer and fewer people are buying tickets for every year, while VOD and other digital platforms are starting to grow. That's why there's so much consternation in Hollywood now and especially in the board rooms of the media conglomerates that own the studios.
                  But so far, it doesn't appear that Amazon has a very good understanding of the business from a creative perspective -- or an ability to produce quality projects.
                  I believe that ultimately the "new media" model will democratize the movie business the same way e-books and iTunes did, meaning that more and more people (me included) will make a decent living (but not get rich) making independent films for niche audiences and digital distribution.
                  I'm betting on that, and lots of other people are, too. I just sold a script and got my first payment, and I immediately spent almost all the money buying cameras, audio equipment, lighting gear, a trcked out video editing computer, and so on. For about $50,000 now, you can be a walking mini-studio that ccan make true Hollywood quality films with new technologies like the Canon 5D or the Blackmagic Cinema Camera -- which sells for just $3,000.
                  In business terms, the real game changer so far is NOT Amazon, but YouTube's investment of $150 million in its "channels" system, with another $150 million soon being pumped in to expand their "professional filmmaker" education program.
                  That's what I'm going after, because simple ambition and creative talent/quality are the name of the game.
                  Anyone else out there doing the same thing?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: What's up with Amazon?

                    Originally posted by jtwg50 View Post
                    What's really going on (I am a business journalist) is that Amazon is trying to take control of the movie business (the assumed 21st century digital distribution platform that Jeff Bezos thinks will transform the movie business the same way e-books did the book business and iTunes did the music business). In both of those instances, technology broke the back (and business model) of the "old" model. Amazon now largely controls the book business and Apple now largely controls the music business. The traditional publishers and record labels were almost destroyed financially -- and might still be in the long run -- because in their arrogance they did not see the train coming and blithely dismissed the threat (the same thing out Kodak outr of business and just drove Fuji out of the movie business).
                    Amazon thinks it can replicate those seizures of major media markets with movies. And in the long run, they might be right. IMHO, there's no disputing the fact that the traditional Hollywood studio/theatrical distribution model is in BIG trouble and cannot survive as is. One of the main reasons is that they are generally producing garbage that fewer and fewer people are buying tickets for every year, while VOD and other digital platforms are starting to grow. That's why there's so much consternation in Hollywood now and especially in the board rooms of the media conglomerates that own the studios.
                    But so far, it doesn't appear that Amazon has a very good understanding of the business from a creative perspective -- or an ability to produce quality projects.
                    I believe that ultimately the "new media" model will democratize the movie business the same way e-books and iTunes did, meaning that more and more people (me included) will make a decent living (but not get rich) making independent films for niche audiences and digital distribution.
                    I'm betting on that, and lots of other people are, too. I just sold a script and got my first payment, and I immediately spent almost all the money buying cameras, audio equipment, lighting gear, a trcked out video editing computer, and so on. For about $50,000 now, you can be a walking mini-studio that ccan make true Hollywood quality films with new technologies like the Canon 5D or the Blackmagic Cinema Camera -- which sells for just $3,000.
                    In business terms, the real game changer so far is NOT Amazon, but YouTube's investment of $150 million in its "channels" system, with another $150 million soon being pumped in to expand their "professional filmmaker" education program.
                    That's what I'm going after, because simple ambition and creative talent/quality are the name of the game.
                    Anyone else out there doing the same thing?

                    I agree on some of your points about the studios shifting into a new phase. However, I do not agree that Amazon has total control of industries. There's just too much dynamics in the world for the evolution to be isolated to one company. Amazon is just a point of sale -- a place to access customers for DVDs and Books. Same as Apple. Ebay was once the place to go for a long while, but that was ruined by Meg Whitman, who came in and raised all the seller's fees to a point she drove away the seller's to Amazon. Of course, they both take a lot of fees, however, Amazon's retail customer base is huge and well worth the investment for sellers -- it's justified. But not with ebay. That site was a rummage sale. Retailers went to ebay because of the customer base. But when the seller's left, the buyers left as well. And it was no surprise when Whitman parachuted out of ebay with a billion dollars in her pocket -- mostly from exorbitant and unwarranted fees she imposed.

                    If you really take a close look, you will see that the internet and broadband (to be specific) killed the music stores but did not kill movies. There's a remarkable difference there. It would be like saying the internet killed live concerts. No it didn't. It just killed the ancillary outlets that distributed the content on records and dvd's. The studios are in a process of creative descent, and it is debatable what is causing it. Maybe it's laziness -- It doesn't take much effort to blow dust off an old script. However, creating a great film from scratch takes a lot of work and effort. If you get paid the same either way, what would you do?

                    To better understand the zeitgeist, compare today's market to history. All of the studios are "Wall Street" companies now. Big business. In the 1920's, the majors were MGM, Paramount, WB, 20th Century Fox, and RKO. These studios started as independent companies producing and distributing films. But at the dawn of sound filmmaking, these studios did not have the money to changeover to sound. They knew they had to make the transition, but could not really afford it. So they used money from "Wall Street" to finance the transition, and thus given away financial and creative control to the top-heavy management. The result was a studio system that turned very powerful from the top and presented a stagnant environment for artists. It was one reason why Pickford and Chaplin created UA. (Can you say "Dreamworks"?)

