Amazon.com Customers to Select One Winner to Receive $50,000 for Next Film; Top Five Films to Be Screened at Tribeca Cinemas

NEW YORK--March 3, 2005-- Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN) and Tribeca Film Festival founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff, along with Tribeca Film Festival founding partner American Express, today announced the launch of the Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition, in recognition of the critical role that short films have played in the broader filmmaking world.

Beginning today through April 13, 2005, Amazon.com will accept short-film submissions for entry into the competition. Filmmakers can submit films that are up to seven minutes in length, according to the rules and instructions found at www.amazon.com/shortfilms.

Amazon.com customers will be able to view the submitted films in the Tribeca Screening Room on the company's Web site, where they will be invited to rate the films on a scale from one to five, using the existing Amazon.com star rating system. Additionally, five celebrity jurors from the Tribeca Film Festival will review selected film submissions alongside Amazon.com customers and provide their commentary on the site.

The five highest-rated films will be screened at Tribeca Cinemas in New York City and will run over a period of four weeks on the Amazon.com home page, which is visited by millions of customers each day. The top filmmaker as rated by Amazon.com customers will receive a grant of $50,000 for his or her next film, which will be awarded in the form of an American Express prepaid card in the amount of $50,000. The winning filmmaker will be announced in early July.

The announcement of this remarkable initiative follows the Amazon Theater program last holiday season, in which five original short films featuring world-class directors and celebrity talent were offered on the site. Extending the Amazon Theater program to emerging filmmakers marks a continuation of Amazon's dedication to becoming a destination for exclusive content and products for customers.

"Amazon.com customers will decide the winner," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "Along with the Tribeca Film Festival and American Express, we're excited to showcase short films on the Amazon Web site."

"This is a great initiative to help recognize and reward talented short-film makers," said Robert De Niro, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. "We're very happy to be working with Amazon.com to help identify and support emerging talent."

"American Express is dedicated to the success of the Tribeca Film Festival, and to providing a great forum for filmmakers to showcase their creativity," said John Hayes, chief marketing officer of American Express. "This new relationship with Amazon will help extend the Festival to a whole new audience online and continue to foster the great sense of community of movie fans and filmmakers already established by the Festival."

"We are pleased to provide a new platform to draw attention to new and established filmmaking talent," said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. "Amazon is the true marketplace of ideas, and an ideal partner for the Tribeca Film Festival as we work to raise the profile of short-film makers. We look forward to supporting this initiative with input from a distinguished panel of celebrity jurors, as well as by providing a variety of content that will be helpful to filmmakers."

"Amazon's extensive online distribution is another great platform for Tribeca to find and present up-and-coming film talent," said Jennifer Maguire, president of the Tribeca Film Festival. "Tribeca prides itself on being an accessible festival for both filmmakers and film enthusiasts, and our partnership with Amazon will reinforce that commitment."

Macromedia Flash will be the exclusive video format for the Amazon Theater Short-film Competition.

About Tribeca Film Festival

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking capital. Tribeca Cinemas, located at 54 Varick Street, was acquired by the Festival founders in 2003 and serves as a year-round venue for the Festival and its related activities.

The 2005 Festival, presented by American Express, will take place from April 19th to May 1st in various locations throughout lower Manhattan. The 2005 Festival will feature special events, outdoor concerts and screenings, a street fair, and panel discussions with noted filmmakers. The 2005 event schedule and program details will be announced at a later date.

American Express is the Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival. Part of a multi-year relationship, the sponsorship demonstrates American Express' dedication to the goals of the Festival and the revitalization of lower Manhattan.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc., (Nasdaq:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as beauty, health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food, sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, DVDs, electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden.

Amazon.com and its affiliates operate seven Web sites: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.ca, and www.joyo.com.

As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, consumer trends, inventory, limited operating history, government regulation and taxation, fraud, and new business areas. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and all subsequent filings.

SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc.