Amazon Original Movie Gleason Will Premiere on Amazon Prime Video on December 29 Two original songs with Music by Pearl Jam's Mike McCready and lyrics written by Steve Gleason will also be available exclusively on Amazon Music
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2016-- (NASDAQ: AMZN) - Amazon Studios today announced that the Amazon Original Movie Gleason will be available through Amazon Prime Video at no additional cost to Prime members on December 29. The acclaimed film is among 15 documentaries shortlisted for the 2016 Academy Award for Best Documentary, was nominated for Five Broadcast Film Critic's Awards and was included among The National Board of Review's Top Five Documentaries of the Year. Gleason is directed by Clay Tweel (Finders Keepers) and features New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason, his wife Michel Varisco and Steve's former teammate and best friend Scott Fujita (The Lightkeepers, FOX NFL Kickoff). The film is produced by Fujita, Kimi Culp (Oprah's Master Class), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief), Mary Rohlich (Four Christmases, The Goldbergs) and Kevin Lake (The Singing Detective, Paparazzi).
Gleason made its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically on July 29, 2016 to an overwhelmingly positive critical response. The film is rated 8.3 on IMDB and also Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes where it maintains a 96% Fresh rating. Here's what critics have to say about Gleason:
Gleason is so powerful in its cumulative effect that it should be accompanied by a consumer advisory-something along the lines of This documentary may cause sudden alterations of mood and attitude. - Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
If this film portrait stirs deep emotions, they spring from a breathtakingly unsentimental embrace of life at its most challenging. - Sheri Linden, The Los Angeles Times
A tearjerker of a film but also a joyous one. - Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
One of the most powerful, poignant documentaries of the past decade. - Nick Schager, The Daily Beast.com
You dont need to know Steve Gleasons name to be enraptured by his extraordinary story. - Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly
Shortly after former New Orleans Saints star defensive back Steve Gleason is diagnosed with ALS at the age of 34, he learns that his wife Michel is pregnant with their first child. Determined to live his remaining years to their fullest, Steve goes on an expedition to Alaska, creates a foundation to help others with ALS patients, rebuilds a rocky relationship with his father and embraces new technologies to help compensate for his deteriorating physical abilities-all with Michel's unwavering support. Brimming with humor and heart, this inspirational documentary follows a man who battles overwhelming adversity to find his true purpose in life.
We are incredibly excited for our customers to experience Gleason's inspiring story of strength, grace, love and family on Prime Video, said Jason Ropell, Worldwide Head of Motion Pictures, Amazon Studios.
The music for Gleason includes numerous songs that have inspired Steve throughout his life, like Given to Fly and Just Breathe by Pearl Jam, as well as two tracks, Space In Between, and Her Again, written by Steve Gleason himself and performed by his good friend, guitarist Mike McCready along with singer, Kim Virant, which will be available exclusively on Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music beginning December 23. Additionally, Steve created a playlist featuring some of his favorite songs, also streaming exclusively on both Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music.
Not available on any other subscription services, Gleason will be available for Prime members to stream and enjoy using the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. Prime members will also be able to download the film to mobile devices for offline viewing. Gleason joins Prime Video's line-up of award-winning and critically acclaimed Original Series and Movies-to see more originals available exclusively for Prime members, visit www.amazon.com/originals.
Customers who are not already Prime members can sign-up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.
About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series-one that's open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online for Amazon Studios to review, and those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community. First announced in January 2015, Amazon Original Movies is an initiative by Amazon Studios to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release and early window distribution exclusively for Prime members. Like Amazon Original Series, Amazon Original Movies focuses on unique stories, voices, and characters from top and up-and-coming creators. In 2015, Amazon Studios released its first film, Chi-Raq from critically acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee. Chi-Raq is now available for Prime members to stream exclusively. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea is currently in theaters and up next, Amazon Studios will release Jim Jarmusch's Paterson on December 28th.
About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:
Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV shows, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies f
