Amazon opens its coffers to offer $8.5 billion for film studio

Tech journalists worldwide already sick of reporting that “the streaming service arms race is heating up” breathed a collective sigh today, as news broke of Amazon’s definitive offer to buy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The sale of MGM, famed for its roaring lion logo and the James Bond franchise, to a faceless corporate colossus like Amazon reinforces a changing of the guard in entertainment.

The modern industry revolves around digital media platforms, and the dominant tech companies which control them. Old, insular Hollywood - or whatever remained of it by the mid 2010’s - can no longer exert control over how, where and for whom its art is produced.

That direct control over studio output is certainly part of the appeal for Amazon in this deal, which it announced as being worth $8.45 billion. Their statement explained that MGM “complements the work of Amazon Studios, which has primarily focused on producing TV show programming.” So this acquisition, Amazon’s second-biggest ever, is essentially an attempt to buy its own ready-made movie mill; something it no doubt needs as it gears up to clash with the Disney+ juggernaut in coming years.

But according to media rights experts, the majority of the money in the deal is tied to the MGM IP and back catalog, which stretches back through decades of pop culture history. Mike Hopkins (Senior VP for Amazon Studios) was exuberant at the chance to acquire “the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team.”

This purchase could allow Amazon to re-launch historic franchises to tempt audiences towards Prime Video subscriptions; everything from RoboCop to Legally Blonde to Thelma and Louise to Stargate is theirs along with the MGM library.

But the most desirable and debonair of MGM’s leading men might not be so easily captured - even if Amazon buys his home studio. Enduring cinematic superspy James Bond and his lengthy filmography are only 50% owned by MGM, with Eon Productions heirs Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli holding a controlling interest. That extends to creative control over the Bond IP, and the siblings have proven to be hawkish and vociferous stewards of its legacy.

Even under the enormous pressure Amazon can exert, they could insist on Bond films releasing in theaters rather than Prime Video, and veto any attempts by Amazon to use Bond in its marketing. It seems impossible that the corporation would go into this deal without some sort of plan to get MGM’s crown jewel under full control, but for now it seems there may still be some things even Bezos’ billions cannot buy.

Marvel's "Eternals" trailer brings movie gods to the MCU

In case some readers were unfamiliar with the Eternals going into this newly-released teaser trailer, the “gods” in question are those titular characters, not necessarily the actors being cast. Although finally getting Angelina Jolie to join their ever-expanding roster of superhumans is still a newsworthy feat for Marvel Studios!

The trailer also showcases Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, and Game of Thrones duo Richard Madden and Kit Harington (a.k.a. Robb Stark and Jon Snow) among others. Eternals will show off this ensemble cast as a hidden clan of immortals, tasked by aliens to shepherd humanity since the dawn of civilization, as they react to the tumultuous changes wrought by Thanos and the Infinity War.

If that premise sounds a little off-beat compared to Iron Man or The Avengers, you’re right - Marvel is pulling this material from the fringes of its vast superhero canon. The Eternals do have impeccable creative pedigree, created by visionary Jack Kirby in the 1970s based on the sci-fi stories of Arthur C. Clarke and popular theories surrounding “ancient aliens”.

The Eternals were part of Kirby’s late-career obsession with combining superhero comics, classical mythology, and the mind-expanding scale of the cosmos. While this unusual and highbrow concept kept the Eternals from becoming Marvel headliners, they did enjoy a revival series in the 2000s courtesy of Neil Gaiman, who also made his name writing around aloof, immortal beings in The Sandman and American Gods.

This new film likely draws most of its direct inspiration from Gaiman’s modern interpretation of the Eternals. Jolie will star as Thena, de facto leader of the group, who was once worshipped as the physical avatar of Athena by ancient Greeks. All the Eternals are named this way, evoking ancient heroes or civilizations to drive home their storied past. Madden’s character is called Ikaris, for example, while Ma Dong-Seok has been cast as Gilgamesh.

But Kirby didn’t set these characters up as a gimmick-driven superteam like the X-Men. With a couple of exceptions like the speedster Makari or eternal child Sprite, the Eternals share the same generic powers: superhuman athleticism and immortality.

This setup provides much of the intrigue for those eager to see Marvel do more with its new wave of superhero movies. The idea of immortal lives intertwining behind the scenes of human history has been part of the zeitgeist since the Highlander films, but modern interpretations such as Sense8 or Charlize Theron’s The Old Guard tend to lean heavily on the emotional and psychological potential of this premise.

Assuming Oscar-winning writer/director Chloé Zhao can do the same with these brooding demigods, Eternals could be the way to open up new audiences to the broader Marvel pantheon.

Fast fandom

As always, there is a ton going on in the interconnected world of pop culture and fan media. Here are a few of the stories that caught our eye:

Lively collectibles marketplace attracts $50 million Series B investment

The steady stream of excited capital into the broader collectibles market continues this week with an eye-popping $50 million Series B raise from fast-moving collectibles startup Whatnot. Having already attracted $24 million in seed and Series A funding since November, Whatnot has been championed by influential tech backers such as Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator’s Anu Hariharan.

Its platform adapts successful ideas from China’s online shopping culture to the local collectibles market. In particular, Whatnot emphasizes the “live shopping experience”, which blends the parasocial appeal of live streaming with the buy-now excitement of timed drops. With similar “box break” events already reaching huge popularity in trading card circles, it looks like their team may indeed be onto something big.

Virtual Roblox Gucci bag worth more than the real thing

This absurd headline was possible thanks to Gucci’s virtual exhibition, recently held inside the Roblox MMO world. The event included a chance for attending players to buy an official in-game recreation of their “Dionysus Bag with Bee” as a $6 microtransaction. However, due to the one-time nature of the sale, scarcity soon drove offers of up to $4,115 from fans who had to get their bags on the open market.

Digital asset enthusiast Alexis Ohanian was the one to highlight the absurd situation for the general public - pointing out that the digital Dionysus bag had actually sold for significantly more than its real-world asking price of $3,400. The Reddit founder seemed shocked that this was possible without linking the bag to the blockchain via an NFT - but the closed economies of online games are perfectly equipped to produce the controlled scarcity often cited as justification for NFT investments. At least the buyer of this bag can tote it around and show it off in the digital world of Roblox - which is more vicarious satisfaction than most NFT art could offer for the price!

New Dan Harmon comedy to be "first show on the blockchain"

With genuine cultural touchstones Community and Rick and Morty under his belt, Dan Harmon could honestly be making any show he likes by now. The one he is making is Krapopolis, an animated comedy about a dysfunctional family of rulers in ancient Greece. But the PR around this announcement has nothing to do with that premise; instead his patrons at Fox are pushing the news that Krapopolis will be “the first-ever animated series curated entirely on the blockchain!”

That’s a wildly ambitious and yet somewhat vague claim, but what it boils down to is that Krapopolis will be “merchandised” through the blockchain, selling official NFTs of animation elements and building other fan community features around their purpose-built marketplace. You should take anything Harmon does as half-ironic from the jump, but you can rest assured that if this takes off, we’ll be seeing similar practices quickly become the norm for every show.