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Amazon offering $2.7 million for film and script submissions via Amazon Studios by Adam B. Vary
Launching itself into the movie business in a big way, Amazon.com announced Amazon Studios today, a new online venture offering $2.7 million in award money for feature film and screenplay submissions to the site. According to an introductory video on the site’s home page, the awards will go to the films “that tell the best story, not to the films with the most visual polish.” Starting in January, each month, $100,000 will be awarded to the top film, and $20,000 to the top two scripts; at the end of the year, $1 million will go to the best film, and $100,000 to the best script, submitted in the 2011 calendar year.
While anyone is invited to comment and critique the submissions, the films and scripts will be judged by industry insiders — in January, Mark Gill (a former Miramax exec who produced Law Abiding Citizen and currently heads up his own production company, The Film Department), and Michael Taylor (chair of University of Southern California’s film and TV production program), will judge the “test” film submissions. Through a first-look deal with Warner Bros., Amazon hopes at least some of the winning “test” films will be produced as commercial feature films, with another $200,000 going to any filmmakers who get their films a greenlight. If the film grosses over $60 million, the filmmakers will win a $400,000 bonus.
Looks interesting, and I'll definitely keep an eye on this, but be aware of the fine print:
Quoted Text
Original Properties
The essence of the Agreement is that if you upload an original script or movie (thereby starting a new project), Amazon Studios gets three important things with respect to your work:
The exclusive right to buy it (and its associated rights) during the 18 month term of the option, for $200,000 plus other possible bonuses. We can extend this option another 18 months by paying you $10,000.
The exclusive right to develop it during the option term (for instance by putting it up at Amazon Studios and inviting people to review it, to make movies based on it and to revise it).
The right to show and distribute it (and scripts and movies based on it) forever. We do not have the right to show it or movies based on it to people in theaters, or on DVD or Blu-Ray, or via linear broadcast or cable TV or a la carte sales or rentals online, except for short clips, but we can keep it up on our website and otherwise distribute it without exercising our option. There is no "delete my stuff" button.
Translation: By submitting a script to Amazon Studios you're granting them a 18-month free option.
Not a bad plan B if your script if collecting dust in a virtual drawer, but for a fresh project I would suggest exhausting the ordinary channels before taking your material off the market for a year and a half.
I didn't see horror in the mix up -- I'd love to sub my script "Khold Stare" to it otherwise. I'm happy to hear this news, though. It's gonna open up doors for those with the drive and ambition for the business. Hell, it kind of makes me have some.
Looks interesting, and I'll definitely keep an eye on this, but be aware of the fine print:
Translation: By submitting a script to Amazon Studios you're granting them a 18-month free option.
Not a bad plan B if your script if collecting dust in a virtual drawer, but for a fresh project I would suggest exhausting the ordinary channels before taking your material off the market for a year and a half.
Good work Mr Z, I was too tired last night to go searching for smal print but guessed there was gonna be something like this, I hoped someone would find it out!
I guess it has its pros and cons, a free option by Warner Brothers is not really a bad thing long term if your aim is to get work, it certainly gives a writer some good exposure. I suppose you have to balance that with giving up the rights to sell your spec for much more.
It is an interesting move though, content distributers become content makers, I expect others to follow, Apple maybe?
I submitted my Armor of Belial script, which is a very big budget, CG-heavy, original fantasy script that no one would ever purchase from a newb. It's got some very solid characters and a good story, though, so we'll see.
George, I don't know if you noticed this or not....
Urrrgh, the more time I spend on this site the worse it seems to be. Did you know there is a "feature" where anyone can revise your script??
What is that all about? So you post a great script on there and you are giving permission to anyone to re-write it and add their name to the credit.
I am getting sorry I posted this link now, the only way I see this being any use at all is if we actually started re-writing everyone else crap scripts and getting half the credit.
There really should be an option to choose not to have people revise your script if you don't want to.
Quoted Text
What’s in it for me if I revise a work at Amazon Studios?
