On May 14 of last year, Amazon MGM Studios chief Jennifer Salke took the stage at Pier 36 in New York City, looking to convince advertisers that Amazon was playing to win in Hollywood.

Welcome to the next hundred years of Amazon MGM Studios, Salke said to those gathered in the cavernous event space, which also featured piles of cash guarded by besuited security guards to promote Mr. Beasts Beast Games, and a Road House cabana bar.

What followed was a cavalcade of stars, meant to underscore that Amazon was committed to the business. Will Ferrell, Roger Federer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Aldis Hodge, Alicia Keys, Patton Oswalt, Keke Palmer, Alan Ritchson, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, and Reese Witherspoon were among those that joined Salke on the stage. In the entertainment business, of course, commitment is never permanent. Salke successfully sold Amazons ambitions to Madison Avenue, but less than a year later Amazon executive Mike Hopkins, who oversees the tech giants video efforts, told employees that Salke was out, shifting to a production deal.

The tech giant may be relatively new to Hollywood, but it can still deliver an old-school parting gift for its executive class.

On Thursday March 27, Hopkins spent the afternoon on the horn assuring agents and talent that Salkes surprise removal was simply a matter of streamlining Amazons org chart. He told people that he wanted a traditional studio with a designated film and television boss who reported to him directly and Salke was an added and unnecessary layer, a source who spoke with him tells The Hollywood Reporter. But no one was fully buying that narrative.

Salkes departure comes as the tech giant was in the thick of planning this years annual upfront event for advertisers, with plans to host an evening event at New Yorks Beacon Theater May 12 featuring a star-studded lineup of talent, and news from Amazons vast entertainment universe spanning Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios, Fire TV Channels, Twitch, Wondery, IMDb, Amazon Live, and Amazon Music. Not to mention the studio will be decamping to Las Vegas next week for its first-ever presentation for theater owners at CinemaCon.

That scale, however, underscores the reality of the entertainment business in a world that is increasingly being driven by technology giants. In the not-so-distant past, studio chiefs and network presidents were titans of industry, star makers who could make or break careers and sculpt popular culture.

The tech companies engaged in a slow takeover of Hollywood seem to feel differently.

Vernon Sanders, Mike Hopkins, Alan Ritchson, Laura Lancaster, Jennifer Salke and Aldis Hodge at Amazons Inaugural Upfront Presentation at Pier 36 on May 14, 2024. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, at an employee town hall last month, a recording of which leaked, told staff that he wanted to re-empower employees that were actively getting things done, not building bigger teams. The way to get ahead at Amazon is not to go accumulate a giant team and fiefdom, Jassy said, per the recording. Theres no award for having a big team.

Hopkins cited Jassys efforts in his note to staff. He said that following Salkes exit weve decided to flatten our leadership structure a bit and not fill the head of studios role. In line with Amazons 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.

Its a model that should be familiar to Netflix employees, which abandoned the top-down model of having a network or studio chief sign off on projects and allowing executives further down the org chart to greenlight their own films and shows.

But the shake-up at Amazon MGM Studios also underscores just how different the new environment is. For Amazon, the entertainment studio business is a cog in a machine that includes Prime Video, sports, a music app and podcast network, a livestream gaming platform and a channels business.

At Amazon, the head of the studio was in some ways middle management, reporting into Hopkins, who in turn reports into Jassy.

Prior to Amazon, Salke served as the president of entertainment at NBC and, before that, had a long career in television with stints at 20th Century Fox and Aaron Spelling Productions, and credits that include mega-hits like This Is Us and Glee. Salkes broadcast background was beneficial for ultra-popular series like Reacher, Fallout and Jack Ryan, but some higher concept hits proved more elusive.

The big-budgeted Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power, became the biggest debut ever on the steamer but the show proved to have less staying power. While The Rings of Power was greenlit by Salkes predecessors, the expensive spy thriller Citadel from the Russo brothers was championed by Salke.

Prime Videos The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Courtesy of Prime Video Citadel, planned as a flagship series for the streamer, has been a troubled series from the jump when reshoots, two competing cuts and crew defections on the first season added $75 million to the already $160 million budget. At the time, the show became the second most expensive series ever made, only falling behind fellow Amazon title Rings of Power. Nonetheless, the troubled series was renewed for a second season ahead of the first seasons April 2023 premiere.

If you polled some people, theyd say this isnt a surprise, says an agent, who added that Salke came in at a disadvantage. It wasnt fair. Jens expertise was in television, but she had to do everything and think about what she had to deal with she didnt have a studio infrastructure. Could things have gone better? Of course. But at the same time, shes been there a long time seven years and she had some hits with Reacher and Jack Ryan.

Amazons deal for MGM, which the tech giant acquired in 2022 for $8.5 billion also complicated matters. Melding one of Silicon Valleys most cutthroat and bruising corporate cultures with one of Hollywoods most storied studios was never going to be easy and the executive teams never quite gelled.

In 2020 Salke started reporting to Hopkins, who was named Amazon Video Entertainment Chief. Mike and Jen have been in a power struggle for years and theyve never gotten along. It was never a happy relationship, adds a source who worked with Hopkins and Salke.

And then there was the Broccoli situation. The sale of the Bond franchise by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to Amazon in February sent shockwaves around the industry.

Since the acquisition of MGM that first allowed Amazon access to the Bond universe, Broccoli and Wilson have not put into development any new Bond productions. Many reports and insiders have cited a contentious relationship between the Bond producers and Salke as one of the reasons a Bond movie has yet to be shaken or stirred at Amazon. It was one mistake in a series of mistakes. And this was a nearly billion-dollar mistake, says one producer with ties to the studio division.

Salkes name was glaringly absent from any of the press releases surrounding the historic transaction. Part of the job is to manage talent. Hollywood is a freak show and your job is to manage the animals. And she just wasnt doing it, says the source who had worked with both Hopkins and Salke. Sources say Amazon is looking to bring on an executive to oversee 007.

In the wake of the MGM acquisition and Salke bringing in longtime Warner Bros. production head Courtenay Valenti, after years of industry confusion about intention, the Amazon film slate has begun to take on more of a distinct shape. Homegrown hits like Road House and The Idea of You proved popular on streaming, while a well-appointed upcoming calendar includes commercial action fare like Ben Afflecks The Accountant 2 and Shane Black title Play Dirty along with prestige offerings like Luca Guadagnino movie After the Hunt.

The studio has also doubled down on movie theaters, with Valenti at this years SXSW film festival saying that Amazon MGM would release 12 to 14 movies theatrically in 2026. [Salke] was very Amazon Prime driven but with a commitment to make theatrical movies and not just feeding the streamer, there wasnt a need for her anymore, says a top agency partner who has worked extensively with the studio.

Ultimately, it does seem like Salkes position, with Valenti handling film and Vernon Sanders on TV, proved obsolete in the new world order of tech-dominated entertainment. Salke was quoted in Hopkins email to staff, announcing her exit, saying, As Ive been considering my next chapter, Ive 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.