Here's a dose of happy for you: Rob Gardner, winner of Amazon Studios’ $1 million Best Test Movie award, gets the good news from Amazon Studios director Roy Price earlier this week. (The winning movie, a musical adventure called 12 Princesses, is available to download/stream for free at Amazon Instant Video.)
Congratulations to 12 Princesses and Origin of a Species, the projects selected today by a panel of top industry judges to receive Annual Awards totaling $1.1 million from Amazon Studios, the movie-development arm of Amazon.com.
“It has been an exciting year for Amazon Studios. We received projects from all over the world and have enjoyed collaborating with filmmakers and screenwriters to develop their original stories,” said Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios. “Choosing the best test movie and the best script was extremely challenging; with thousands of projects submitted it was difficult to recognize only two.”
The $1 million Best Test Movie Award went to 12 Princesses, the musical tale of a farmboy who risks his heart (and his life) to discover how royal sisters escape each night from the imprisonment of their mad father. Rob Gardner of Mesa, Ariz., wrote and directed the test movie, based on his stage musical version of the Grimm fairy tale of “The 12 Dancing Princesses.”
“It was really well received and, since then, I’ve felt like it would make a great film,” Gardner said. “When I heard about the Amazon Studios contest on NPR, it sounded like the perfect avenue to try to get such a movie made.”
12 Princesses and other top Amazon Studios test movies are available to download or stream for free at the Amazon Studios site, and at Amazon Instant Video.
The $100,000 Best Script Award went to Origin of a Species, the story of a former police officer whose German Shepherds are infected with rabies and terrorize a small, Midwestern community. Brooklyn-based screenwriter Matthew Gossett said his story has roots in reality: “I used to work with a guy in Cincinnati who was embroiled in a property line dispute with his elderly neighbor, and as their confrontations escalated, I wondered what would happen if chaos erupted. This screenplay is about chaos fed by humans and set loose upon a town.”
Annual Awards judges included Lawrence Bender (producer, Inglourious Basterds), Akiva Goldsman (writer, A Beautiful Mind), Trevor Groth (director of programming, Sundance Film Festival), Alexander Payne (writer/director The Descendants) and Courtenay Valenti (
More than 7,000 scripts and 700 test movies have been submitted to Amazon Studios since its launch in November 2010. And in the past year, dozens of scripts, test movies and trailers have been awarded nearly $2 million.
Imagine that you could see a movie before it gets made, and tell the filmmakers what you think of it (Tweak that ending! Cut the sidekick! More chase scenes!). Now quit imagining, and check out the Amazon Studios “test movies” that just debuted on Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant Video, where they are available to download and stream at no charge.
A test movie is a visual rough draft of a script. Live action? Animated? It’s all good: The key is that it allows movie fans from around the world to see a story in its early stages and share their thoughts on how that story should be made into a full-on feature film (or whether it even should be made into a full-on feature film) — before millions of dollars get spent.
The test movies premiering at Amazon.com are the best that Amazon Studios has to offer: Finalists for its $1 million Annual Award (winners to be announced on Feb. 7) and work created by specially selected filmmakers. Take a look! We’d love to know what you think.
As if it needed any greater pedigree than simply being a Terrence Malick film, The Tree of Life arrives in theaters as winner of the 2011 Cannes Palme d'Or, the top honor from the world's most renowned film festival. Malick has directed only five films in 38 years, and The Tree of Life has had critics stumbling over themselves to describe its collision of the cosmos, spirituality, philosophy, and the deeply personal nature of familial love. Most everyone admits it's a tough nut that defies easy interpretation, demands repeated viewings, and may even be (gasp!) flawed in some fundamental ways. But the mantle of genius is sticking strong to Malick and The Tree of Life, along with its ruminative themes on the natural world and existential questions about who we are, why we're here, and where we're going after we've moved beyond our experience of the known.
All five of Malick's films have aspired to the realm of poetry. Because of the mystique that has grown up around him -- he stays resolutely out of the public eye and does not comment about his work -- the grand master label has become a given. He surrounds himself with a trusted creative team, and actors lucky enough to be chosen to share his vision have waxed rhapsodic about his process. In a recent interview with the New York Times' Dennis Lim, The Tree of Life's star Brad Pitt said that Malick fosters an atmosphere that allows for serendipity in capturing both elegiacal imagery and the aesthetics of personal interaction. "He finds perfection in imperfection, and he's always trying to create the imperfection," Pitt told Lim. Pitt said that working with Malick was "liberating but exhausting," and that he gave his actors free rein to answer "this actor’s quest of always trying to be in the moment, which is a bit precious but very true."
Others have observed that Malick uses his scripts as a starting point, but that they become less important than capturing moments that arise unexpetedly when shooting begins. Famous for laboring over his work both during shooting and in post production, Malick relies heavily on editing and sound design to shape his films. His intention has been expressed as a desire to capture emotion on film in a way that few directors have ever been able to do.
The Tree of Life certainly follows his obsession with nature and the beauty of living things, be they the branches of a tree or the churning vapors of a distant galaxy. In 2005 he brought the gaze of 17th century explorer John Smith (Colin Farrell) to the exotic shores of North America with The New World. His 1998 interpretation of The Thin Red Line, James Jones' novel about the World War II South Pacific battle on Guadalcanal strove for similar themes of the awesomeness, splendor, and sometimes horror found in the details of life so many of us pass by without a second glance.
Another device revered by Malick is the use of observational voice-over from his actors that intertwine with the spectacle of his images, sometimes in seemingly random ways. Malick is a Harvard educated Rhodes scholar who taught philosophy at MIT, so it's not surprising that he should be interested in bringing his idealistic view of the world to bear in his art. He uses the internal monologues that revolve in his characters heads to give voice to his own existential wonder. In The Thin Red Line, the virtual who's who of male Hollywood stars -- Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, Nick Nolte, Adrien Brody, Jim Caviezel, et al -- mingled their voices to achieve a higher grace than that of a traditional war movie. The New World and The Tree of Life are also filled with voices of actors musing to themselves and to us, whether their thoughts relate to Malick's narrative or not.
The 20 year gap closed by The Thin Red Line was preceded by what is nearly universally hailed as Malick's golden achievement. Days of Heaven is a breathtaking and heartbreaking glimpse at life in the farmlands of the Texas panhandle in the early 20th century, starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, and Sam Shepard. Golden is also an apt descriptor of the visual style as filming took place almost entirely during "the golden hour" just before sunset, giving every scene its distinctive and entirely natural burnished glow. Malick was awarded the directing prize at Cannes for Days of Heaven in 1979.
Malick's first feature, Badlands was made on the cheap in 1973, but remains the prototype from which all his themes evolved -- the haunting voiceover, the wonderment or sense of dread provoked by environment, and a reliance on the just-so-ness of natural light. Performances by the very young Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as an indifferent serial killer and his teenage lover remain powerfully affecting, as does the striking imagery of the American West.
Perhaps in an effort to make up for lost time, Malick has already shot his as yet untitled sixth film which is set in present day Oklahoma and stars Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams. But it's unlikely we'll see the film in time for next year's Cannes Film Festival, and maybe not even the year after that. For Terrence Malick, neither films nor life are things to be rushed, and each appear to hold eqaul importance in his ethos as one of the great artists of our time.--Ted Fry
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of those actors who grew up in front of us. As a child star on TV he showed charm, sweetness, and humor before making a studied move into movies as his body and mind became sinewy, smart, and bursting with barely restrained intensity. On screens now as the title character in Hesher, Gordon-Levitt is again testing his range as a severely damaged mystery man who drives a beat-up van and carries a rage with deep roots that we never really see unearthed. Wearing a grungy fright wig and anarchic death-metal attitude to match, he enters the life of an equally damaged family in desperate need of the help only a character as desperate as he can give. Gordon-Levitt's physical grace is extraordinarily compelling as he pushes and punishes his lithe body in complete commitment to the role. It’s a new peak in a career that deserves a look backward for clues on how he came to be so possessed and confident in roles that have been sweet, terrifying, enigmatic, and everything in between.
3rd Rock from the Sun,1996-2001: Jospeph Gordon-Levitt made his TV debut at age seven and appeared had a few small screen guest shots (including Family Ties and Roseanne) before landing the role of all-American space alien Tommy Solomon at age 15 in 1996 for the acclaimed six-season run of Third Rock From the Sun. He was the youngest member of the family in Earth years, but it was never clear who among the wacky Solomons had the highest level of maturity. With his shoulder-length locks and cute, shy, loveable demeanor, Gordon-Levitt was a favorite character who often was the smartest in the cobbled-together family of dim bulbs played with separate but equal wackiness by John Lithgow, Kristen Johnsten, and French Stewart. His skill at comic timing and ingenuous charm grew rapidly over the series’ life, and when the ensemble show folded his options were open to both comic/romantic offerings or more substantial actorly roles, both of which he pursued vigorously.
10 Things I Hate About You, 1999: On hiatus from Third Rock, Gordon-Levitt took a supporting role as a fully human high school kid in this well-received teen reimagining of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. He had the aw-shucks teenage charisma down pat and nicely complimented the large cast that was headed by Heath Ledger and Julia Styles. It wasn’t his first big screen outing (he had minor preteen parts in the John Grisham adaptation The Juror and Robert Redford’s fly fishing reverie A River Runs Through It), but it made a big impression on industry types that this was a good-looking, sharp-witted professional young man with a career to look forward to.
