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Netflix, Prime Video, Peacock, Hulu, Paramount+ and Max have ginned up a wide variety of streaming options for movie lovers of all tastes. In addition to Swift's blockbuster concert movie debuting on Disney+ and Lohan's new Irish-tinged Netflix rom-com, there's some awards-season fare, a fantasy flick featuring Millie Bobby Brown vs. a dragon, the latest musical "Trolls" movie and a Zac Efron/John Cena team-up. (In case naked Cena at the Oscars has you thirsty for more.)
Simply put, the best movie of all last year. Director Andrew Haigh's moving and haunting fantasy stars Andrew Scott as a lonely British screenwriter who fosters a relationship with a flirty neighbor (Paul Mescal) while also visiting his childhood home to have chats with his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), who died 30 years prior.
So long and thanks for all the fish jokes! Jason Momoa wraps up his run as the Aquaguy in an aggressively fine adventure sequel (and the last movie before DC reboots its movie universe). The Justice Leaguer teams with his previously villainous half-bro (Patrick Wilson) to fight an ancient evil. Hey, at least your little kids will dig it.
Millie Bobby Brown plays a young woman who, to help her family, gets married off to the prince of another kingdom. Just after the vows, she gets thrown down a chasm as a sacrifice to a vengeful talking dragon she has to outwit to survive. It's a decent gateway into dark fantasy for curious "Stranger Things"-loving kids.
Following a forgettable Christmas movie, Lindsay Lohan's next holiday-ready affair casts her as a book editor in Ireland to watch her friend marry a writer (Alexander Vlahos) she secretly loves. One magical wish on an ancient stone later, she's engaged to that guy yet develops feelings for a nature photographer (Ed Speleers). It'll hold Lohan fans over till her Arbor Day spectacular.
Tina Fey's adaptation of the Broadway musical (itself based on the 2004 Lindsay Lohan teen comedy) turns out to be an unnecessary retread. That said, a few of the songs are catchy and Renee Rapp is a force as Regina George, the high-school queen bee who takes new kid Cady (Angourie Rice) into her popular girl clique.
Ridley Scott's historical biopic stars Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous title French commander. Mixing satirical comedy, battlefield brutality and personal tragedy, the sprawling epic chronicles Napoleon Bonaparte's political and military victories as well as his volatile relationship with his wife Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).
In Sofia Coppola's methodical biopic, Cailee Spaeny gamely plays Priscilla Presley starting as a bored young teen who meets her future husband Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi) in Germany. The movie chronicles the title figure's story into her late 20s when she feels stuck in a controlling relationship with a toxic King of Rock 'n' Roll.
Love Cena's Oscar antics? It's a taste of what you'll get in this comedy. Zac Efron stars as one of a trio of pals who've been using an imaginary "friend" to get them out of binds for years. When they need him for a family function to keep up the lie, they hire an insecure Atlantic City actor (Cena) who blows up their lives.
This surprisingly deep sci-fi flick gives Adam Sandler one of his most straightforward dramatic roles, as a Czech astronaut halfway through a lonely one-man mission to investigate a cosmic purple cloud near Jupiter. He works through his crumbling long-distance marriage via an unexpected therapist: a talking alien spider (Paul Dano).
If you're a Swiftie, well, come on now: You're going to be streaming this concert film (with four bonus acoustic numbers added to the theatrical cut) again and again and again. And if you're not a Swiftie, the good news is she puts on a pretty good show so you won't feel like you've wasted three hours of your life. Which is nice.
Forever the one that got 'N Sync back together. This earworming, overly earnest third "Trolls" installment finds Branch (voiced by Justin Timberlake) needing to reunite with his former boy-band brothers to save one of their own while also figuring out his true feelings about longtime troll pal Poppy (Anna Kendrick).
Timothe Chalamet plays beloved candyman Willy Wonka a bit too sweet and desperately in need of a dash of saltiness in the musically joyous origin tale. Willy dreams of opening a sweets shop, a goal that has some serious obstacles courtesy of a chocolate cartel and a thieving Oompa Loompa (played by scene-stealing Hugh Grant).
