Amazon Prime Video unveiled a slate of six new Australian originals for 2023 at a showcase in Sydney tonight, along with first looks at three Australian scripted dramas that the streamer has already announced.
22.09.2022 - 01:03 / deadline.com
Albert Cheng is moving up at Amazon.
Cheng, who had been Chief Operating Officer At Amazon Studios, has been promoted to Vice President, Prime Video U.S., a new role under Prime Video chief Mike Hopkins.
Cheng previously reported to Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, and will now report to Hopkins.
It’s not clear whether Salke now reports to Cheng or Hopkins.
The move comes after a big six months for Amazon in the entertainment space, acquiring MGM, launching The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and kicking off Thursday Night Football.
Cheng will become the “single-threaded leader” overseeing the company’s Prime Video business in the U.S. with responsibility for P&L and revenue growth. He will head up its brand strategy, brand social, influencer marketing, marketing operations, media and audience insights, and will be responsible for customer acquisition, retention, and engagement with its entertainment hub across SVOD, AVOD, and marketplace.
Hopkins, in an internal note, said, “In thinking about how we position ourselves to build on this growth, it became clear to me that we need a dedicated leader to focus on our U.S. Prime Video business.” (read full note below).
He added that Cheng will soon reveal how he will organize his team. Amazon will also reveal how the Studios COO role and Studios content marketing organization will be structured.
Team,
2022 has been a very strong year marked by tremendous growth and success for Prime Video. From acquiring MGM to the record-breaking success of The Rings of Power to last week’s kick-off of Thursday Night Football to this summer’s launch of Clean Slate, this team has come together and transformed Prime Video in many ways. I am so proud of what you have all accomplished and how
Amazon Prime Video unveiled a slate of six new Australian originals for 2023 at a showcase in Sydney tonight, along with first looks at three Australian scripted dramas that the streamer has already announced.
Anna Marie de la Fuente Prime Video is debuting the Karla Souza drama “La Caida” (“Dive”) on Nov. 11 after its world premiere at the Morelia Int’l Film Festival. “How to Get Away with Murder” star Souza produces and stars in the topical drama directed by high-flying Argentine helmer-scribe Lucía Puenzo, hot off “La Jauría” and “Señorita 89.” Souza is known for her performances in Mexican hit family comedy “We are the Nobles,” action-comedy “Day Shift” opposite Jamie Foxx, as well as the Shondaland TV series “How to Get Away with Murder,” among others.
Amazon Prime Video is to co-premiere The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time in the UK with Channel 4.
Selome Hailu Amazon Prime Video has renewed “Outer Range” for a second season. Charles Murray, who is under an overall deal at Amazon Studios, is joining the series as showrunner after Season 1 was showrun by creator Brian Watkins. Watkins will continue executive producing. The Western sci-fi drama stars Josh Brolin as Royal Abbott, a rancher who is fighting to protect his family and discovers a mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness. The Abbotts are coping with the disappearance of daughter-in-law Rebecca (Kristen Connolly) and are pushed further to the brink when the Tillersons, the gaudy owners of the neighboring profit-driven ranch, make a play for their land. An untimely death in the community sets off a chain of events that come to a head with the arrival of a mysterious black void in the Abbotts’ west pasture. Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman, Tom Pelphrey, Noah Reid, Shaun Sipos, Isabel Arraiza, Olive Abercrombie and Will Patton also star.
Blumhouse Productions don’t team up with Amazon Prime for another rendition of their “Welcome To The Blumhouse” anthology this year (which may be a good thing). However, fret not, horror fans: something else from Blumhouse hits Prime Video this Halloween season.
Amazon Prime Video can be challenging, but don’t worry, we’re here to help. Below we’ve put together a curated selection of the best new movies streaming on Prime Video in October.
“Catherine Called Birdy” (available Oct. 7), as well as a pair of new release films from 2022 making their debut on the streaming service.“The Northman,” the Alexander Skarsgard-fronted Viking saga, comes to Prime Video on Oct.
Amazon Prime Video original series “The Lake” has added Lauren Holly, Jhaleil Swab and Max Amani for its second season, Variety can exclusively confirm. Holly (“Family Law”) is set to play Mimsy, “a free-wheeling muse” and mother to Julia Stiles’ character Maisy-May. Swab joins as Forrest, a “confident and charming tree planter with big Tigger energy” who gets into a love triangle with Madison Shamoun’s character Billie while Amani is set to play “driven, strong, fierce protector of the environment” Ivy. “The Lake” is centered on the story of Justin (played by “Orphan Black’s” Jordan Gavaris) who, after breaking up with his long term partner returns home with the hopes of rekindling his relationship with his adopted biological daughter Billie (Shamoun). But his homecoming isn’t all a bed of roses, especially when he finds out his sister Maisy-May (Stiles) has inherited the family lakehouse.
scattered across numerous disparate streaming services and never all in one place, with some — namely a couple of the Daniel Craig entries — being especially tricky to track down for streaming. As part of the 60th anniversary celebration for Bond, but also in no small part thanks to Amazon’s acquisition of MGM earlier this year, that’s finally changing, and Bond fans now have access to all the films as included with a Prime Video subscription.