Manic, 2001: This relatively obscure drama starring Don Cheadle as a counselor at a psychiatric lockup for teens was Gordon-Levitt’s first real break from his blithe past as a sweet kid with a carefree spirit. He plays a troubled kid with a violent streak and a dangerous future ahead of him unless he can reach down and get at his inner turmoil. The glimmers of intensity he brings to the role of a kid who’s crossed the cusp to adulthood show the method-like passion that will soon explode in many more serious roles that unleash real depth of character. His co-star is the relatively unknown doe-eyed cutie Zooey Deschanel who brought him a different kind of romantic turmoil a few years later in (500) Days of Summer.
Mysterious Skin, 2004: This haunting, mysterious, and quietly unsettling indie drama from bad-boy underground director Greg Araki was a major turning point for Gordon-Levitt as a serious actor who brought physical grace, toughness, genuine strength, and an underlying vulnerability to the role of a teenage hustler and victim of childhood sexual abuse. It’s an unflinching portrait, both direct and compellingly oblique about the ways that trauma can manifest itself in the molding of a young mind and how a victim copes with an aftermath that may never heal. Gordon-Levitt took risks that paid off with devastating clarity for his director and for himself as an actor eager to push himself into unfamiliar territory.
Brick, 2005: If Mysterious Skin represented Gordon-Levitt testing the waters of his range, the brilliantly conceived homage to literary noir of Brick cemented his ability to run deep with a complex character in a somewhat less experimental, more accessible style. Still in the realm of serious indie, he plays a moody high school kid on the fringe of social cliques who is thrust into a mystery worthy of Chandler or Hammett when his ex-girlfriend ends up dead. Brick creates a sort of alternate reality populated by teens who act and speak in a lightning fast vernacular of 1940s pulp against a backdrop of hardcore drug deals and intricate relational dynamics that unfold in a sort of alternate reality. The script, dialogue, and direction by first time director Rian Johnson were integral to the many accolades Gordon-Levitt won as a noteworthy young actor riding a crest to much bigger things.
Stop-Loss, 2008: Ryan Phillippe starred in this well-intentioned but poorly received drama about a soldier returning from a tour in Iraq, only to find he’s been stop-lossed and redirected back in country for another deployment. Gordon-Levitt has a great time venting all the rage and barely restrained psychosis of his friend in a supporting role that was perhaps his most daring and unexpected to date. Boys Don’t Cry director Kimberly Pierce stumbled over a sometimes clunky script, but the performances were strong all around, especially Gordon-Levitt’s turn as an unpredictable muscle-bound alpha-male with a sense of patriotism that upends and undoes him.
(500) Days of Summer, 2009: In what suddenly seemed like a rare departure from his slightly-psycho, super-serious roles that showcased his dramatic intensity, Gordon-Levitt sparkled in this sweet, gentle, and genuinely poignant romantic comedy about a sweet, gentle writer of greeting cards who falls for an irresistible girl who breaks his heart. He’s a true romantic, dedicated to the notion of true eternal love, but she (the irresistible Zooey Deschanel) doesn’t believe in love and is simply looking for a uncommitted fun time with a nice guy for the right now. Showing off his innate physical grace to great effect, Gordon-Levitt sings and dances, reveals great tenderness and depth of emotional feeling that’s the total opposite of his ample capabilities for rage and hostility, that’s further demonstration of his seeming unlimited range.
Inception, 2010: Though his performance sometimes seemed a little out of tune with his costars and his character somewhat underdeveloped, Gordon-Levitt was suave and self-assured as the immaculately groomed corporate espionage operative in Christopher Nolan’s ambitious opus. Again showing off his lithe form and skillfully physical presence, he danced and fought on walls and ceilings with the elegance of Fred Astaire, and handled guns and high explosives with the dexterity of James Bond.
It’s exciting to imagine what we’ll be seeing from Joseph Gordon-Levitt in future projects including Christopher Nolan’s next Batman installment, The Dark Knight Rises, in which he’ll play a shadowy Gotham City police detective, and opposite a stove pipe-hatted Daniel Day-Lewis as the only surviving son of Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming historical biopic. --Ted
It’s finally happened … The Star Wars saga is now available to pre-order on Blu-ray, and to celebrate we here at Amazon.com have been singing the classic Bill Murray Saturday Night Live version of the theme song.
