Jennifer Salke Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Dan Scharf — the VP and global head of business affairs at Amazon Studios — will now oversee production, studio operations, casting, and studios music. Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, made the internal announcement Wednesday.

As we told you last week, former Warner Bros Global Marketing Chief Sue Kroll was bound to be named Amazon Studios’ new Head of Marketing. On Monday, the company confirmed the news.

Kroll will report directly to Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke and will oversee marketing campaigns for all of Amazon’s films and TV series that will be released both in theaters and on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service. Kroll, who launched her own production company Kroll & Co.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor CANNES — Global tentpoles and local-language series that travel — that’s the content cocktail that Amazon Studios is stirring as the company looks to capitalize the momentum behind “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series. Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, discussed the e-commerce giant’s content strategy and investment priorities in her keynote address at Mipcom on Oct. 18. Salke had intended to travel to Cannes to accept the Variety Vanguard Award, presented by Variety and Mipcom, but on the eve of travel she came down with COVID. Instead, Salke recorded a 35-minute live-to-tape Q&A with Cynthia Littleton, Variety’s Co-editor in chief.

Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one has had a “halo effect” on the streamer’s other tentpoles such as The Boys and Wheel of Time, according to Studios boss Jennifer Salke.

2022 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala Barker Hangar, Santa MonicaJustin Timberlake and Jessica Biel (clad in a feathery Giambattista Valli Haute Couture gown) led the charge at the 2022 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala, helping to raise a record-breaking $5.5 million for that medical center dedicated to healing children. Timberlake put on a show that had the whole place up and dancing, as Chris and Robert Pine served as hosts of the party held at the Barker Hangar, which is a perfectly mutable space with plenty of parking, making it a favorite of the charity gala crowd.

Cara Delevingne is to appear at Mipcom Cannes discussing her upcoming BBC Three and Hulu show Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne.

Jennifer Salke entered the Second Age in London. The head of Amazon Studios spent the 72 hours leading up to the launch of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” in a whirlwind, traveling from the series’ global premiere event in London’s Leicester Square to her Manhattan apartment to watch the early returns arrive via reports from Amazon’s formidable consumer research department. The “Rings” team was exhausted, having had no chance to recover from the grueling worldwide promotional campaign for the Amazon Prime Video series that is an enormous bet for the tech giant, being the most expensive television series ever produced. For most of launch day, Sept. 1, Salke and key members of her executive team, many members of the large ensemble cast and executive producers J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay and Lindsey Weber gathered together for hours in virtual “war rooms,” bone tired but energized, to wait for the world’s reaction.

Prolific television producer Greg Berlanti and former soccer player Robbie Rogers just threw another successful event to support the fight against cancer!

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Rachel Zoe, Julie Plec and Jennifer Salke will be honored at this year’s Barbara Berlanti Heroes Gala. Zoe will be presented with the Vanguard Award and Plec will receive the Barbara Berlanti Hero Award. The Humanitarian Award will go to Salke. The event, taking place Oct. 1 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica and chaired by Greg Berlanti and Robbie Rogers, will include musical performances by Tori Kelly, En Vogue and The Scarlet Opera. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Fuck Cancer. The guest list includes Aisha Tyler, Azie Tesfai, Daniel Ezra, David Ramsey, Hailey Bieber, Jesse L. Martin, Kheng Hua Tan, Lily Cowles, Maz Jobrani, Michael Trevino, Misha Collins, Olivia Liang, Peter Facinelli, Sara Foster, Taylor Zakhar Perez, TR Knight, Tzi Mai, Yasha Jackson and Yvonne Chapman.

Albert Cheng is moving up at Amazon.

Macro, the Oscar-winning film studio founded by Charles D. King, is getting into business with Amazon. Under the new deal, Amazon Studios has first look on feature film projects from the Judas and the Black Messiah producer, which intends to develop, package and produce for Prime Video. The  OTT service has a footprint in 240 countries around the globe.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The day before the pandemic shut down Los Angeles in March 2020, veteran documentary filmmaker Ryan White (“Assassins,” “Ask Dr. Ruth”) signed on to make “Good Night Oppy.” With the support of NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the documentary recounts the true story of Mars exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity and the bond forged between the robots and the humans who created them.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has become the biggest opening premiere in Amazon Prime Video’s history.Following the release of the first two episodes on Friday (September 2), Amazon shared that the show had earned 25million viewers in the first 24 hours after debuting “in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide”.Speaking about the milestone, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.“I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy.

The numbers are in for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has become Amazon Prime Video's most-watched premiere ever. The fantasy television series' debut drew a global audience of more than 25 million viewers, the largest in the streaming platform's 15-year history, according to a report by Deadline on Saturday. "Rings of Power", which is based on J.R.R.Tolkien's classic "The Lord of the Rings" novels, premiered Thursday in 250 countries and territories.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the biggest thing Amazon Prime Video has ever done, and it looks like the TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing has delivered big time.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is on track to become the most expensive television show ever made.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Georgia Brown, head of Amazon Studios in Europe, is stepping down after five years in the role, Variety can reveal. The executive’s last day at the business is Wednesday (Aug. 31), though her departure is understood to have been in the works for some time. Brown is believed to be moving on to another opportunity, though it’s not yet clear what or where her new role will be. Brown has been a strong and prominent ambassador for Amazon Studios in Europe, and was the first executive hired to lead originals for the continent. In the 2016 to 2018 period, when a number of the global streaming services were first setting up shop internationally and kept their executives largely out of view, Brown was always front and center for Amazon, keen to discuss her local-first strategy.

Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power global premiere last night, joking about his notes to showrunners and son’s “Don’t f*ck it up” advice as the battle of the tentpole prequels between Amazon Prime Video and HBO’s House of the Dragon hots up.