Amber Dowling Amazon’s Prime Video is bringing the story of Canada’s most famous children’s entertainer to the world. The streamer has confirmed the start of production on an untitled “Mr. Dressup” documentary, based on the life and career of Ernie Coombs. The doc will celebrate the origins and history of the children’s show and its legacy of valuable lessons. In addition to including insights into the relationship with Rogers, the project uses unseen archival footage, interviews with series puppeteers and musicians, the Coombs family, and other notable Canadians who discuss the impact the series had on them. Rob McCallum (“Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”) directs and co-writes with Jordan Morris (“Nintendo Quest”).
Naman Ramachandran As Amazon Prime Video closes in on six years of operations in India, it is one of the market leaders in the streaming segment. A major part of the success is due to it getting a handle on the multiple local languages in the vast market. “One of the things we look at when we expand into new territories and languages is to see early signs and then double down on those early signs,” Gaurav Gandhi, VP, Amazon Prime Video India told Variety. The service programs in 10 languages in India, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali and English. “When we started programming in 10 languages we saw early signs before most others how content travels across languages,” says Gandhi, who spoke on the sidelines of the APOS conference in Singapore. “Today, 50% of our audience base is watching content in four plus languages, which was not the case three or four years back. And a big reason for that is the fact that as you program multiple languages across the board, we realize that you truly transcend linguistic boundaries and barriers and expand the linguistic palette.”
Kelly Day, Amazon Prime Video Vice President, International, outlined the company’s localisation efforts across Asia, Europe and Latin America in the first keynote session of APOS 2022, which is taking place virtually and as an in-person event in Singapore (September 27-29).
Naman Ramachandran Localization, and in some cases hyper-localization, is the modus operandi for growth in global markets for Amazon Prime Video, according to Kelly Day, VP, International, for the streamer. “When we think about launching in a new country, we really want to make sure that we bring a truly local feel to it. So, we’re trying to be very thoughtful when we enter a new region to make sure that we’re not only bringing all of these amazing global series and tentpoles, but that we really do it right, locally,” Day said while delivering one of the keynotes at the APOS conference in Singapore on Wednesday. The service launched recently in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines and the company has hired a local team in the region. Day was also part of the Prime Video team that launched a 40-strong Indian slate in April.
Amazon Prime Video to get you in the mood for the season change. Whether it’s a horror classic, Oscar-winning thriller or genuinely great animated film, there’s a little something for everyone in our curated list of some of the best new movies streaming on Amazon Prime Video this month.
September Mornings” and New York Post readers. If you’re here, chances are you are already hooked on the Brazilian television drama that premiered on Amazon Prime Video back in June 2021. Well, great news! The newest season of “Manhãs de Setembro” is back, streaming on Amazon Prime Video on September 23.
Naman Ramachandran Hindi-language “Maja Ma,” starring Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit Nene, is the first of many Indian original films from Amazon Prime Video, Aparna Purohit, the head of India originals for the streamer, has revealed. The film is a Prime Video commission, as opposed to an acquisition. “We have been acquiring films, we have been putting films straight on our service and over the last two years, we put almost 60 films out and we also bought into co-productions. Producing our own films was the next logical step,” Purohit told Variety. Next up are films in the Telugu and Tamil languages, with films in Malayalam and Kannada being explored. “We want to tell stories that are truly rooted in our soil, stories that are compelling, that are differentiated, in the hands of very passionate creators – story being the starting point for every decision. That’s the strategy,” said Purohit. “And we want to really delight our audiences spread across the length and breadth of the country.”
Amazon’s Hail Mary play to bring the NFL to streaming looks like a touchdown in Week 1.
Amazon has promoted Albert Cheng from COO and co-head of Television at Amazon Studios, to the newly created role of vice president of Prime Video, US.Prime Video & Amazon Studios senior vice president Mike Hopkins SVP, Prime Video & Amazon Studios announced the news in an email sent to staffers. “Albert will become the single-threaded leader overseeing our Prime Video business in the United States, with responsibility for the P&L and revenue growth, and for driving and improving performance.
Selome Hailu Albert Cheng has been promoted to vice president of Amazon Prime Video U.S. He most recently served as chief operating officer of Amazon Studios. The news came Wednesday in a staff memo written by Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Cheng enters the newly created position effective immediately and will report to Hopkins. 2022 has been a banner year for Amazon’s studio and streaming service, especially with the launch of “The Rings of Power,” the latest entry into the “Lord of the Rings” franchise. According to Hopkins, responsibilities under Cheng’s purview will include revenue growth, brand strategy, marketing operations and customer acquisition.
“While we’re still waiting for official Nielsen ratings, our measurement shows that the audience numbers exceeded all of our expectations for viewership,” Prime Video’s top sports exec Jay Marine said today in a note to staff on the “resounding success” of the streamer’s official Thursday Night Football kickoff on September 15.