The best bet is the complete saga, which has three discs of extras. These include deleted scenes, auditions, and an exploration of the Star Wars archives. (Maybe we’ll get to see a young Harrison Ford try out for the role, who knows?) And of course, with the original trilogy, you should know that these are George Lucas’ updates (so yes, Greedo shoots first, but we all secretly know it was Han).
The discs come out in September 2011, and we will update you as we learn more about the extras. Until then … may the force be with you. Pre-order now:
Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]
Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I - III) [Blu-ray]
Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV - VI) [Blu-ray]
Veteran British character actor Pete Postlethwaite, who made even small roles memorable over the last several decades, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 64.
Postlethwaite was born in the north of England, and retained his working-class look and accent, which gave him distinction in his many acting roles. He spent many years steadily working in British television, and then burst into international acclaim for his Oscar-nominated performance opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in 1993's In the Name of the Father. He worked steadily ever since, giving memorable turns in Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects and in the sweet British indie film Brassed Off, both in 1996.
Postlethwaite's other memorable roles include Amistad, The Shipping News, and The Constant Gardener. And just last year, he costarred with Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception.
Of acting, Postlethwaite once said, "Acting is all about telling lies. We are professional imposters and the audience accept that. We've made this deal that we tell you a tale and a pack of lies, but there will be a truth in it. You may enjoy it, or it will disturb you."
Steven Spielberg, who directed him in The Lost World: Jurassic Park as well as Amistad, once called Postlethwaite "the greatest actor in the world." We couldn't agree more--and we'll be playing "Danny Boy" today in his honor.
--A.T. Hurley
Just two weeks after launching with a total of $2.7 million in monthly and annual contests for filmmakers and screenwriters, Amazon Studios is adding a new chance to win. Amazon Studios will award $20,000 to the two best scripts submitted by Dec. 31, 2010. Winners of this bonus contest will be announced in January.
Eligible scripts uploaded to Amazon Studios can compete for the money, but the real prize is a shot at seeing them on the big screen. Amazon Studios is looking to develop its top projects into commercial feature films under its first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. We spent a few minutes with Amazon Studios chief Roy Price to ask about this new contest and the state of Amazon Studios.
Why are you doing a Bonus Contest?
Roy: Due to the overwhelming response! More than 1,300 projects have been uploaded to Amazon Studios and we want to reward the people who have embraced the opportunity to win money, get noticed and get their movie made.
How does someone enter?
Roy: If you’ve already uploaded an eligible script to Amazon Studios, then you’re automatically entered in the bonus contest already, as well as upcoming monthly contests and our Annual Awards. If you haven’t uploaded yet, then upload a script between 85 and 160 pages by December 31. There is no entry fee.
Why aren’t you doing a bonus contest for test movies?
Roy: The first wave of response has been mostly scripts, and that’s why the bonus contest is focused on scripts. We’re excited to see the test movies people create based on scripts uploaded to Amazon Studios, but that takes time.
Who decides the winners and how? Does the public play a part?
Roy: Amazon Studios contest winners are decided by a panel of industry experts and Amazon Studios representatives. Site popularity, reviews and feedback can help bring attention to a great script, and can help writers improve their work; however, the public does not directly determine winners.
What would you say to someone who is on the fence about submitting a script (or test movie) to Amazon Studios?
Roy: Amazon Studios is about opportunity. If you’ve got a great idea for a movie, you can put it in front of a potential audience in the early stages and get feedback that can help you make it even better. You might even meet someone to collaborate with on a new draft, or a test movie. Keep in mind, Amazon Studios is a process. We expect that you will get some suggestions, perhaps see an experimental film or two made from your script and then have the opportunity to tweak your script before the process runs its course. So even though we’re very excited about the new contests, keep in mind that the Amazon Studios process is not about just one month or one contest.
Thank you, Roy, and thank you to everyone who has uploaded a script or test movie to Amazon Studios, written a review, or even just come by to visit.
-- Steph, Amazon Studios
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We leaked our Black Friday calendar last Thursday, and we've just added new Lightning Deals to the calendar. (Some are going on right now.)
Check out tomorrow's great lineup here:
Happy Black Friday! -- Ellen
And now for a special announcement... we're leaking our own Black Friday Week deals in a calendar that will tell you precisely when your favorite DVDs and Blu-rays will be in a Lightning Deal (usually four hours each), so you don't have to fight the crowds, wait in line, and get really really cold. Set your alarm, roll out of bed and click away! And the best part is, there are new deals every day starting Monday November 22nd, so you can spread out your Black Friday shopping all week! (Seriously, soon Black Friday will start in July.)
In addition to the doorbusters below, you'll find over 2,700 titles at up to 70% off during our Black Friday Week deals, also kicking off Monday, so stay tuned! --Ellen
