Aiming to boost its model of developing screenplays online with bigger-name talent, Amazon Studios approaches its second anniversary with a key acquisition: its first original feature from a top Hollywood screenwriter.
Company director Roy Price has just optioned "Burma Rising" from APA/Pitt Group-repped Benjamin A. van der Veen, who co-scripted Steven Soderbergh's "Che" and the upcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle "Captive."
When it launched in November 2010, the mandate of Amazon Studios, the original content division of online retail giant Amazon, was to solicit commercial feature scripts on its website from the public and develop them online with customer feedback. They still are, and their features are still squarely targeted for wide theatrical release. But since the spring, Amazon Studios has broadened its reach, striking a deal with the Writers Guild of America to bring in professional scribes, and soliciting TV series pitches for release via Amazon Instant Video -- increasing the content available for digital distribution via Amazon's growing suite of Kindle products.
Price says "Burma" is a hard-edged action movie about mercenaries who have to extricate themselves from a difficult situation in Southeast Asia. It's the latest of 20 commercial films on his development slate, the majority of them from newcomers. In April, the production company expanded its talent pool to include more professionals by pacting with the WGA and the Animation Guild, Local 839, allowing members to submit projects through reps. Price's first move to bring in big-name talent came this summer, when he signed Clive Barker to rewrite action horror feature, "Zombies vs. Gladiators." read more
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