Amazon has become the seventh member of Hollywood’s most powerful lobbying group. Accompanying six other major studios—Paramount, Sony, Universal, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Netflix—Amazon Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios will officially join the Motion Picture Association on October 1.

As a member of the MPA’s governing board since 2017, Amazon has been actively involved with the organization’s anti-piracy alliance, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. Between 1928 and 2005, MGM (which Amazon acquired in 2022) was a member of the MPA.

“The MPA is the global voice for an industry that is always changing and expanding. By welcoming Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios to our ranks, we can strengthen our collective policymaking and content protection efforts for these groundbreaking companies,” stated Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MPA. Wherever an MPA studio is located, it helps to boost the economy, create jobs, enhance cultures, and strengthen communities. Now that Amazon Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios are part of the MPA, the organization can advocate even louder for the best storytellers in the world.

A sign of Amazon’s influence in the entertainment industry is the company’s partnership with the MPA. Membership by both Amazon and Netflix further attests to streaming’s outsized impact on the business world.

Theater chains will spend $2.2 billion to lure you back to the movies

In an effort to lure more moviegoers away from the comfort of their homes, the largest theatre chains in the United States and Canada are investing heavily on the renovation of their theatres. Variety reports that over the next three years, they intend to invest $2.2 billion on updating 21,000 displays, including the addition of interactive features like ziplining and pickleball. In an interview with the journal, Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of NATO, expressed the industry’s belief that it had “turned a corner” and that “audiences are coming back to the theatres.” Still, they need to step up their game to improve the communal movie-watching experience.

how much is amazon prime

People aren’t coming to the theatre to watch movies they don’t feel obligated to watch immediately after they come out on streaming services, as they’ve grown accustomed to waiting for them to arrive on the platform. As an example, compared to last year, the overall domestic revenue at the summer box office this year is more than 10% lower. Several theatre chains have reportedly informed NATO that they are making investments to improve their facilities. These include AMC, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, Cineplex, Marcus Theatres, B&B Theatres, Harkins Theatres, and Santikos Entertainment.

when is amazon prime day

Better air conditioning, lighting, carpets, and laser projectors and sound systems are among the anticipated expenditures by the businesses. Indeed, the addition of new features such as bowling alleys, arcades, ziplines, and pickleball courts is changing the movie-going experience. The picture up there is a B&B Theatre pickleball court. “This investment of resources is the next step in our industry’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that going to the theatre remains a unique and special experience for generations to come,” said O’Leary. The strategy’s efficacy is yet uncertain, but the fact that these corporations are prepared to invest a total of $2.2 billion in upgrades shows that they’ve made progress compared to when the pandemic was at its worst.

28 Years Later was partially shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max

Per Wired’s reporting, Danny Boyle used multiple iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhones to film the zombie sequel 28 Years Later. With a budget of almost $75 million, it becomes the largest film ever shot on iPhones.

what is amazon prime

You should read the important disclaimers. As a first point, all of the film’s employees were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, so the story’s sources remain anonymous. Not to mention that the picture didn’t shot on Apple’s top-tier smartphone from last year. Boyle and his crew reportedly used a plethora of cameras, the iPhone 15 Pro Max being only one of them, according to Engadget.

how to contact amazon

Last but not least, the filmmaker certainly did not simply mount the smartphone on a tripod and walk away. There appears to be an adapter for full-frame DSLR lenses on every iPhone. By the way, those high-quality lenses for professionals are quite pricey. Also nestled in secure cages were the phones.

Using the phones in this film is still a bit of a circle for Boyle and his crew, even if they weren’t the only ones. A $4,000 prosumer-grade camcorder was the main tool for shooting the first 28 Days Later. The camera could record to MiniDV tapes.

In June of 2025, theatres will welcome the third installment in the franchise, titled 28 Years Later. Cillian Murphy, Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Jodie Comer are the film’s stars. Set in a world where anger zombies move at breakneck speeds, this is the first of three upcoming features. There are zero plot specifics available, although Alex Garland is penning all three of the next films. He directed genre features such as Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Civil War after co-writing the first one. Devs, a TV show he created, is sadly underappreciated.

The use of iPhones in filmmaking is only one example of how cellphones are influencing the entertainment industry. Tangerine by Sean Baker and Unsane by Steven Soderbergh are two examples.