In a shake-up, Amazon Studios has tapped Julie Rapaport to lead movies on her own as fellow motion picture group co-head Matt Newman will become head of original content for sports.
“Julie Rapaport and Matt Newman have been leading movies together for the past several years, and they have accomplished so much as co-heads. With growth comes change and opportunity and Matt has decided to take on an exciting new role within the sports organization,” Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said in an internal memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Newman will report to Marie Donoghue and Rapaport will continue to report to Salke.
Amazon Studios promoted Rapaport to co-head of movies alongside Ted Hope and Matt Newman in 2018 with an eye to widen movie releases. In 2020, Hope left his post at Amazon Studios and signed a first-look deal with the streamer to return to his roots in film production.
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As Prime Video gets set to debut Thursday Night Football in fall 2022, Newman will oversee development on original sport docuseries, films and scripted projects. In August, Amazon hired Mike Muriano, a veteran of NFL Network, to lead its live sports production, including Thursday Night Football.
“Matt helped guide our movie strategy through multiple new milestones, including the release of tentpole movies on Prime Video like Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Coming 2 America, Cinderella and Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. I’m personally so grateful for Matt’s contributions, and can’t wait to see what lies ahead for him,” Salke added.
His move will allow Rapaport to take the helm at the motion picture group on her own.
Salke’s memo to Amazon Studios employees follows:
Hi team – I wanted to share some very exciting news with you all.
Julie Rapaport and Matt Newman have been leading Movies together for the past several years, and they have accomplished so much as co-heads. With growth comes change and opportunity and Matt has decided to take on an exciting new role within the sports organization.
Prime Video’s global Sports group continues to grow and scale, with new programming and properties worldwide, including the historic launch this fall of Thursday Night Football. As our live sports portfolio grows, and we look to build on the success of projects like Rooney in the UK and our All or Nothing franchise, Matt will take on a new role developing original sports docuseries, films, and scripted projects, reporting to Marie Donoghue. Matt helped guide our movie strategy through multiple new milestones, including the release of tentpole movies on Prime Video like Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Coming 2 America, Cinderella, and Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. I’m personally so grateful for Matt’s contributions, and can’t wait to see what lies ahead for him.
With Matt’s move, we will be applying a single threaded leadership approach to movies. With Julie’s top-notch leadership skills and her ability to nurture a diverse range of filmmakers – from up-and-comers to the well-established – this move will help us continue to build on our great momentum. The critical acclaim keeps rolling in this awards season, including three major noms for Being the Ricardos: Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Upcoming releases including Master with Regina Hall, My Policeman starring Harry Styles, All the Old Knives starring Chris Pine, and Catherine, Called Birdy with Lena Dunham reinforce our mission to be the Home for Talent. I’m grateful for Julie’s vision and continued contributions to the Studio.
Please join me in congratulating Julie and Matt on their roles. These are exciting times for Studios, Sports, and all of Prime Video. I look forward to the next chapter – for Julie, for Matt, and for all of us.
Jen
