Yep, Apple believe Apple fans will fucking just buy anything Apple, including any fuck movie as long as it’s Apple branded.
What do we think?
We think Tim Cook is overestimated…. by a long shot.
We think he needs to take Hollywood 101 before opening his mouth again. We know he is good for fellatio, we know he did manage to capitalize on Steve Job’s legacy. But that’s about all. Apple has not made one single breakthrough ever since Steve Job passed away. Hey, Apple isn’t created by Tim Cook, lest we forget.
We’ll see.
No Sex Please, Weâre APPLE: iPhone Giant Seeks TV Success On Its Own Terms
The tech giant wants to make scripted shows for streaming, only without violence, politics and risqué story lines
Tim Cook sat down more than a year ago to watch Apple Inc.âs AAPL -1.08% first scripted drama, âVital Signs,â and was troubled by what he saw. The show, a dark, semi-biographical tale of hip hop artist Dr. Dre, featured characters doing lines of cocaine, an extended orgy in a mansion and drawn guns.
Itâs too violent, Mr. Cook told Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine, said people familiar with Appleâs entertainment plans. Apple canât show this.
Appleâs entertainment team must walk a line few in Hollywood would consider. Since Mr. Cook spiked âVital Signs,â Apple has made clear, say producers and agents, that it wants high-quality shows with stars and broad appeal, but it doesnât want gratuitous sex, profanity or violence.
Of roughly two-dozen shows Apple has in development or production, only a few could veer into âTV-MAâ territory, televisionâs equivalent of R-rated films.
Appleâs sensitivity affects how its top Hollywood executives, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, approach their jobs. The duo, who previously shepherded âBreaking Badâ at Sony Pictures, devote considerable time to winning a nod for shows from Mr. Cook and Eddy Cue,a senior vice president who oversees services, said someone well-versed in company dynamics.
Messrs. Van Amburg and Erlicht have successfully pushed some edgier shows. Apple signed a deal for a series made by M. Night Shyamalan about a couple who lose a young child.
Where Apple draws the line isnât clear, say producers, agents and writers.
âIâm not sure myself what theyâre after,â said producer Shawn Ryan, whose credits include the FX hit âThe Shield.â
Tim Cook sat down more than a year ago to watch Apple Inc.âs AAPL -1.08% first scripted drama, âVital Signs,â and was troubled by what he saw. The show, a dark, semi-biographical tale of hip hop artist Dr. Dre, featured characters doing lines of cocaine, an extended orgy in a mansion and drawn guns.
Itâs too violent, Mr. Cook told Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine, said people familiar with Appleâs entertainment plans. Apple canât show this.
Across Hollywood and inside Apple, the show has become emblematic of the challenges faced by the technology giant as it pushes into entertainment. Apple earmarked $1 billion for Hollywood programming last year. But in the tone CEO Mr. Cook has set for it, whatever Apple produces mustnât taint a pristine brand image that has helped the company collect 80% of the profits in the global smartphone market.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine, right, that a series loosely based on the life of Dr. Dre, left, was too violent for Apple, according to people familiar with Appleâs entertainment plans. |
Appleâs entertainment team must walk a line few in Hollywood would consider. Since Mr. Cook spiked âVital Signs,â Apple has made clear, say producers and agents, that it wants high-quality shows with stars and broad appeal, but it doesnât want gratuitous sex, profanity or violence.
The result is an approach out of step with the triumphs of the video-streaming era. Other platforms, such as HBO and Amazon.com Inc.,have made their mark in original content with edgier programming that often wins critical acclaim. Netflix Inc., which helped birth the streaming revolution, built its original-content business on âHouse of Cards,â a drama about an ethically bankrupt politician, and âOrange Is the New Black,â a comedic drama about a womenâs prison. Both feature rough language and plenty of sex.
As a consumer-product company, Apple is especially exposed if content strikes a sour note, said Preston Beckman, a former NBC and Fox programming executive. For Netflix, the only risk is that people donât subscribe, he said. âWith Apple, you can say, âIâm going to punish them by not buying their phone or computer.â ”
Apple has twice postponed the launch of its first slate of shows, moving it to March from late this year, agents and producers said. One leading producer with projects at Apple expects the date to be pushed back yet further.
Coca-Cola, which owned Columbia Pictures in the 1980s, found its successes were outweighed by expensive flops such as âIshtar.â |
Hollywood routinely humbles big companies that try to join its club. In 2014, Microsoft Corp.closed its Hollywood unit, Xbox Entertainment Studios, before it got off the ground. Coca-Cola Co. , which owned Columbia Pictures in the 1980s, found its success with âGhostbustersâ and âStand by Meâ was outweighed by expensive flops such as âIshtar.â
Entertainment is âirrational and unpredictable,â said Peter Sealey, a consultant who led marketing for Cokeâs Hollywood business. Apple excels at devices and Coke at soft drinks, he said, but âmovies and TV are none of that. Theyâre emotional.â
Mr. Cook told analysts in July that Apple wasnât ready to detail its Hollywood plans, but he felt âreally good about what we will eventually offer.â The company didnât make executives available for interviews for this article.
Hollywood is central to Appleâs strategy. As growth slows in the number of iPhones sold, Apple is trying to accelerate its services business, which includes the App Store, mobile payments and entertainment, including its music-subscription offering. It wants shows to support a video service on its TV app that could be bundled with subscriptions such as iCloud storage, said the people familiar with Appleâs entertainment plans.
Appleâs arrival coincides with upheaval in Hollywood. Declining pay-TV subscriptions and the rise of Netflix have set off an entertainment land grab. Tech giants such as Amazon andFacebook Inc. are offering video services to deepen ties with existing customers. Traditional media and telecom companies are trying to fend them off with mergers, such as Walt Disney Co.âs deal for 21st Century Fox Inc. assets and AT&T Inc.âs acquisition of Time Warner Inc.
The tumult has fueled an explosion in the number of scripted shows, to 487 last year, up more than two-thirds in five years. There is a rush to sign up top show creators, as in Warner Bros.âs $300 million long-term deal to keep prolific producer Greg Berlanti.
Apple has bought more than a dozen shows, favoring broadly appealing, family-friendly fare. They include a series about poet Emily Dickinson and a âFriday Night Lightsâ-style drama about basketball star Kevin Durant. Apple signed partnerships with Oprah Winfrey, perhaps entertainmentâs most wholesome star, and Sesame Workshop, the producers of âSesame Street.â
Apple has bought broadly-appealing shows including a series about poet Emily Dickinson, starring actress Hailee Steinfeld. The company has signed a partnership with Oprah Winfrey. |
Of roughly two-dozen shows Apple has in development or production, only a few could veer into âTV-MAâ territory, televisionâs equivalent of R-rated films.
Appleâs sensitivity affects how its top Hollywood executives, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, approach their jobs. The duo, who previously shepherded âBreaking Badâ at Sony Pictures, devote considerable time to winning a nod for shows from Mr. Cook and Eddy Cue,a senior vice president who oversees services, said someone well-versed in company dynamics.
Appleâs top Hollywood executives are Zack Van Amburg (center) and Jamie Erlicht (right), pictured above with actress Glenn Close in 2012, when they were executives with Sony Pictures. |
Messrs. Van Amburg and Erlicht have successfully pushed some edgier shows. Apple signed a deal for a series made by M. Night Shyamalan about a couple who lose a young child.
Before saying yes to that psychological thriller, Apple executives had a request: Please eliminate the crucifixes in the coupleâs house, said people working on the project. They said executives made clear they didnât want shows that venture into religious subjects or politics. Mr. Shyamalan wasnât available for comment.
Not every moviemaker has found Apple imposing boundaries. Early work on a comedy called âLittle Americaâ with Kumail Nanjiani âfeels like a typical development process,â said co-producer Lee Eisenberg.
And graphic content certainly isnât the only path to success in TV and streaming. Thereâs little or none in some of Netflixâs hits, such as âStranger Things,â and in some popular broadcast-TV shows such as âThe Big Bang Theory.â
Still, thereâs no shying away from nudity, politics and raw language at cable networks such as FX, TNT, HBO and Showtime or at Netflix and Amazon Prime. Even Disney, which built its business on animated films for children, is bringing R-rated content like the raunchy âDeadpoolâ superhero films into its fold with its pending 21st Century Fox acquisition.
Where Apple draws the line isnât clear, say producers, agents and writers.
âIâm not sure myself what theyâre after,â said producer Shawn Ryan, whose credits include the FX hit âThe Shield.â
âI do adore Zack and Jamie and trust in their taste. I think weâre all curious to see what itâs going to be.”
