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F. Scott Fitzgerald's last work heads to Amazon's silver screen
Amazon's turning to literature once again for an original series. Only this time, Jeff Bezos' video wing is eschewing Philip K. Dick in favor of The Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Period piece The Last Tycoon tells the story of young Hollywood studio executive Monroe Stahr in the 1930s as he battles his boss (played by Kelsey Grammer) "for the soul of their studio" amid The Great Depression and the rise of Hitler's Germany. The story is loosely based on the short, but highly influential career of MGM producer Irving Thalberg -- the man responsible for sneak previews, reshoots and story conferences with scriptwriters. If the trailer below proves interesting enough, you can check out the pilot episode right now ahead of the full season's July 28th premiere. Still not enough Fitzgerald? Then maybe check out Z, the story of F. Scott's wife, Zelda, on the service.
Amazon orders two seasons of 'Gilmore Girls' creator's next show
Netflix may be the frontrunner in the race between online video channels to produce original content, but Amazon is trying hard to close the gap. It has just commissioned two seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which is written and directed by Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. The series follows the titular character, a 1958 New York City woman, as she "discovers a previously unknown talent" as a standup comic that takes her from her perfect, wholesome life to... "a spot on Johnny Carson's couch."
Amazon taps 'Moonlight' director for 'The Underground Railroad' show
In the arms race for filmmaking talent and marquee shows, Amazon just scored a big win for its streaming originals. Oscar winning writer and Moonlight director Barry Jenkins has signed on with Amazon to adapt Colson Whitehead's best-selling book, The Underground Railroad into a new hourlong drama series.
Hugh Hefner docuseries bares all on Amazon Prime next month
An Amazon series detailing the life and impact of Hugh Hefner is heading to the service on April 7th. Announced last year, American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is a new docuseries that will combine dramatic re-enactments of Hefner's life with rare unseen footage uncovered from his personal archive. Featuring interviews with celebrities like Gene Simmons and Jesse Jackson, the series promises to give audiences an unprecedented look into the rise of the Playboy empire. As well as the expected mansion shenanigans, the show also aims to delve into the social impact of the iconic brand - emphasizing Hefner's often forgotten commitment to social justice and gay rights.
Amazon to stream Ghibli-produced 'Ronja, the Robber's Daughter'
Amazon's children's video offerings are expanding once again. This time it's with an animated version of Ronja, the Robber's Daughter. That name might sound familiar if you were assigned a book report in 5th grade for Astrid Lindgren month but didn't want to read Pippi Longstocking. The details of the show's production are a little convoluted, so bear with me. It's directed by Goro Miyazaki and hasn't made it outside of Japan and the Scandanavian region. Goro is the son of famed Studio Ghibli mastermind Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle), and Studio Ghibli co-produced this project. That version came out back in 2014.
Amazon resurrects 'The Tick,' greenlights two more shows
It's the time of year when Amazon's video division announces what new shows will make the cut and get a full series order. Today, we learned with great joy that The Tick is among Amazon's new shows, alongside I Love Dick and Jean-Claude Van Johnson. As in typical Amazon fashion, pilots for the shows were shown off in advance and fans could vote on the ones that would become full-fledged shows (they could even view a few pilots on Twitch this year). Now that the roster has been finalized, the shows are set to debut in 2017.
BlackBerry wants you to know its phones are cool
People say you must love yourself in order to be loved by others, and that's exactly what BlackBerry's trying to do. The manufacturer recently posted a blog highlighting how many times its devices appeared in movies and TV shows last year, taking into account a few of the major US television networks as well as Netflix and Amazon's original content. So what were the results? BlackBerry counted at least 199 roles: 154 on the small screen and 45 for films.
Amazon renews 'The Man in the High Castle' for a second season
Amazon's Original Series The Man in the High Castle was the retailers most-watched pilot, and it seems the first season was popular was well. The company renewed the show for a second season today, following its opening 10-episode run that debuted on Amazon Prime November 20th. If you're not familiar, The Man in the High Castle is an adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name. The story chronicles what life in the US would be like under German and Japanese rule if the Axis Powers had been victorious in World War II.
Amazon's 12 new pilots include animated, spy and biopic series
It's Amazon pilot season, which means there are a bunch of new shows you can stream via Prime Instant Video for free -- well, their first episodes anyway. The selection includes a handful of animated shows, one of which brings the Teletubbies to mind (The Numberlys) and another that targets young adults (Everstar). There's also a Western tale of revenge (Edge), a bio-series of an early feminist (Z), a story of five female journalists in the '60s based on a non-fiction book (Good Girls Revolt) and a dramedy about a spy sent to Iran to prevent a nuclear war (Patriot). As always, Amazon will take your opinions into account when deciding which of the twelve gets turned into full-blown Originals and which get tossed into the pile of forgotten pilots.
Amazon green lights 'Hand of God' and 'Red Oaks' for full series
After earning positive reviews during Amazon's Pilot Season, Hand of God and Red Oaks will become full series. If you'll recall, the online retailer offered the masses the opportunity to watch a smattering of pilot episodes and offer feedback on which ones should be given an entire season on Prime Instant Video. Hand of God stars Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy) as a corrupt judge who believes God is sending him messages through his son (being kept alive by a ventilator), offering clues in his quest for vigilante justice. With executive producer Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven) on the roster, Red Oaks chronicles a teenage assistant tennis pro and his last summer before college in 1985. The pair joins Alpha House, Betas, Transparent and others on the Amazon Originals roster.
Amazon Prime snags 'Archer' and five more Fox series, launches 10 free pilots
The content arms race between streaming-video providers Netflix, Amazon and Hulu (and YouTube/Google Play and Crackle and Redbox and... you get the picture) shows no signs of slowing down, and here's Amazon's latest assault. The Prime Instant Video service is pushing new, exclusive, original content at the same time it gains access to popular TV shows from a new deal with Fox. The latter arrangement brings FX series The Americans as a streaming exclusive to Amazon (Engadget HD favorite Justified became an exclusive last year), plus archived episodes of The League, Louie, How I Met Your Mother, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Archer on a non-exclusive basis next month. The Americans returns for season two on February 26th, and we're sure the network is hoping viewers will binge on the well-reviewed series in time to start watching then. Of course, Netflix has shown that exclusive original content is key to growth, and Amazon is repeating its "pilot season" judged by the public to pick new shows. Last time around, the process resulted in Alpha House and Betas, and now 10 hopefuls -- split among five "prime-time" adult options and five kids shows -- are streaming for free. Among them are two hour-long dramas with The After, a show from X-Files creator Chris Carter, and Bosch, a murder-mystery based on the popular detective novels by Michael Connelly that's co-written by The Wire's Eric Overmyer. There are previews after the break, but the full pilots are streaming on the web or devices with Amazon Instant Video/Lovefilm apps. Amazon's old-school pilot strategy is in sharp contrast to Netflix's "find some of the best talent and throw money at them" approach, so if there's a House of Cards or Orange is the New Black in the bunch, there's only one way to find out.