                    Eventually, we started to see indie filmmakers like Scorsese, Spielberg, Corman, Coppola emerge from the crappy movies in the late 50's and early 60's. The new wave (not the French new wave... I'm talking about the American new wave) filmmakers like Spielberg and Coppola, took back creative control -- especially after Jaws and Star Wars. Of course it became obvious to everyone that the studios had to change-- thus giving us the great films in the 1970's and 1980's.

                    Right now, I see the same exact scenario. The majors; Disney, Sony, WB, Universal, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, are all Wall Street conglomerates handling many media industries. They started out great with some decent movies and music, but have since snowballed into bad movies and corporate-made singers. It's become a power and manipulation game that transcends beyond entertaining.

                    In addition, Wall Street, Hollywood, and now unions and the US government are all interconnected. All forms of communication are owned and controlled by the top 6 majors, unions, and their political influences. Movies, Books, TV, Music, News -- all come from the same entity. So if you have 20 movies all made by 6 guys, chances are you won't find much diversity. It becomes homogenized. Stagnant. Instead of 100 different films, we now get 20 bad ones that look the same, and all made by Jon Favreau. The reason why the studios get away with it is because of the Wall Street money and influence, as well as the new emerging foreign markets --70% of their bottom line now comes from foreign markets. But that's good for everyone because Wall Street is a free market, and all this new technology is becoming available to everyone -- not just the big 6.

                    I don't believe Amazon can control the whole market, because they are not in the business of filmmaking. That doesn't mean they can't interconnect, which is what's happening. Amazon will not be building theaters anytime soon. They will mostly benefit from the sale of DVD's and downloads -- not only as a retailer, but now as an owner. The only thing that will help Amazon in the long term is to avoid the top-heavy power pushing the studios are practicing. They already have some of that with smaller retailers (apparently, you have to jump through a lot of flaming hoops before they let you sell studio DVDs as a retailer). I might be reading into it too much, but I know history, and today looks much like Hollywood circa 1920's - 1950's. If you follow those trends, then you could see a new wave of filmmakers waiting to be discovered in the digital revolution. We just need a digital Jaws or Star Wars to happen, and the ball will roll faster away from the cronies.

                    And JT, you are so right on the money, and you are very smart to buy gear and take charge. I own S16mm cameras, lenses, lights, grip, editing, FX... I have it all. And there are soooooo many tutorials online, now anyone can make Star Wars without a film school education or a studio. Lighting and Grip gear will last you a while. I have c-stands made in the 80's and they still work like new.

                    But the Blackmagic camera might be outdated sooner than later. I am too going to buy Blackmagic's camera. But I am waiting for version 2. The first version coming out in now has some bugs they're currently working out. Like having an external battery. It has one internal, and it only lasts a couple of hours. What do you expect from a camera made by editors. lol. They are changing that asap, so I hear. However, either way, that camera will last you a long time. It records 2.5k RAW and that is more than good enough for broadcast. I think we're still broadcasting at 2k -- correct me if I'm wrong. I can't see any reason to go over 4k in the future. Broadcasting in 8k just makes no sense to me.
                    Being a screenwriter is not enough for a full creative life. ~ William Goldman

                    homeslice

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: What's up with Amazon?

                      Slightly OT, but ToddC, I don't really get this new discovery of "foreign markets."

                      In my country, much like throughout Europe, the repertoire of movie theaters is 95% Hollywood films, and it's always been like that. Always! Did someone just wake up?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: What's up with Amazon?

                        Todd: No offense, but you're wrong -- or you just haven't read up on the current situation. Find the Forbes article from several months ago that is a very long, detailed account of how Amazon has taken almost complete control of the book business -- and is working, via a big court battle, to get control of the remaining pieces. Top execs from major publishers fighting them in the lawsuit said, "Amazon has killed the book business as we know it and created a monopoly."
                        There have been similar articles in the New York Times and Fortune, as well as in overseas business magazines -- all saying the same thing.
                        And the facts don't lie.
                        AND: On the other hand, the change has been wonderful for writers -- totally democratizing the process of publishing and selling books.
                        As for your other points, I agree -- with one exception. Amazon's gosal is NOT to pursue a traditional theatrical distribution model. Just as e-books are replacing printed books -- thanks to Amazon -- digital distribution will replace the Hollywood model, just as that model killed the CD business of ther major record labels.
                        That's what Amazon is betting on -- and they're hoping the studios, loike WB< will come along for the ride (on the assumption they'll ultimately relize they have no choice if they want to survive). Time will tell what actually happens.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: What's up with Amazon?

                          Content is King. If Amazon can produce a couple of films that are "must see" but only available on Amazon, they'll create a market. But they have to merchandise the film, promote it and create a means for people to know about it as a unique delivery system.