If you revise a script or a test movie, and your revised version wins a contest award, you could win up to 50% of the prize money, depending on how substantial your contribution was (as determined by the judging committee). Under current rules for contests, the original writer or filmmaker will receive a minimum of 50% of the prize. We'll evolve our contest rules over time, so you'll want to check for updates. See the contests page for information on individual contests, or the detailed rules for all contests.
It's a tough one, I guess at the end of the day the chances someone is going to re-write our scripts and actually improve them are tiny. And if they actually do add something, enough to grab the attention of the judges, is that really a bad thing?
The more I think about it though, the more I think the smart way to play this is to go find some poorly structured and badly written scripts, that have a good idea in there, and re-write them. If someone here could pull off a couple of really good re-writes you never know, this could actually be a good shop window for your talents. The judges will have full access to both drafts and will see what you are able to do with bad scripts. There is a chance it could lead to better things. I think certainly this is the much better use for this site rather than chancing your own specs through it.
I just visited this site and read some of it but am still a bit in the dark. Is this how it works?
You upload a script. That automatically give them certin rights to and "freedom" to have any other writer do what they want to your script as well. This is for an 18 month period if they so choose with NO option payment.
If they decide to extent that option, you recieve up to 10K but you DO NOT have the option to say NO to the offer even if you refuse the money.
Others have the right to re-write your work during the time it is on the site and submit it as their own as an improvement to your work.
THAT PART is where I ask, is this when your creative rights are either watered down or lost all together?
How is it that your original work even though revised by others can still remain yours?
This is one of those things you just gotta have the mindset of -- "My work is so good nobody will touch it and if they do they'll fuck it up and my original greatness will prevail".
And if that doesn't work... Well, I guess you just help somebody else make some money off of your own work. And, in a sense, you've become a true victim of your own work. Happens all the time in Hollywood, so this whole Amazon thing is pretty much just like being in the trenches afterall.
This seems to be an "all in" on the original writers part. If someone "ten percents" your work and changes it to meet their standard, I suppose all you have is the warm fuzzy of knowing you just made someone elses carreer based on your sweat.
I just visited this site and read some of it but am still a bit in the dark. Is this how it works?
You upload a script. That automatically give them certin rights to and "freedom" to have any other writer do what they want to your script as well. This is for an 18 month period if they so choose with NO option payment.
If they decide to extent that option, you recieve up to 10K but you DO NOT have the option to say NO to the offer even if you refuse the money.
Others have the right to re-write your work during the time it is on the site and submit it as their own as an improvement to your work.
THAT PART is where I ask, is this when your creative rights are either watered down or lost all together?
How is it that your original work even though revised by others can still remain yours?
Shawn.....><
Yes, all changes are tracked and the revised script still appears under your name with revisions by whoever.
If your script is one of the ones chosen then the judges will decide how much the re-writer has changed your script and how much improvement they brought it and decide what share of the money they should receive. I have no idea how credit will work.
I think the very worst you can ever be is 50/50 with the re-writer. As Balt said this is exactly how it would work in the business anyway. You would have to be extremely lucky to sell a spec and not end up with someone else making changes to it, with or without your blessing.
Hey all, There's something in my mind that keeps reminding myself how awful this is for the unproduced writer(and without a doubt it is) yet I'm about 90% sure I'll post one of my older scripts on the site in the next few days. Kind of like a guilty pleasure that keeps drawing you in.
I've downloaded a few scripts from the site and each one has been flat out awful. Anyone from Simply Scripts stands a fighting chance of getting noticed, even if our stories aren't up to par, the format alone should at least get us past the initial test. It's amazing how much I took for granted the simple things like format and using basic screenwriting skills until I started to read a few of the scripts from the Amazon site. Anyways, I would avoid this at all costs if you have a script that you are proud of, but if you have an old one laying around gathering dust, I don't think it could hurt to post it on the site. Good luck to anyone that posts... I'll post a link to my script in the next few days if I decide to give in. Nate
That's why I picked the one I did. First, it is just gathering dust and has been since I finished it a few years back. Second, I think it turned out pretty good. Third, it would fetch quite a budget if someone looked it over due to the amount of special effects it calls for. To begin with, it doesn't happen on earth, and there are flyover shots of the world. There's an expansive mine, an entire village, an underground stronghold, a castle, flying ships from small one-seaters to full-sized sailing ships in the air (and one that actually lands in the water), a minor submarine skirmish, an overwhelming number of wolf-like carnivores attacking the lead, and tons and tons of extras in the way of villagers, miners, castle crowd, overseers, and militia. No one in their right mind would pick this up from an unknown. It's filmable, but mucho costoso.