Apple is making big commitments to win projects. It outbid Netflix and CBS Corp.âs Showtime to land a drama about a morning news show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, ordering two seasons and skipping the usual requirement of a pilot episode. The showâs price could top $12 million an episode, according to people familiar with it.
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Apple outbid Netflix and Showtime to land a drama about a morning news show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. |
Reese Witherspoon in Wild
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Appleâs venture entails behind-the-scenes drama unusual for the tech companyâs typically regimented operations. Apple replaced the person in charge of the Aniston-Witherspoon show, known as the showrunner, before filming. The executive producerâs inexperience was an issue, but Apple also wanted a more upbeat show and took exception to some of the humor proposed, according to people working on the project. The show now is delayed and is having scheduling issues with Ms. Witherspoon, who has other commitments, they said.
Apple also replaced showrunners for a reboot of Steven Spielbergâs anthology “Amazing Stories,â finding the original teamâs vision a little dark, said people familiar with that project. Appleâs handful of TV-MA projects include âShantaram,â about a former heroin addict who smuggles guns to Afghanistan, and a potential show about the late pop star George Michael.
Mr. Cook, better known for memorizing spreadsheets and detailing supply costs, makes an unlikely Hollywood kingpin. His favorite TV shows are relatively tame fare such as âFriday
Night Lightsâ and âMadame Secretary,â say people he has spoken with about it.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaking during a product launch event in Cupertino, Calif. |
Mr. Cue acts as Hollywood translator. He made his mark leading Appleâs iTunes business with a tough negotiating style that cemented the 99-cent price for songs. Mr. Cue has said shows he enjoys include HBOâs violent and sex-filled âGame of Thronesâ and the sci-fi âWestworld.â
The two men started exploring a video-programming strategy almost three years ago. With investors calling for Apple to buy Netflix, and Appleâs effort to launch a bundle of cable channels foundering, the executives invited in Hollywood executives such as Creative Artists Agency people and award-winning producer Brian Grazer, said people involved in the discussions. Apple wanted to know about how the business works, who was doing well and why.
Apple discussed with CAA afterward a confidential initiative to procure and develop programming for its app store, according to these people. They said the talent agency secured funding for the effort and scooped up several projects, including a Keanu Reeves show about a hit man and a risqué Michael Fassbender show about a rally-car driver.
Apple Music pursued projects of its own. The division, built partly through the $3 billion 2014 acquisition of Beats Electronics LLC, was led by Mr. Iovine, who figured video would differentiate Appleâs streaming-music service. In addition to the ill-fated âVital Signsâ project with Beats co-founder and Apple executive Dr. Dre, Mr. Iovine worked on a show called âPlanet of the Appsâ and partnered with CBS on âCarpool Karaoke.â
Some content on both shows, which now are available on Apple Music, originally troubled Apple brass. The company edited out âPlanet of the Appsâ segments with swearing, frustrating stars of the show, said a person familiar with the editing.
In âCarpool Karaoke,â which won an Emmy this week, Apple sanitized comedian James Cordenâs faux outrage in the first episode so the audience hears âWhat the [bleep]?â
John Legend and Alicia Keys appeared on episodes of Appleâs âCarpool Karaoke: The Seriesâ in 2017. |
As Apple Musicâs video efforts struggled, Mr. Cue charted a new course, hiring Messrs. Van Amburg and Erlicht from Sony, where they had built a reputation for creative chops and business savvy. The mandate was to build a slate of original shows.
The duo visited talent agencies last fall encouraging agents to bring them quality ideas. One agent described the message as: âDonât edit yourselves. Weâre Apple, and weâre going to take big swings.â Agents soon began to question that, as Apple started signing up series with the broad appeal of network shows and ended discussions over the grittier projects starring Mr. Fassbender and Mr. Reeves, according to people familiar with those projects.
Messrs. Van Amburg and Erlicht amended their message, saying Apple was open to anything and everything so long as there was no gratuitous violence or nudity, according to talent-agency people. One agent said some members of Appleâs team in Los Angeles began calling themselves âexpensive NBC.â
Recently, Apple initially expressed interest when it was pitched a politically charged show about a college ombudsman in the era of #MeToo, featuring comedian Whitney Cummings and the producer behind the Fox hit âEmpire,â Lee Daniels. Apple subsequently sent word there was concern about the sensitive topics, and the sides had differing opinions on the showâs direction.
The show is now in talks to end up at Amazon.
Reese Witherspoon in Twilight