Casey Affleck’s Production Company Signs Deal With Amazon Studios (EXCLUSIVE)

Casey Affleck’s newly launched production company Sea Change Media has signed an exclusive first look deal with Amazon Studios, Variety has learned. It makes sense that Affleck’s banner would want to hang its hat with Amazon. The actor picked up an Oscar for best actor for his work in “Manchester by the Sea,” which Amazon bought out of Sundance and successfully pushed for awards attention.

The two-year deal will cover both film and television projects. Sea Change Media says it wants to back stores that shine a light on underrepresented voices. It goes on to say that its lodestar will be a “philosophy of inclusivity and collaboration.” Hollywood has been engulfed in a debate about the lack of films about women and people of color in recent years, so Sea Change Media is clearly looking to help promote more diversity in film and television. Whitaker Lader, who previously worked at the Sundance Institute, serves as the company’s head of production and development.

Amazon Studios has been signing a number of exclusive first-look production deals this year as it looks to bolster its development slate. It previously singed pacts with Bona Fide Productions ( “Little Miss Sunshine”), Killer Films (“Carol”) and Le Grisbi Productions (“Birdman”).

“This deal with Casey exemplifies our focus in expanding Amazon Studios’ relationships with top-notch filmmakers and content creators,” said Roy Price, head of Amazon Studios, in a statement. “Our goal is to be in business with high caliber talent in order to grow our slate of quality content for our customers.”

“Casey is not only a brilliant actor as we’ve seen in ‘Manchester by the Sea,’ but also has a profound sense for powerful and affective storytelling,” said Jason Ropell, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide motion pictures, in a statement. “We are excited to further our relationship with Casey and look forward to our future collaborations.”

Affleck is currently in working on “Light of My Life,” which he wrote, directed, and starred in. It follows a father (Affleck) and daughter living on the outskirts of society destabilized by a deadly pandemic. He also teamed with director David Lowery on “The Old Man and the Gun” opposite Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek. He previously worked with Lowery on “A Ghost Story” and “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” (and nearly worked on “Pete’s Dragon,” giving it up for “Manchester”). Affleck is set to star in “Stoner” for director Joe Wright (“Atonement”), an adaptation of John Williams’ acclaimed novel about an academic.

Affleck is represented by WME and Ziffren Brittenham.

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