George, I see your point... that's what intrigues me about this whole Amazon thing. It seems like the idea of the "Amazon folks" actually making a movie out of anyones script is rare as hell, but the site does seem like it could potentially become a showcase for writers like yourself and the other writers on simply scripts to showcase their talents.
Personally, I think getting in early while the buzz and ideas are fresh is important with this "contest", but I honestly can't imagine even the lowest agent on the chain paying attention to a contest like this a few months from now.
Plus, it seems like most of the really solid writers are being smart... and not putting their best work on the site for fear of it getting in the wrong hands...which lowers the quality of the scripts posted and can only help all of us in the long run.
It's a great chance for anyone on this site to show their talent as a storyteller, the scripts that I've read and liked so far are from talented writers, but even though the writers have skill, their scripts are way...way... out there in terms of being commercial. Even in regards to talent I'd prefer 80% of the regular members scripts here to the top 5 that I've read so far from Amazon. No one there seems to realize that their scripts won't have a $30 to $40 million dollar budget. It's one of those things that makes you appreciate all the things we've all learned from this site. Food for thought.... Nate
However, I think I've identified the best tactic for the SS writers on here:
Re-write the better scripts.
Keep an eye out for the ones with strong, marketable stories, then polish them. That way if it gets sold you may get 50% and you also show that you are a good script Doctor...the kind of person people could turn to to fix up the movies that aren't quite working.
I may look over some of the other scripts I have the have been gathering dust to see if I have a lower budget one, since those are more likely to get chosen. However, I do suspect that if anyone worth their salt does read through these, that a good story, even a high budget one, may get someone's attention. I mean, this one is no Fempiror Chronicles, but it's still one of my better ones.
Wow, Originally I was all into putting my own, leftover stuff up on Amazon. I figured, what's the harm of putting an old, unused script that's been sitting on my hard-drive for years on their site. Thinking that my worst "stuff" might at least compete with the amateurs that post their own stuff on the site. Thankfully, I never followed through. The more I've learned about this Amazon thing, the more I thank the Lord that I never actually put anything on there. Stay far, far away from it. You'd have better luck playing the lottery. Plus, even if your script did receive notoriety, you'd still be viewed in the industry as a contest winner; which in 99% of cases doesn't lead to a successful career. Nate
They key to this one is to select your script carefully. If you have something that you honestly think has a chance of being produced without any help, then don't let them have it. However, if you, like me, have something that has no chance of being picked up by anyone in the next 18 months, then there is no harm. I plan on novelizing this one as I kind of like the story on it, but I'm still working on something else and won't finish a book version within that time frame either.
Hence, carefully chosen, there is little to lose. If you put your very best out there, and get a bite elsewhere, then you can kick yourself.
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I am a victim of Amazon Studios. I am hoping no one copies my ideas and make into a movie. Despite of the story is being Copyrighted with WGA, it's still a risk to have it out there in the hands of the monsters. Yes, that's what I call them..the monsters. They can use their cheat that is to copy ideas from others.
Thanks for the link for this thread...now i know i aint the only one. I think their strategy is good for scripts that have no chance of getting produced after years of submissions to different agancies. Not for the good scripts (like mine..hehe)
Thanks for the advise to change the Name of the screenplay and run it. A good idea, but I am in love with the original title. Hmmmm...what to do.
Also thanks for answering my question that the sequel of my script can not be sold to other production companies since Amazon will have the rights of the characters. I have another queston.
