From The Wall Street Journal:
America’s biggest online retailer is now the first internet company to earn an Academy Award nomination for best picture.
Little more than a year after launching its original movies business, Amazon.com Inc.’s drama “Manchester by the Sea” earned six Oscar nominations Tuesday, including best picture.
The film’s nominations included two for writer and director Kenneth Lonergan; and for lead actor Casey Affleck; supporting actress Michelle Williams and supporting actor Lucas Hedges. The Iranian drama “The Salesman,” for which Amazon also holds U.S. distribution rights, received a nomination for best foreign-language film.
Amazon bought the distribution rights to “Manchester,” a somber drama about recovery from grief, at last year’s Sundance Film Festival for $10 million. It was the second-costliest acquisition of the 2016 event.
The e-tailer has also made the biggest acquisition so far of this year’s Sundance: $12 million for comedy “The Big Sick,” according to a person close to the deal.
Both purchases show that Amazon wants to be taken seriously as a player in the prestige-movie business, which has shrunk in recent years as major studios like Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. have exited and established players like Weinstein Co. have struggled.
Link to the rest at The Wall Street Journal (Link may expire)