Nicole Clemens announced Prime Video’s first international showcase in London on Thursday morning since joining the streamer nine months ago.
Many of the shows she teased were already in the works when Clemens relocated to London to take up her role as Prime Video’s vice president of international originals, but the showcase was the former Paramount TV Studios boss’s first chance to give international press and the industry a glimpse of her future strategy and what to expect on screens later this year.
The showcase, which lasted more than an hour and included pre-recorded interviews with creators and talent like Mercedes Ron and Stanley Tucci, was surprising in its geographic scope, including content from India, Japan, South Korea, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Colombia, and more. It was introduced in a pre-recorded VT by Kelly Day, vice president of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios International.
“That’s just a small portion[of what’s planned]believe me,” Clemens told Variety via Zoom after the showcase. Mr. Clemens paid tribute to the vast programming legacy he inherited from Jen Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, who left just two and a half months before Mr. Clemens joined the company, saying productions like “Girlfriends,” starring Olivia Cooke and Robin Wright, are “a great calling card that we want to continue to grow.”
Olivia Cooke appears on Prime Video’s “Girlfriends” (Courtesy of Prime Video)
Christopher Raphael/Provided by Prime
“It feels bold, it’s propulsive, it’s very classy, but it also means something,” said Clemens, who relocated from Los Angeles to London for his new role (though he has spent the past six months traveling to nearly every region previewed, taking 31 plane rides in the process). She also cited “Steel,” starring Sophie Turner, which was released last month, as an example of a project she is interested in. “Again, it’s premium,” she said. “London is unique and thrilling.”
As well as overseeing the international division, with her “phenomenal” regional teams leading each region, Clemence will also manage the UK content team, hoping to send the message that “we’re really doing British stories”. A former agent for 16 years, she is well-versed in the production landscape across the pond and is keen to engage with “British IP, British writers and directors”.
“I think the UK has some natural resonances with the US in terms of talent and recognition of universal themes, so we hope and expect them to do well in the US as well. And by casting big-name productions and bigger productions, we can level it up a little bit,” she continued. And we have incredible talent in the UK to make shows that feel incredibly, incredibly global. ”
Like many streamers, the goal is “glocal.” That is, content that looks and feels local, but that can travel to other continents, such as Latin America, like Mercedes Ron’s “Kalpa Mia” series, without necessarily going to the United States. “They have to work for their homeland,” Clemens said of the original people. She’s open to all genres, “but I think the common denominator would be populist literature. You know, really funny, but still essential.” Indeed, many of the highlights of Thursday’s showcase included Italian “Love” It was an adaptation of European novels, many of which were beloved on BookTok, from “Me Love Me,” France’s “Campus Drivers” and, of course, Mercedes Long’s “Kalpa Mia” and “Bali” series. (The book-to-movie pipeline platform is so enthusiastic that Clemens hosted an event last October dedicated to the upcoming film adaptation.)
Another theme of the showcase was repurposing talent across disciplines. That’s Spanish-American actor Nicole Wallace, who starred in Spain’s Kalpa Mia trilogy and also appears in the upcoming Postcards from Italy and Chile’s The House of Spirits, and French director Thomas Vincent (perhaps best known for Reacher), who’s tapped Stanley Tucci for the French-Italian co-production The Master Plan. Sophie Turner starred in the aforementioned British production of “Steel” and will soon appear in Prime Video’s blockbuster “Tomb Raider” reboot. In Wallace’s case, her relationship with Amazon became official through the (increasingly rare) talent deal she signed with the streamer last year.
Clemens said the deal with Wallace came from the US (they recognized she had the potential to be a global star), but noted that Wallace’s work beyond the realm of streamers has been a “great cycle in that she’s been able to fold herself in.” But for now, there are no other deals planned, at least not the one she plans to announce. “I’m just focused on building the foundation and then we’ll see,” she said. “Every day I wish I had Nicole Wallace. Let’s see what happens. If we keep finding those opportunities, we’ll want to welcome people into our family.”
Nicole Wallace “Kalpa Mia”
prime video
Mr Clemens’ parachute to the UK is intended to serve as a beacon for local talent and producers who may be confused about who to pitch after a number of vice president changes over the past few years, following the departure of Amazon Studios Europe chief Georgia Brown in 2022. He was succeeded the following year by Dan Grabiner, head of originals for the UK and Northern Europe, leading to many of the UK pipeline decisions being made across the pond to Salke’s desk. “I think part of what we wanted to do was actually bring it back to the UK, reduce bureaucracy in terms of decision-making and give us more direction,” Clemens said.
The confusion is compounded by the complex structure of Prime Video’s studios, which include MGM, and the fact that some of Prime Video’s most splashy productions, including “The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power,” the upcoming “Tomb Raider” and the long-awaited next Bond movie, are produced primarily in Britain but not in the United States. Clemens declined to comment on the spinoffs “Diana” and “Honey Bunny,” saying it was a “question for America.”
“Citadel” may have been one of Prime Video’s most high-profile bombs in recent years, but that didn’t stop Clemens from making a “big, bold change of direction.” “I think I have a track record. When I look back at what I’ve worked for and what I’ve championed, I love big, bold swings,” she said. “I start by building a portfolio, but the more successful I am, the more opportunities I have to try outside the box.”
