Prime Instant Video Announces Three New Pilots
Hmm.. some of the stuff on Prime is pretty good.. and some of it isn’t… but here’s three new ones that might be good…
Building on a successful first round of comedy pilots last April, Amazon today announced it has given the green light for the production of three new half-hour pilots.
New pilots include Mozart in the Jungle written by Academy Award-nominee Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited), Jason Schwartzman (Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore) and Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher), The Outlaws written by Jeremy Garelick (The Break-Up) and Jon Weinbach and Transparent written and directed by Emmy Award-nominee Jill Soloway (Six Feet Under). Customers will be invited to watch, provide feedback and help determine which pilots should be produced as series to air exclusively on Prime Instant Video and Amazon’s LOVEFiLM in the UK in early 2014.
“We are thrilled to be working on these pilots with such talented creators with passionate visions for new shows,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “We are excited to hear what customers think of the shows.”
Mozart in the Jungle
Mozart in the Jungle was written by Oscar-nominated writer and director Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited), actor and musician Jason Schwartzman (Saving Mr. Banks, Moonrise Kingdom, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and Tony-nominated writer and directorAlex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher). The project is based on the memoir Mozart in the Jungle by Blair Tindall. Mozart in the Jungle is all about sex, drugs—and classical music—and shows that what happens behind the curtains at the symphony can be just as captivating as what happens on stage.
“Many shows are in a single world; Mozart in the Jungle is an unusual show in that there are two worlds fused together. On one side is the high-level skill and sophistication that comes with classical music, and at the same time it’s a story that includes people rising up from the bottom, trying to make it in the big world. I love the sense of contrast, the high and the low, the refined and the more base—I hope audiences will love it too,” said Roman Coppola, co-creator of Mozart in the Jungle. “Amazon has been incredibly supportive and they have given us their blessing to make this show. We are very much in harmony and we feel lucky to be working with a partner that is so in sync with us and what we want to do.”
The Outlaws
Written by Jeremy Garelick and Jon Weinbach, The Outlaws is all about the ins and outs of a professional football team from the perspective of both the players and the back office. The Outlaws creative team also includes Matt Alvarez and Michael Strahan, former football player for the New York Giants and host of Live with Kelly and Michael.
“Jon Weinbach and I could not be more excited about The Outlaws, it’s been great transforming this story into a pilot with the help of Amazon,” said Outlaws creator Jeremy Garelick. “We have found Amazon’s support for original and edgy content to be second to none; the opportunity to blend crushing comedy and hits is endless. We want to make Outlaws the show that everyone will love—not just football fans.”
Transparent
Written and directed by Emmy-nominee and 2013 Sundance Best Director winner Jill Soloway (Afternoon Delight, Six Feet Under and United States of Tara), Transparent is a darkly comedic story about an LA family with serious boundary issues. In this exploration of sex, memory, gender and legacy, the past and future unravel when a dramatic admission causes everyone’s secrets to spill out. Jeffrey Tambor, Judith Light,Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass star in the pilot.
“With my astonishingly talented cast and crew we created an incredible pilot,” said Transparent creator Jill Soloway. “I hope we’ll be making a full season very soon. I am so grateful to Amazon for their trust and for allowing this story to unfold onscreen in such a human, organic way. They have provided me with one of the most creative experiences of my career.”
About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script and will then be notified within 45 days if that script is optioned. Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions and those who choose to make their projects public will also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community. Recently, Amazon Studios announced six new kids’ pilots including Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, Grid Smasher, Hard-Boiled Eggheads, The Jo B. & G. Raff Show, The Maker Shack Agency and Wishenpoof! The pilots will be available on Amazon Instant Video in early next year for all customers to watch and provide feedback. This fall, Amazon Studios will debut its first full comedy series Alpha House and Betas available exclusively on Prime Instant Video and Amazon LOVEFiLM in the UK.
Since launch, more than 18,000 movie scripts and 4,000 series projects have been submitted to Amazon Studios. Amazon Studios continues to invite series creators to upload their proposals for comedy and children’s programming at http://studios.amazon.com/getting-started/series or submit them privately via Amazon Studios.
Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon’s IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.