Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke teases 'The Idea of ​​You' sequel, reflects on strategy and $60 million deal with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (EXCLUSIVE)

Last week Amazon Prime Video flexed its international muscles with several events in Europe, including a Prime Video Presents Trailblazers event celebrating women on and off the screen – featuring appearances by Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra Jones and Amy Pascal – followed by “Citadel ” : Diana” premieres in Italy.

During the whirlwind European tour, Amazon sat down with two of Amazon's most senior female executives — MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke and Prime Video's international VP Kelly Day. diversity To talk about celebrating women, how the industry has changed in the past five years, what international strategy is moving forward and what's in store for some of their biggest franchises, including “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” There is a grave killer.”

We're coming to the conclusion of a fantastic Amazon's Trailblazers event in London. What was the motivation behind that day?

Jennifer Salke: Our team [in the U.K.] Women's programming and really noticed the commitment we've made over the last few years — it's a drumbeat of who we are and what we're trying to achieve — so they suggested it to us.

Kelly Day: We've been really intentional about trying to create this female-led slate. We've got these incredible female-led characters who are now doing big action sequences and leading big action series, like Priyanka in “Citadel”. It feels exciting and we're actually breaking some new ground so I think it's great to be able to celebrate.

JS: Big genre pieces that are global, big male action pieces — we know that stuff works There is a large amount of data to support these conclusions. But it's like, let's get out there and meet women and see the results. And that is what is happening. You have an Anne Hathaway movie [“The Idea of You” co-starring Nicholas Galitzine] – 50 million people in the launch window. It must be way more now. I think it was a real — not a wake-up call for us, because we're just building and building — but for everyone else it was, “Wait a minute!” We have a tiger with a tail.

Given that “The Idea of ​​You,” based on Robin Lee's novel, has done so well, is there any chance of a sequel?

[Salke and Day exchange meaningful looks]

JS: Maybe! We announced that we are making a “Red, White and Royal Blue” sequel [also starring Galitzine]. So you can find us willing to supply more when something like this is successful. But we are certainly doing business with [“The Idea of You”] Director Michael Showalter — who isn't a woman, but certainly did an incredible job illuminating a very female story — and we see him as a partner of choice in few other things in the romantic comedy space.

[Editor’s note: Lee has also teased a possible sequel]

At the Trailblazers event you revealed that “Reacher's” Frances Negley, played by Maria Stan, is getting her own spin off. How did that come about?

JS: We knew from the reaction to the show that people loved him. And his character is really, really interesting. She is very guarded, very strong.

KD: We had research that says people want to know more about him.

JS: So when [“Reacher” creator] Nick Santora and Skydance came to us with an idea to make something out of it, they wrote the material and we thought it was great. It was especially exciting to have a female lead.

Since Amazon's acquisition of MGM, some UK theater makers have expressed confusion over which arm of the company they should be pitching to. Can you provide any clarification on that?

JS: I think we have a bit of confusion here in the UK as to what is the right door to go through. I think you'll see a big investment in the footprint we're building here over the next few years, as far as infrastructure, teams, and clarity around that.

As part of that investment, Amazon MGM Studios recently acquired Bray Studios, where “Rings of Power” is filmed. Can we take this as a hint that the show, which shot its first season in New Zealand, is based in the UK?

JS: I think you can. Why not? There are no plans to move it. Very excited about it.

How did you find the response to season 2?

JS: Obviously very different marketing levels and all that [to Season 1]. But that being said, more than 55 million people have engaged at this point since Season 2 launched. And if you look at the long-term trajectory, which is how this company views an asset like that, it's a long-term investment in that franchise. […] More than 150 million viewers watch and engage with the show. So I feel really good. I think we all do.

Are there any changes to the 50-episode commitment?

JS: I don't think so. [That] Commitment is never the thing that drives what we do. We'll keep the show going as long as we're seeing customers worldwide loving it and seeing it in places like — it's a business. Obviously, we need a lot of people to show up. And there are plenty of people, so there's no debate whether the show will go on.

Embracer, which has had a rocky 18 months, currently owns most of Tolkien's IP. Are we seeing a situation where Amazon potentially acquires the company?

JS: We always talk about those opportunities but I have nothing to share [right now].

Embracer owns “Tomb Raider,” which Amazon has revealed it's rebooting with Phoebe Waller-Bridge. How are you doing?

JS: “Tomb Raider” is really exciting and Phoebe is good in it and working in close partnership with it [“Tomb Raider” general manager] Dallas Dickinson and the game producer, and it's going to be very exciting. But I don't have it [new updates].

We're also hearing that Amazon, like other streamers, is moving away from a cost-plus model toward a more traditional territory-by-territory acquisition strategy. Is that correct?

KD: It depends. We actually like to have global rights where we can but we've been a lot more flexible, especially in Europe. We've got a lot of deals where we've either shared the rights with a broadcaster — we've done that recently in the U.S., even some gameshows with Fox — or in some cases let them go with a producer and just select territories and then distribute them around the world. gives So I think being flexible about that deal structure has really enabled us to capture and have access to a much larger selection that we're looking for.

The past few years have been a rollercoaster for the industry thanks to the streaming boom followed by the so-called “Netflix fix.” How do you see the last half decade and where is the situation now?

JS: I just feel across the board right now there is a need to impose more discipline on spending and it's happening in every company. So just how you approach the slate and making sure we're shooting in an economically friendly location — and really having those conversations with our creative partners what the parameters are — I think has been helpful. Obviously there is a need to contain costs and so you see that reflected in dealmaking across the board as well. It's not like someone can demand a certain thing and then go, “I'm going to go down the street and get it” because all these companies are working the same way. And so it has been a big sea change.

A hallmark of the boom is first looks and overall deals, especially with talent and creatives. Has it also changed?

JS: I think there was a real battle for the biggest rainmaker creators and the sky was the limit on how much money was being paid for those guys. We pursued those deals very strategically. But there is no doubt that, across the board, there has been a correction in the market with overall agreement. And this is another place where you can see the whole thing settle down.

One of the most talked about deals of that era was Amazon's rumored $60 million partnership with Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

JS: Yes, but when we see a long-term commitment to a creator like Phoebe — we're so glad we got to keep her because she grew up obsessed with playing Lara Croft/”Tomb Raider.” So the fact that he's the creator and bringing this character to life, we think it's going to be a huge franchise for us. He went to do a movie, there were things that happened — if people want to go take stock of what deals they can get value from or not, there's probably a lot more to do. But I think we're seeing a lot of those deals transition into a very performance-based model, based on what they achieve. And it's very well received because you have to change with the times.

From the outside it also seems that streamers are focusing more on unscripted content. Is it true?

KD: We probably skew a little more in our international roots towards unscripted. Those kinds of stories and those shows tend to resonate a little more on a local level rather than a global level, where obviously we're making a lot of things like “Fallout” and things are really built from day one to appeal to a large global audience. [Original comedy format] “LOL” Germany, which is hugely popular there, probably isn't going to resonate in Mexico so we really want to see Unscripted as the basis of the local strategy and then complement that with the global slate.

Amazon has also restructured in Europe and, earlier this year, cut funding in Africa and the Middle East in favor of focusing on its European core. Can you update us on the strategy there?

KD: We operate in more than 200 countries. We've got teams in 20 countries. We have, over the last few years, continued to focus and look at our investments relative to where we see opportunities to serve those customers. There are a few areas where we probably jumped a little faster than we should have. We are getting ready to launch Prime in some of these countries. I think it works best when we have both retail and shipping facilities with video programs and everything else. Prime Video was the first service to arrive in many parts of the world. So in many places we actually operate a service before we launch a retail business [e.g. Brazil]. And it's been incredibly effective for us and really been a great entry point into a lot of countries. But there are a few areas where we can be a bit ahead of our skis given the investment we've made. We haven't stopped working in those countries, we haven't pulled out of those countries, but we've scaled back and fragmented investments.

JS: But that doesn't mean they aren't enjoying original and licensed film and television from around the world.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.