K.J. Yossman Amazon boss Jeff Bezos (pictured above, left) thanked “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne at the U.K. premiere of the Amazon Prime Video series on Tuesday night – for ignoring his notes on the show. “Every showrunner’s dream – and I mean every showrunner – their dream is to get notes on scripts and early cuts from the founder and executive chairman,” Bezos quipped while introducing the first two episodes of the series at the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square. “They loved that. I need to thank you both for listening whenever it helped but mostly I need to thank you for ignoring me at exactly the right times.”

“Saltburn,” the second feature film from writer-director Emerald Fennell, has added Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver and Archie Madekwe to its cast.The trio joins previously announced stars Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike and Barry Keoghan.

Angelique Jackson The cast for Academy Award-winner Emerald Fennell’s upcoming film “Saltburn” is shaping up with the addition of Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe and Alison Oliver. The trio join previously announced stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike in the MRC Film and Amazon Studios project. Following her best picture-nominated feature directorial debut “Promising Young Woman,” Fennell wrote and is directing “Saltburn,” which is described as a “story of obsession” with other plot details kept under wraps. Production is currently underway in the U.K. Variety exclusively announced plans for the film in January, noting that Fennell would also produce the project alongside LuckyChap Entertainment’s Josey McNamara, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie. Prime Video landed worldwide streaming rights to “Saltburn,” which will also be released in theaters by Amazon Studios and MGM, and then stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

K.J. Yossman Georgia Brown, head of European originals at Amazon Studios in the U.K., has said that even while the cost of living crisis bites and other streamers, such as HBO Max, have halted their local originals, Amazon Prime Video has no intention of cutting back. “We’ve always had a very different strategy,” Brown said during a panel at the Edinburgh TV Festival, before saying she abides by head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke’s mantra of offering a “really curated” slate. Brown emphasized her commitment to local productions, saying: “It was really critical to us that we have these local productions on the ground. Our strategy has always been ‘local for local.’”

Most of the giant cast of Amazon’s upcoming The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power series turned out tonight for the show’s Los Angeles premiere. They were joined on the red carpet by famous fans like Michael B. Jordan, Cynthia Erivo, Lena Waithe and Catherine Hardwicke.

William Earl Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, has been tapped to receive the Variety Vanguard Award at the Mipcom international content sales conference set for Oct. 17-20 in Cannes.The kudo recognizes television industry leaders who have made a significant contribution to the global business of entertainment.

House of the Dragon,” the first of what executives dearly hope are many spinoff series from the most gargantuan hit in the network’s history, “Game of Thrones.” HBO certainly wasn’t the only network turning the mid-July gathering into a launching pad for critical new genre television. Amazon Prime Video unveiled its monumentally expensive fantasy series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” over several meticulously choreographed days at Comic-Con. There was a surprise meet-and-greet between 21 members of the cast and J.R.R.

Prime Video announced Tuesday the "Road House" remake, which will star Oscar and Tony nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal.  The original movie was released in 1989 and starred the late Patrick Swayze as James Dalton. Now, Gyllenhaal will step into the leading role.

Jake Gyllenhaal is stepping into Patrick Swayze‘s shoes for Prime Video’s upcoming Road House remake.

last year at MGM and will now move to Prime Video, and Amazon has also now set the full cast for the film. Billy Magnussen (“No Time to Die”), Daniela Melchior (“The Suicide Squad”), Gbemisola Ikumelo (“A League of Their Own”), Lukas Gage (“The White Lotus”), Hannah Love Lanier (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”), Travis Van Winkle (“You”), B.K.

Angelique Jackson Oscar and Tony-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal is officially set to star in “Road House,” a reimagined take on the classic movie starring Patrick Swayze, for Amazon’s Prime Video.Doug Liman will direct the new movie, from a script written by Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry. After producing the original film for MGM in 1989, Joel Silver is back on board to produce the reimagining for his company Silver Pictures.

Prime Video’s new reimagining of the 1989 classic Road House starring Jake Gyllenhaal is gearing up as it has set Billy Magnussen, Daniela Melchior, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Lukas Gage, Hannah Love Lanier, Travis Van Winkle, B.K. Cannon, Arturo Castro, Dominique Columbus, Beau Knapp and Bob Menery to join the cast. Doug Liman is directing from a script written by Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry. Joel Silver is producing for his company, Silver Pictures. JJ Hook, Alison Winter, and Aaron Auch will serve as executive producers.

After Amazon’s Prime Video became the first streaming service to exclusively air a major awards show with the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards this year, the two sides are doing it all over again for next year’s ceremony. The Country Music Awards will return to Prime Video and be livestreamed exclusively for a global audience in 2023, the platform announced today.

The Academy of Country Music Awards will return for a second consecutive year for livestreaming on Amazon Prime Video, with the 58th annual ceremony set for Thursday, May 11, 2023.

signed with Amazon in September 2021. The film is also a reunion between Murphy, Hudlin and the producing team after they worked together on Murphy’s 1992 comedy “Boomerang.” “Candy Cane Lane” comes from a spec script written by Kelly Younger (“Muppets Now”) and is inspired by Younger’s childhood holiday experiences, though specific plot details are being kept under wraps. Production will begin this winter in Los Angeles.

EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Murphy is set to star in Candy Cane Lane, a Reginald Hudlin-directed holiday comedy for Prime Video. Produced by Amazon Studios, Imagine Entertainment, and Eddie Murphy Productions, the comedy was acquired as a spec script written by Kelly Younger and inspired by Younger’s childhood holiday experiences. Production begins this winter in Los Angeles.