                          But the other side of that coin is: anybody can make a movie and set up a pay per view site.

                          The big difference is promotion. The ultimate losers will be the exhibitors and theater owners. They will have to transition to an immersive experience if going to the movies is to compete with just hitting the Marvel PPV site and download "Avengers 3 - Colson's Resurrection" to your 3D big-screen home theater.

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                          • #14
                            Re: What's up with Amazon?

                            Originally posted by goldmund View Post
                            Slightly OT, but ToddC, I don't really get this new discovery of "foreign markets."

                            In my country, much like throughout Europe, the repertoire of movie theaters is 95% Hollywood films, and it's always been like that. Always! Did someone just wake up?
                            I was mainly talking about distribution. I'm not sure where your country is, but there has been a lot of growth in foreign territories selling American-made films- especially in Asia. The studios have become global. So my point was studios won't always greenlight a movie for American audiences. Foreign territories have become more important to their revenue stream.

                            There's no new discoveries. Hehe. Just new technology and expansion on the distribution side. Try googling "studios foreign box office".


                            Originally posted by jtwg50 View Post
                            Todd: No offense, but you're wrong -- or you just haven't read up on the current situation. Find the Forbes article from several months ago that is a very long, detailed account of how Amazon has taken almost complete control of the book business -- and is working, via a big court battle, to get control of the remaining pieces. Top execs from major publishers fighting them in the lawsuit said, "Amazon has killed the book business as we know it and created a monopoly."
                            There have been similar articles in the New York Times and Fortune, as well as in overseas business magazines -- all saying the same thing.
                            And the facts don't lie.
                            Thanks JT. If I put it out there, I shouldn't be offended.

                            I think we're talking about two different things. I was mainly discussing the movie business. I won't make claims against Amazon's book sales, but I don't see how it correlates to the "movie business". Books are bought for home-consumption. Movies are played in theaters with ticket sales.

                            My thoughts on the book business are much different-- I put books in the same category as music. It comes down to point of sale. Book sales are much like record sales. That market has moved from brick and mortar to online stores. So I would assume Amazon would dominate in books and DVD's since it offers the best competitive prices. And the studios don't really have a chain of stores to sell DVD's, so I believe they would rely on the retailers for DVD sales.

                            [QUOTE=jtwg50;829519]AND: On the other hand, the change has been wonderful for writers -- totally democratizing the process of publishing and selling books.

                            Agreed. Books, films, and music.

                            Originally posted by jtwg50 View Post
                            As for your other points, I agree -- with one exception. Amazon's gosal is NOT to pursue a traditional theatrical distribution model. Just as e-books are replacing printed books -- thanks to Amazon -- digital distribution will replace the Hollywood model, just as that model killed the CD business of ther major record labels.
                            That's what Amazon is betting on -- and they're hoping the studios, loike WB< will come along for the ride (on the assumption they'll ultimately relize they have no choice if they want to survive). Time will tell what actually happens.
                            So let's say Amazon does corner the niche and indie markets. That's good. The studios got out of that game anyway. I think the debate hinges on whether Amazon can or cannot expand into and dominate the production and distribution of movies. Also, the debate is based on a hypothetical that the theaters will dissolve.

                            I agree that theater attendance is trending downward. But let's say they do dry up completely. The studios don't have to release their movies at Amazon. They can tie their exclusive releases through the cable or broadband feeds, they can put a premium on Amazon sales, or cut them out altogether.

                            I could see an Amazon cable channel or an Amazon-sponsored theater, piggybacking off of a larger chain. But I don't see any Amazon domination any time soon. It could be they're playing around with new revenue models on media.

                            So my position is I don't believe Amazon intends to dominate big budget production or distribution, at least not until the studios and theaters begin to dissolve.
                            Being a screenwriter is not enough for a full creative life. ~ William Goldman

                            homeslice

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: What's up with Amazon?

                              Hi again, Todd -- I agree with you now. Sorry I wasn't more clear.
                              Amazon, and many others (suppliers in the growing VOD segment, for example) seem to be betting the Hollywood "monopoly" will die (just as it did for record labels and book publishers, mcuh to their surprise and chagrin), and that film distribution will open up thanks to technology.
                              I think it's very hard to argue that the studios can maintain the current model much longer -- movies costing $100 or $200 million to make, then that amount again to distribute and market. The capital markets themselves are what threatens that, not the desire of Hollywood to push on.
                              And as that happens, new avenues will continue to open up that are different and cheaper from the studio/theatrical model.
                              For example, I've the $5.99 of whatever it is in recent months to watch VOD movies on my cable system I've never even ehard of that were very good.
                              And that type of distribution is growing, as are YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, Amazon VOD, etc.
                              So as I said, that's what I'm betting on. I'm shooting my first film, a feature documentary, on my own equipment next month and distributing it myself.
                              I think many other people are now doing the same thing.
                              Then I plan to make a feature film that I write and direct.
                              We'll see... but the opportunity is defintiely there.

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