Apple has plenty of money to throw around, which has puzzled me a bit why their AppleTV+ service doesn’t include more content.
We shouldn’t worry, they are working on it.
They seem to be going the path of current day Netflix: focus on originals and exclusives. This could mean Apple will be active at film festivals and perusing the bestseller lists for books to option for films.
Recently they nabbed Tom Hanks’ film, Greyhound, originally planned for theater release and ultimately becoming an AppleTV+ exclusive (see: )
One of their newest successful acquisitions pitted them in a bidding war for the graphic novel “Snow Blind” by Ollie Masters from BOOM! studios — and they came out on top.
The acquisition of the film by Apple Studios is based on a graphic novel by Ollie Masters and Tyler Jenkins. “Snow Blind” tells the story of a boy in Alaska who discovers their family is in the Witness Protection Program, who then must contend with a person seeking revenge and an influx of FBI agents into their lives.
Apple TV+ picks up rights to thriller ‘Snow Blind’ in six-way bidding war | Appleinsider
No idea how much was paid, but the article mentions Apple did pay $100 million for the Will Smith film, Emancipation, which set a record in the industry for the highest purchase from a film festival.
Say that again, $100 million. Joining the $100+ million budget club (see: $100+ Million Movie Budgets Are Stupid) just to purchase the film for distribution. That’s the kind of dough Apple can pull out of its change purse. Amazon has that kind of loose change as well, but they presumably are going it a little more fiscally responsible. Just a guess here, because the article doesn’t state the other five bidders.
If we are to guess who those bidders might have been: Netflix, Amazon, Disney/Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock or CBS. Don’t think I’m missing anybody with a streaming channel at the table with a hunger for new and/or exclusive content.
Apple has also recently licensed some some children’s content.
Apple TV+ has partnered with The Maurice Sendak Foundation for rights to create children’s shows based on Sendak’s children’s stories and illustrations like Where The Wild Things Are. With this multi-year deal, Apple TV+ will be able to reimagine the author’s works into new children’s content exclusively for the streaming service.
Apple TV+ Signs Multi-Year Deal with The Maurice Sendak Foundation for Children’s Content
This is a great time for writer-director-actors.
Movies, Movies, Movies 