Amazon sees Netflix’s Adam Sandler, raises with Woody Allen
Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX) are locked in an escalating battle to secure brand-name celebrities to create original shows that will attract viewers to their streaming video services. On Tuesday, Amazon announced that it has signed Woody Allen to write and direct his first television series. The half-hour series, currently called “Untitled Woody Allen Project,” will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video. While the show doesn’t have an official title, snarky commenters on Twitter (TWTR) were quick to write their own titles, based on past Allen controversies like marrying his stepdaughter Soon-Yi Previn. (Suggested titles included: “How I Met Your Mother My Daughter,” “The Courtship of Mia’s Daughter” and “It’s Always Soon-Yi in Philadelphia.”) Recruiting Allen signals Amazon’s (AMZN) willingness to push the creative envelope, the New York Times reported. Just two days ago, Amazon’s original series “Transparent,” a dark comedy about a family in which the father comes out…