Amazon wants to talk about women. The streaming service is holding a London ‘Trailblazers’ showcase tomorrow to celebrate the women — both on and off screen — of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Head of Amazon MGM Studios Jennifer Salke and VP of Prime Video Kelly Day took part in the showcase (October 1), alongside two key European commissioning execs: Tara Erer, head of originals for the UK and Northern Europe; and Nicole Morganti, head of originals for southern Europe.
Erer and Morganti have been in post for about a year and are responsible for Amazon MGM Studios’ original productions in Europe. Both have film as part of their remit, as well as scripted and unscripted series, and report to head of international originals James Farrell.
London-based Erer, previously head of local original movies for Amazon Studios and a former SVP of international sales at FilmNation Entertainment, took over last year from Dan Grabiner. As well as the UK, she has responsibility for European territories including Germany, the Nordics and the Netherlands. Rome-based Morganti, Amazon MGM Studios head of Italian originals, was handed an expanded role last year to encompass France and Spain as well as Italy. She is an alumna of Discovery Italy, Sky Italia and MTV Italia.
Speaking to Screen International in their first interview together, they are keen to discuss their strategies for film and series — both emphasising the focus on reaching big audiences on Prime Video.
UK movies
Erer highlights two key demographics for movies. First, she is targeting broad audiences — men and women aged between 18-54 — with projects that have a strong cast in popular genres, citing upcoming UK feature Deep Cover starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean. “It’s an action comedy with big stars and a brilliant British concept, and done at scale.”
The other priority is film projects aimed at younger female audiences. Titles in this category include My Fault: London, a UK remake of hit Spanish movie Culpa Mia, produced by 42 and directed by duo Dani Girdwood and Charlotte Fassler from a script by Melissa Osborne; and romantic comedy Picture This, starring Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley and After’s Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Directed by Prarthana Mohan and written by Nikita Lalwani, it is based on the Amazon original movie Five Blind Dates from Australia and also produced by 42.
Both films, notes Erer, are written and directed by women, and many of the crew and producers are female. “It’s important to me, not because they’re women, but I wanted these stories to be told from a perspective that was relatable to the characters,” she says, adding that she wants films for younger audiences that inspire “big feelings” — whether extreme happiness or sadness.
Erer says Prime Video has already grown a strong male audience with originals such as Clarkson’s Farm, The Grand Tour and the All Or Nothing sports franchise, and wants to build on the recent success of female-skewed global productions such as The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Idea Of You and Red, White & Royal Blue. In terms of slate size, Erer says Amazon MGM Studios will launch three to four UK original films in 2025, two to three in Germany, one to two in the Netherlands and three in Turkey. For now, the focus in the Nordics is on scripted series and unscripted.
The UK original movies greenlit so far have been fully financed by the company, although Erer says Amazon is flexible in how it structures deals and is open to co-producing. The upcoming originals are also going straight to platform and skipping theatrical.
She will not disclose budgets, saying Amazon MGM Studios wants to make the right show for the right price. “We always try to be frugal… but without changing the quality and the look. Our originals need to stand next to our global originals [on the platform]. So, we’re not looking to cut budgets just for the sake of it. We just need to make the best version of that movie or show so that people come to it.”
The ambition is that the titles appeal to both local and international audiences. Deep Cover, for example, is based on an original script by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) with UK comedy duo Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen setting their version of the script in London. “We loved the initial script when it came in and we saw the global potential,” says Erer. “With someone like Colin Trevorrow producing, you know you’re in great hands. But at the core of this is also a very British story written by two improv comedians who are hilarious. We said, ‘How do we keep the essence and soul of it but broaden out the comedy?’ We worked very closely with them. That, to me, from day one, was a global movie.”
Erer’s UK team is also looking to deliver four to six scripted dramas and six to eight unscripted a year, again with some aimed at broad audiences and others looking for younger female audiences. Upcoming series include psychological thriller Malice, starring David Duchovny, Jack Whitehall and Carice van Houten, and the second season of supernatural thriller The Rig. Targeting younger female audiences is the second series of hit Maxton Hall — The World Between Us out of Germany.
France, Spain and Italy
In southern Europe, Morganti is also gradually scaling up film, scripted and unscripted production. In Spain, Amazon MGM Studios had success last year with romantic drama Culpa Mia, aimed at younger audiences. Two sequels are in the pipeline, starting with Culpa Tuya at the end of the year followed by Culpa Nuestra. Morganti says the company is going to do “much more” on the film front in Spain following the Culpa franchise, pointing to Paula Ortiz’s drama The Red Virgin, which premiered at San Sebastian.
Amazon MGM Studios is making four to five films a year out of France. “It is the country of action movies,” says Morganti. “They have been super successful nationally, but also internationally.” She cites 2023 hit action comedy Medellin, while Mélanie Laurent’s heist romance Freedom (Libre), starring Emily In Paris’s Lucas Bravo, launches globally on November 1 after a world premiere at Rome Film Fest.
“It’s not just about male action movies, it’s also about co-viewing,” says Morganti. “France has a big tradition of that, starting with Luc Besson’s Nikita. They also have a very powerful star system and a lot of women directors. That’s why we have a lot of movies coming out of France.”
In Italy, meanwhile, the feature focus is on comedies and romcoms: recent successes include Christmas movie Elf Me and romcom Still Fabulous. Italy is also home to several big series bets. Among them is Costiera, an English-language action drama set on the Amalfi Coast directed by Primetime Emmy Award winner Adam Bernstein, with an eye on both Italian and international audiences. Morganti says it is an example of Amazon MGM Studios’ “flexibility” in deal-making. Amazon has rights in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, while Fremantle handles remaining global sales.
It is not the only English-language project Amazon MGM Studios is making in Italy. Also in production is young-adult romance Love Me, Love Me, based on Stefania S’s Wattpad trilogy, set in an international school in Milan.
Launching this month is the streamer’s most ambitious Italian original to date, Citadel: Diana starring Matilda De Angelis. It is the latest instalment in a high-concept franchise, which uses US spy action series Citadel to spin off multiple non-English language storylines. Citadel: Diana is produced by Rome-based Cattleya and Amazon MGM Studios and executive produced by Anthony and Joseph Russo.
Upcoming French series, meanwhile, include Culte, a drama about the hit 2000s French reality-TV series Loft Story, while from Spain is Loba Negra, the second series in the Red Queen franchise.
Amazon MGM Studios’ originals push comes, of course, as European countries impose financial obligations on streamers so they invest more in European content. Morganti declines to say what percentage of revenues the streamer is investing in each country, but points out that its investment extends to acquisitions as well as original commissions.
Like Erer, Morganti is focused on two types of film and scripted projects out of southern Europe: broad action titles and young-adult movies that can work both on home turf and internationally. She also stresses that many, such as Laurent’s Freedom, are directed by women. About 70% of her southern Europe team at Amazon MGM Studios are female, she adds.
Ultimately, says Morganti, Amazon MGM Studios’ priority is to reach big audiences. “It is a very demanding company that wants really high-quality shows that appeal to big, big audiences,” she adds. “The idea is to bring quality to mass audiences, not bringing quality to just a few spectators.”
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