Even 10 years ago, the goal of most budding screenwriters was to make it in Hollywood i.e have their script picked up by a major production company and turned into either a blockbuster film or a prime-time show.
Unlike big studios that rely on tentpole films as their main line of business, Amazon, for example, is a huge conglomerate spanning its online store, Kindle e-books, and other ventures. Amazon can take more of a risk on material where other platforms cannot.
A great example of recent times is The Grand Tour. Under its past iteration as Top Gear on the BBC, the car show presented by Richard Hammond, Jeremey Clarkson, and James May was limited by the constraints of a state broadcaster. This meant that even though it was one of the corporation's most-watched shows, budgets were always limited and there was constant concern about the trio's controversial behavior.
When Clarkson was sacked by the BBC, ending his contract, the main talent was poached by Amazon who paid a reported $160 million for them to come over. They gave them the freedom to tour the world in top-of-the-range cars that would have been unthinkable on the BBC.
Before you begin pitching your TV show or film to executives, it's important to understand how Amazon's business actually works. This means understanding the difference between Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios.
Amazon Studios is the production and distribution arm of Amazon Prime Video. They are responsible for producing Amazon's original content to stream on the platform and for licensing it. Previously you could pitch to Amazon Studios, however, they no longer offer an open submissions window.
Amazon Prime Video is a platform that distributes both original content produced by Amazon Studios and content Amazon has licensed as part of its subscription service. They have recently acquired the rights to the 4,000 strong library of MGM, one of the oldest and most prestigious film companies in the world.
Some shows and films on Amazon Prime Video are included in a monthly subscription similar to Netflix. Other shows are available to rent or to purchase on an individual basis. Just because a show is available on Amazon Prime Video it does not necessarily mean it's included in the subscription.
Pitching to Amazon has become harder since they stopped accepting unsolicited submissions and don't have publicly available submission requirements. To pitch to Amazon directly you have several options.
Find out who is the commissioning editor for the genre you are writing in and try to attend events where they or their colleagues may be likely to appear. Build and nurture these relationships. Don't pitch to them straight away.
Since the release of Squid Game and Lupin on Netflix, both worldwide blockbuster hits in a foreign language, streaming services have realized non-English produced and speaking content could have a wide appeal.
As a result, both Amazon and Netflix are known to be on the hunt in countries across the world for the next big hit. If you happen to live outside the Western World or you've written something in another language or featuring a different culture, you might find it easier to get your script read.
Remember this is the age of the niche. Previously screenwriters were encouraged to broaden the appeal of their scripts such as making locations more generic and themes more universal and prioritizing an American audience.
Amazon Prime Video has seen huge success with multiple series of richly detailed sci-fi shows such as The Expanse and the dystopian vision of The Man in the High Castle both based on novels. Don't also forget streaming services are less affected by regulators in the way Hollywood or other companies are, though they are now regulated by Ofcom in the U.K.
If you're pitching to Amazon you'll want your screenplay to look as sharp and professional as possible: Arc Studio's industry-standard screenwriting software can take care of this for you by automating the formatting.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) offered a sizable gift to its nearly 16,000 members this holiday season, announcing a three-year blockbuster deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) which, if ratified by the membership, would more than triple residuals for direct
Although the deal requires on-demand video streaming services and affiliated production companies to dig considerably deeper into their pocketbooks, the contract signals another victory for this budding industry at the expense of traditional cable, satellite and live programming. A Deloitte study published in 2015 found about 70% of American millennials stream television programs for the convenience of on-demand consumption while less than 35% of them watch live television at all. Moreover, only 45% of all Americans said they watched live television. With more eyes turning from traditional television to on-demand streaming, DGA naturally sought to keep its members on the forefront of this sea change in media consumption.
For a small fee (or in some cases for nothing at all), you can upload your movie to your choice of TVOD, SVOD, or AVOD platforms and make it immediately available to millions of people. Add to the mix a creative PR campaign and some social media ads, and an ultra-low budget movie can compete with a multi-million dollar blockbuster.
By the time the film was available to stream, I had already started shooting my next feature (White Crow), so I put my organic marketing efforts on hold. I thought I would sit back and see what happened over the next couple of months, and then re-assess once I was wrapped on production.
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