In another “just in time for CinemaCon” bombshell, Jennifer Salke has stepped down as the head of Amazon MGM Studios. The news came in an email to employees from Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. At the moment, her position will not be filled. In a move incredibly similar to the first episode of Apple TV+’s “The Studio,” which premiered this week, Salke will segue to a producing deal (that storyline spoofed the departure of another high-ranking female studio head, Amy Pascal, from Sony Pictures).
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Hopkins confirmed that Head of TV Vernon Sanders and Head of Film Courtney Valenti will now report to him directly. Veteran Warner Bros executive Sue Kroll will remain as the head of global marketing for both Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.
Hopkins is a television veteran who came to Amazon from Sony, where he was Chairman of Sony Pictures Television. He previously was CEO at Hulu and President of Distribution of Fox Networks. The LA native joined Amazon in 2020, two years after Salke came on board. With her departure, he has consolidated power under his reign.
Salke joined Amazon in 2018 and deserves substantial credit for its growth as the No. 2 streaming service in the United States. Prime Video had made headway critical and viewership headway before her arrival with programs such as “Transparent,” “Bosch,” and “Motzart in the Jungle.” And to be fair, two long-running Prime Video hits, “Jack Ryan” and “The Marvelous Mr. Maisel,” were developed and greenlit before her arrival. But massive hits such as “The Boys,” “Reacher,” “Gen V,” “Fallout,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Cross,” “The Wheel of Time,” “Invincible,” “Daisy Jones & The Six,” “The Legend of Vox Machina,” and “Jury Duty,” “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” and “Beast Games,” among others.
Her television resume also included gutsy and critically lauded series such as the Peabody Award-winning “Dead Ringers,” “Swarm,” “I’m A Virgo,” “Tales from the Loop,” and “Expats.” For some reason, Salke never got the credit for greenlighting them. Prime Video somehow still has a “bland” reputation when it comes to its non-MGM Studios content.
On the film side, Salke’s record was not as ideal. Few of her festival acquisitions such as “Brittany Runs a Marathon” and “Uncle Frank,” performed well in theaters, but films developed by the studio, such as “One Night in Miami” scored key Oscar nominations and both “The Tomorrow War” and “Red One” were massive his for the streamer.
After Amazon acquired MGM Studios, Salke successfully retained control as influential studio heads Pam Addy and Michael De Luca saw the writing on the wall and bolted to Warner Bros. There was some success under auspicious with “Creed III,” “Saltburn,” “The Boys in the Boat,” “The Beekeeper,” “Challengers,” and “American Fiction.” And the latter, along with “Women Talking” and “Nickel Boys,” each earned Best Picture nominations.
Then again, Salkie was responsible for the massively expensive “Citadel” deal with the Russo Brothers, a series no one can spin as a legit hit, and even if the deal was made before she arrived, she was partially responsible for the failure of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” to live up to its hefty cost. Especially in its second season. More importantly, she was at the center of a two-year battle to get EON Productions to proceed with a new James Bond feature film. The schism between the two parties was so cold that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was reportedly forced to intervene and overpay to get EON toppers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, $1 billion to walk away from creative control of the 007 franchise.
Salke also bumped heads with filmmaker Doug Liman over his remake of “Roadside” starring Jake Gyllenhaal last year. The film was originally intended for theatrical release but despite strong testing, Salke decided to make it a Prime Video premiere. Liman went public with his frustrations, but Salke didn’t budge. The strategy worked, and “Roadside” was such a big hit that a sequel is already in play with Gyllenhaal returning. This showdown did not help Salke’s overall reputation as being unfriendly to filmmakers (or perhaps she was put in the spotlight more than many of her peers).
During Hopkins’ tenure, Prime Video has added a ton of successful sports programming, including a Thursday night NFL package and an NBA deal that begins this fall. None of that was under Salke’s purview.
What Salke’s departure means for the future direction of either Prime Video or Amazon MGM Studios remains to be seen. Will Sanders and Valenti be empowered moving forward? Or are the pair on thin ice as well? Was the issue EON had with Amazon MGM really Salke or the entire executive team? Those are questions likely to be answered over the next six to 12 months.
Here is the complete note Hopkins sent to Amazon MGM Studios employees:
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Dear Team,
Since joining Amazon in 2018, Jen Salke has been a driving force in Amazon MGM Studios’ evolution into what it is today: a world-class producer of award-winning films and series viewed by hundreds of millions of our customers around the world.  Original films and series served as the foundation of Prime Video’s growth into one of the world’s leading entertainment destinations, and Jen’s leadership is an undisputed driver of the success we’ve had in this space over the years. 
Having accomplished so much as an executive, Jen has decided that her next challenge and chapter will be on the production side, with the aim of getting even closer to the global creative community — which she’s been such a vital member of over the course of her career.  As a result, Jen will step down from her role as Head of Amazon MGM Studios in order to start a new production entity, and we’re so pleased that she’ll continue to make her home right here on our lot via an overall first-look deal across both film and TV.
In Jen’s words:
“Since I joined in 2018, we set out together to create a new type of global studio that fostered an environment for the world’s most creative talent to do their very best work. Along the way, we expanded internationally, built out a film business and hired and developed an incredible team. As I’ve been considering my next chapter, I’ve always been searching for that moment where I was positive that our work had set up Amazon MGM Studios for even more success in the long term. When I look at the teams we’ve put in place, our amazing leaders, and the incredible slate of films and shows we’ve got in the pipeline, I realized now is that moment.  I’m looking forward to continuing doing what I love, cultivating talent, supporting their vision, and bringing compelling stories to audiences around the world.” 
I can’t say enough to express my thanks to Jen for her partnership.  Starting with my personal Day 1 in 2020, her vision, creativity and industry relationships were (and are) so apparent that I had no doubt our work together could be transformative not only to Amazon, but also to the industry as a whole. The Rings of Power, Fallout, Reacher, Red One, Maxton Hall, The Idea of You, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Saltburn, Road House, Beast Games, Culpa Mia/Tuya and others speak to the hits under her leadership that have stirred cultural conversation and delivered incredible storytelling to worldwide audiences…and that list covers only the past 18 months.  In addition, her leadership is evidenced by the senior team she’s hired and developed…a team that I know will step up in a big way going forward.
Speaking of that team, we will be taking a couple of weeks to have thoughtful conversations with Jen’s directs and others to finalize the ideal long-term structure for the Amazon MGM Studios organization as a whole, and we’ll have more to share on that work soon.
One thing I did want to call out is the fact that – following Jen’s decision to step away – we’ve decided to flatten our leadership structure a bit and not fill the head of studios role. In line with Amazon’s recent work to streamline reporting lines and accelerate decision making, we felt this was the best direction for our studio, which will now operate as distinct film and television studios. To that end, Courtenay Valenti (Head of Film) and Vernon Sanders (Head of TV) will now report directly to me, while Sue Kroll will also continue in her role leading global marketing across both film and TV. 
I’m immensely proud of the momentum our team at studios has built over past 12-18 months, executing against our strategic plan and developing a fantastic slate of original shows and films that position us for even more success ahead.
Please join me in once again thanking Jen and wishing her the best on this next adventure…thankfully, she won’t be far away and we still have much to do together.
-Mike
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