Peter Oillataguerre Headed for Amazon MGM's New Lead Role

Peter Oillataguerre is taking his talents to Amazon MGM Studios. Announced late yesterday via internal company email, Oillataguerre has been appointed to the newly created role of Head of Feature Film Production. Starting September 18, he will report directly to Head of Global Business Operations, Dan Scharf, and work closely with Courtenay Valenti, the Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical.

Joining after a three and a half year stint as President of Production of Spyglass Media Group, Oillataguerre will now shepherd all elements of the feature film production cycle for Amazon MGM Studio's film group.

With two decades of industry experience, Oillataguerre is not a stranger to the pomp and circumstance of Hollywood. Prior to joining Spyglass, he had stints at Universal and even MGM Studios, where he was integral in shaping popular franchises like Creed and the iconic James Bond series.

Amazon's acquisition of the famed MGM movie studio for a colossal $8.5 billion last March hinted at a shift in the corporate giant’s film strategy. Until the recent acquisition, Amazon was content to unabashedly promote its streaming heavy strategy, with theatrical release coming as secondary. Now, with the addition of MGM, Amazon appears to be re-embracing traditional wide-release theater runs.

As Jennifer Salke, studio head, stated in her welcome note to Oillataguerre, the focus on building a world-class global film slate remains central to their operation. Oillataguerre's broad experience, stretching from leading film franchises to overseeing successful TV series like Project Runway, will undoubtedly make him an invaluable asset in implementing this vision.

Now, streaming services prancing around fancy film studios isn't anything new. But history has shown us, not everyone does it well. Netflix's shot at being the belle of the ball with high-budget cinema releases like "The Irishman" hasn't always cut it at the box office. Amazon, on the other hand, is playing more like an ambitious Cinderella with a pretty good fairy godmother in MGM.

Then we have the man of the hour, Peter Oillataguerre. A guy who's jumped around, made things happen at Spyglass and other major studios, now stepping into the Amazon family. For him, it will be far from a cakewalk. He not only has to navigate the notoriously treacherous territory of feature film production but do so under a corporate behemoth infamous for their "top performance" mantra.

"Everything's bigger at Amazon", you can almost hear him whisper to his MGM Studios coffee mug - filled with Amazon Fresh brew of course.

One can't help but hope that, with his experience and, dare I say, boldness, Oillataguerre will be able to work some Amazon Prime magic into the MGM division. After all, it's not every day you get to marry James Bond with Alexa.

So, here's to Oillataguerre. May he not only manage to survive the Hollywood Amazon but hopefully, old Hollywood icons and new-age streaming can find a way to form a picture-perfect union.