TVWriter™ is still trying to figure out whether Amazon.Com’s “Hey, kids, wanna create your own TV show for us?” is real, P.R., or both. And we aren’t the only ones:
by Stephanie Carrie
Amazon’s new production arm, Amazon Studios, is right now breaking new ground by premiering 14 scripted pilots and having the public help decide who will get series orders. But its avant-garde development process goes deeper than that.
Amazon’s original programming execs, Sarah Babineau and Joe Lewis, bought some finished scripts that had made the rounds at other networks in previous years but gone unpurchased. Others they bought from unknowns who submitted their full scripts through Amazon’s call for submissions on its website. From first-time TV writers to Academy Award-nominated veterans, Amazon gave many of its creators unprecedented freedom in casting, crew, content and production.