PART 2 will have entirely different characters. The newborn child in PART 1 will grow up in PART 2. He will be the only character from the frist script. So, does a BABY count as a character? He will grow up in a different coninent...different land.
A lie has traveled around the world while the truth is putting the shoes on.
They key to this one is to select your script carefully. If you have something that you honestly think has a chance of being produced without any help, then don't let them have it. However, if you, like me, have something that has no chance of being picked up by anyone in the next 18 months, then there is no harm. .
I agree with this Mr. Wilson. 100%
A lie has traveled around the world while the truth is putting the shoes on.
They're calling this 'Scamazon' on the IMDB Pro message board, and the real writers are laughing at the one person gullible enough to post his passion project there. They say it's a joke around Hollywood.
I'm not being funny, but it's seems curious that people are scorning this - which is a legitimate opportunity to gain traction - and taking themselves out of the game.
Regards the 'Scamazon' talk, those who are already in can afford to laugh - they're already working. For those desperately trying to live their dreams, it's a badly-weighted chance, but a chance nonetheless.
George thanks for directng me to this thread, I missed it the first time. Also thanks to those who let me know they had problems with my link. It's now fixed.
Just wondering if anyone is interested in a script read/review exchange?
I'm not being funny, but it's seems curious that people are scorning this - which is a legitimate opportunity to gain traction - and taking themselves out of the game.
Regards the 'Scamazon' talk, those who are already in can afford to laugh - they're already working. For those desperately trying to live their dreams, it's a badly-weighted chance, but a chance nonetheless.
Without getting too political...imagine for a second that this takes off in a big way and imagine the effect that would have long-term for writers. The big companies are always looking for a way to cut costs...if this model works it will be implemented on a far wider scale.
It's not really something that people, writers especially, should support IMHO.
If everyone sends in the scripts that they haven't had any luck with, then Amazon will be filled with crappy scripts and the whole concept will fail. At the same time, sending in your good scripts will freeze them up for eighteen months. I think that the idea of people changing your scripts and produce them is a worst case scenario--
--BTW, Coldbug, you can't copyright an idea--
--Most of the experienced writers are keeping away, leaving Amazon Studios no different than any other writers board on the net. Atleast here, we can discuss the scripts.
The opportunity here is still the one I mentioned earlier though:
Take a script with a good idea but badly handled and re-write it.
You may win the monthly prize and get 50% and you may also demonstrate to others that yopu have the ability to fix and develop scripts.
That, for me, is the shining opportunity here. You can't lose any of your babies, but you can still prove you've got the chops and the very act of doing it will be good practice.
Had a quick scan of the horrors and I came across two scripts with some potential.
The Banshee
Neves.
The first is a ghost story set in Ireland about a Banshee. With modern horror techniques, I think this kind of old school story could be good and done right, it;s the kind of thing I'd like to watch and maybe even make.
The opening of the script was OK as well. A little "obvious" in the execution, by which I mean that it feels like the writer has seen a lot of horrors and is using a lot of derivative action, but it wasn't bad.
Neves I couldn't open, but the log-line is pretty interesting. The guy who has posted it based it on his own novel of the same name.
Some kids kill a murderer who killed their parents, and traits of the killer start to manifest in the kids so they end up looking to kill each other.
Like I say, I haven't even looked at the script, but that's a pretty good idea IMO. Quite execution dependent, but there's a nice psychological undertone in there to go with the expected violence.
I think writers who really brought their skill to projects like that could do something. Just my opinion.
Without getting too political...imagine for a second that this takes off in a big way and imagine the effect that would have long-term for writers. The big companies are always looking for a way to cut costs...if this model works it will be implemented on a far wider scale.
It's not really something that people, writers especially, should support IMHO.
I don't think anyone envisages this taking off to the point where it skews the traditional pick-up of scripts from non-repped writers. To my mind, it works as an opportunity for those who need it.
An 18 months option with a viable chance to have it made versus 0 months and no viability should be something considered. I'm not saying to use this route as a first choice for your script, but to dismiss it seems silly.
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