Now that his company has mastered online shopping, original programming and books, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says his film and TV studio has its sights set on winning an Oscar.
In a recent interview with German newspaper Die Welt, the 51-year-old Amazon founder and CEO revealed that Amazon Studios is looking far beyond competing with rival streamer Netflix for Emmys and Golden Globes.
Noting that Amazon has already won numerous awards, Bezos told the paper, “We want to win an Oscar.”
As the sixth most visited website on the Internet, Amazon has been undertaking new challenges since it was founded by Bezos in 1994. In 2013, Amazon Studios began rolling out original programming.
After the successes of shows like Transparent and The Man in the High Castle, Bezos said the company’s current target is to produce 16 home movies a year.
He told Die Welt his movies will be released in theaters, but will be available on Amazon Prime much sooner than films released by traditional studios.
The billionaire CEO also said he wants to give filmmakers more creative freedom.
“I want to offer masters like Spike Lee or Woody Allen a new platform,” he said.
He also said his company could potentially bid on sports events such as the World Cup, stating, “Sport is an interesting area.”
Bezos purchased the Washington Post newspaper in 2013 for $250 million.