Amazon made its play to be the cool advertising partner on Monday night with a relatively zippy Beacon Theater presentation that followed an extremely loud DJ set from Steve Aoki.
Perhaps the aspiring pizza impresario was instructed to keep the arriving crowd awake after enduring both NBCUniversal and Fox earlier in what proved to be an egregiously long day. Whether people were annoyed or enamored with Aoki, the masses seemed to be satisfied by the surprise performance from Lizzo that followed. Flanked by David Bautista and Jason Momoa (co-stars of Amazon MGM Studios’ The Wrecking Crew), the flautist marched through the lobby, down one of the center aisles and onto the stage while singing “About Damn Time.” It was the highest concentration of talent the week had seen thus far.
Amazon’s pitch is relatively straightforward. In short, everybody has it. Why waste time dwelling on numbers when there’s an absolute canvas of stars waiting backstage? Jason and Travis Kelce, Octavia Spencer, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cena and, making her second upfront appearance of the day, Elizabeth Banks were among those in attendance. That’s not to say there weren’t stats. VP of US Advertising Sales Tanner Elton noted that the U.S. audience on the ad-supported tier and grown to 130 million.
But the evening was about showing off their talent, which Courtenay Valenti called “the very best.” It was the Amazon MGM Studios head of film, streaming and theatrical’s first time on the Amazon (or possibly any) upfront stage and she followed in former colleague Jennifer Salke’s footsteps by introducing everyone they’d gathered for the pep rally.
The Beacon could have just been pumping Delta Airlines levels of oxygen into the cavernous hall, but the crowd seemed genuinely thrilled with the procession of actors. The mere mention of Michael B. Jordan, on hand to announce he’s producing a series set in what he’s dubbed the “Creed verse,” prompted one woman to scream before the Sinners star even walked out from behind the curtain. Almost no one, however, got the applause that Walton Goggins did when he showed up with Fallout co-stars Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten. He barely spoke, instead raising his arms up to incite more cheering. His character may be covered in grotesque makeup and missing a nose on the post-apocalyptic drama, but Amazon is certainly glad to be in business with the ascendant White Lotus star. The presentation also brought news that a third season had already been ordered — six months before the second is set to premiere.
But Goggins remains a mere mortal, at least compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The actor and former California governor was in especially good spirits while plugging Christmas film The Man With the Bag, as his backstory for the upcoming release devolved into a filibuster stand-up set. “Jingle All the Way was the greatest Christmas movie of all time,” the former Governor of California noted, dismissing Home Alone and Elf “or whatever they’re called.” “They play it the whole month of December. I know because my ex-wife calls me about the residual.”
It was apparently with Maria Shriver’s happiness in mind that Schwarzenegger signed on to play Santa in the Amazon MGM Studios film.
Speaking of Schwarzenegger’s wives, it took True Lies spouse Jamie Lee Curtis to get him off stage. She may have just been there to pitch Scarpetta, her upcoming series alongside Nicole Kidman, but the half-planned/half-improvised moment with Schwarzenegger saw the comedy continue.
“I just want you to know this is elderly abuse,” said Schwarzenegger, who then started praising a recent 60 Minutes segment on his friend and former co-star.
For a moment, it seemed like the two were going to announce a sequel to True Lies. But then Curtis just told an unplanned story about how Schwarzenegger sharing top billing with her on the original, despite his contract stipulating solo status, made her career.
“The people backstage are going to be freaking out,” she said, before asking pulling at his arm. “Are you ready to terminate this segment?”
Alan Moss, Amazon’s vice president of global advertising sales, had the misfortune of closing the show after Schwarzenegger and Curtis’ audition host any awards show ever. He made a valiant effort to end the presentation with more business talk, but the time for “full funnel advertising” talk had clearly passed.
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