The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Indie Memphis partners with Amazon Studios, Jimmy Tashie takes a bow
Amazon Studios, the increasingly active media distribution and production arm of Internet-based retailer Amazon.com, has signed on as a major sponsor for the 19th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival, set to take place Nov. 1-7.
Given the new designation of “Marquee Sponsor,” Amazon Studios will make a “significant financial” contribution to the festival, according to Indie Memphis executive director Ryan Watt, while also providing resources and probably content — i.e., movies and even TV episodes — for the event.
“When we were looking for what would be called a ‘Marquee Sponsor,’ Amazon was our No. 1 choice,” Watt said.
Not coincidentally, Ted Hope, the head of production for original movies at Amazon Studios, is a Memphis fan and longtime Indie Memphis booster who served on the festival jury as recently as 2014, just a couple of months before he joined Amazon. Hope’s many credits as an independent film producer include the madein-memphis “21 Grams,” a 2003 film that starred Sean Penn and Naomi Watts and was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, winner of the last two Best Director Academy Awards (for “Birdman” and “The Revenant”). Even so, the partnership is a sign that Indie Memphis is becoming an increasingly relevant mid-size festival.
Indie Memphis has had similar relationships with “entertainment content” providers in the past. Last year, Starz Digital, another prominent film and television development and acquisition company, was a “Spotlight Sponsor.” In years past, Rainbow Media (now known as AMC Networks), owner of the IFC and Sundancetv channels among other properties, was a sponsor. And Indie Memphis almost always strikes deals with significant “art film” distributors in order to give local audiences early access to acclaimed movies. (Last year’s festival coups included “Brooklyn,” from Fox Searchlight; “Carol,” from The Weinstein Company; and “Anomalisa,” from Paramount.)
But the Amazon partnership comes at a time when Amazon Studios is extremely active and positioning itself as a major force in filmmaking and as probably the chief rival of Internet subscription service and streaming platform Netflix.
“While Netflix seemed to be leading the pack early on, it was ultimately Amazon Studios that dominated the Sundance buying market,” the movie website Indiewire reported in February. Amazon purchased six feature films at the festival, including the Jane Austen adaptation “Love & Friendship” by writer-director Whit Stillman (a guest at the 2015 Indie Memphis fest) and Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” (acquired for some $10 million in a bidding war that involved such traditional studios as Universal and Fox).
Other Amazon Studios releases include Spike Lee’s 2015 “Chi-raq,” the recent “Elvis & Nixon,” and such Cannes Film Festival premieres as Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson” and Nicolas Winding Refn’s “The Neon Demon.” Amazon also is responsible for the Emmy-nominated series “Transparent.”
Unlike Netflix, Amazon wants to give its movies a chance to find audiences in theaters before heading to the Amazon streaming platform. According to a story in Variety, Hope and Amazon Studios want to “revive a market for independent films by blending traditional theatrical exhibition with the enormous marketing and distribution muscle provided by the e-commerce giant’s vast retail platform.” It seems likely that a component of this plan will be to support quality yet needy film festivals while also seeding them with Amazon Studios releases. This strategy would build good will for the studio while nurturing a conscientious film market and encouraging young filmmakers who might one day be Amazon partners.
TASHIE TENURE
Malco executive vice president Jimmy Tashie last week stepped down after eight consecutive yearlong terms as chairman of the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission, marking the end of a tenure that likely never will be matched.
Tashie first was elected chairman in 2008. He stayed on longer than his predecessors because was “perfect” for the volunteer post, according to Linn Sitler, because his day job allowed him to provide meaningful assistance as well as screening venues to members of the local film community. Such a close connection between local beginning and independent filmmakers and the major film exhibitor in a city is a rare commodity, she said. Also, Tashie, as an executive with a major Memphis company, represented a connection between the business, political and artistic communities.
“Even when the economy was at its worst, I just thought, ‘This is going to pay off for the city, we just need to keep Memphis on the map,’” Tashie said of his support for local filmmaking.
To commemorate Tashie’s final day as chairman, May 18 was declared “Jimmy Tashie Day” in Shelby County by Mayor Mark Luttrell. Also, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen sponsored a proclamation praising Tashie i n the House of Representatives.
Tashie’s successor is Gale Jones Carson, director of corporate communications at MLGW, who has been actively connected with the Film Commission since her days as executive assistant to former Memphis mayor Willie W. Herenton. Carson was elected board chair at a May 18 meeting at the Malco Studio on the Square cinema in Overton Square. Other new officers include vice chairman Sherman Greer; treasurer Ken Nelson; secretary Linda White; and budget and finance chairman O’farrell Shoemaker.
Publicly funded with contributions from city and county government, the Film Commission promotes local film production and related activities. The 22-member board includes 11 members appointed by the city mayor and 11 appointed by the county mayor.