Amazon.com moves forward this year on its content-creation experiment as test films organized through its online studio head for completion. First out of the gate is American Anthem, about an autistic speed skater struggling to compete in the Olympics.
Minneapolis-based writer John Carr submitted his script to Amazon Studios in December. After his American Anthem screenplay beat out 2,200 other contenders to become a Test Film project, Carr found Mark Vetanen on the site's talent forum and teamed with the Portland, Oregon-based director to shoot their proof-of-concept feature.
"Mark and his Test Film Team are about halfway through filming of American Anthem," Carr told Wired.com in an e-mail. "They'll finish at the end of February, go through a month of editing and get posted on the Amazon Studios site in April."
The end game comes in December, when Amazon Studios passes out $1.1 million to filmmakers on the strength of rough-draft movies that include storyboard art in place of high-end special effects.
Amazon does not finance the test films, but Carr counts himself a true believer in the book giant's foray into crowdsourced filmmaking.
"Test films are a great option for unknown writers, filmmakers, actors and even musicians to show their talent collectively," he said. "A writer could have a screenplay they've been shopping around with no luck, because they don't have the right contacts in the industry. Here, you can make friends, collaborate, possibly get noticed and [maybe] make some money doing something you enjoy."
See Also:
