Director-friendly production companies included Apple

Apple TV+’s most-watched movie is ‘Wolfs’ There will be no sequel. War is like that.

It’s Apple’s latest production failure, and the effects may be worse than expected. It has dashed the company’s Hollywood ambitions and turned some directors against it after canceling sequels and franchises to save money.

The last straw. Apple’s most commercial film, ‘Wolfs’, stars two box office superstars, has a plot that fans will love, with hitmen forced to work together, and is directed by Jon Watts, who directed ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. After the failures of ‘Napoleon’ and ‘Argylle’, Apple announced that the film would be shown in limited theaters and on Apple TV+ a week later.

Bad run. Apple probably feared a repeat of Argylle’s $18 million US and $17.3 million international failure. It cost $200 million, excluding marketing and promotion. Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon were buzzworthy but underperformed. Both cost $200 million, with the former earning $15.6 million. Scott’s $200 million was better, but it should have made $500 million to avoid a loss.

Cinch your belt. Bloomberg reported that Apple TV+ may have saved more than possible, suggesting that Apple has made decisions to make its productions more profitable. ‘Wolfs’ almost direct move to streaming (it worked for it with Doug Liman’s ‘The Instigators‘, according to ‘The New Work Times’) has consequences. ‘Wolfs’ will not have sequels. Apple had already approved a continuation, but Jon Watts told Deadline that “I no longer trust Apple as a creative partner.”

Bittersweet. However, ‘Wolfs’ became Apple TV+’s most-watched movie because an exclusive Pitt-Clooney film is a sweet deal for any platform. Watts seems content with “last-minute theatrical release abandonment.” Watts says in the interview “They announced it to promote their streaming shift. I discreetly returned their sequel funding. I did not want to discuss it because I was proud of the film and didn’t want negative press. Apple didn’t cancel ‘Wolfs’ 2, I did.”

He’s not alone. Other directors have criticized Apple’s treatment. Oscar-winner Steve McQueen said, “I can’t say I’m not sad” about Apple’s plans to stream his war drama Blitz exclusively. Doug Liman, for instance, was satisfied with Apple’s treatment of The Instigators, but his Prime Video and Road House colleagues also skipped theaters, which led to a long series of cross-accusations and lawsuit threats. Now that cuts reach distribution channels, platforms are accusing creators of a war.

Beyond glory hunters, humans root for the underdog. The scrappy team’s story thickens and screentime lengthens with each chapter, which is why Apple’s “The underdogs” keeps getting renewed. The action is infectious.

The latest episode of “The underdogs” defies good advertising at eight minutes and 50 seconds of product after product. The “Apple at work” series is genius because it doesn’t feel forced.

In reflecting on the series, Smuggler director Mark Molloy says, “The product is a character – it’s never treated like the ‘product’.” No gratuitous product shot is cut; it’s integrated into the script. We counted product shots, which was insane. People don’t feel that.” In 2019, Apple re-approached the director after he made “Homework,” a film about uninterested kids who get a special homework assignment to study gravity and use their iPads to get creative.

“The first one we did was really brave of Apple,” Molloy says, explaining that Apple wanted a short film using all its products. Not a problem. “[Apple had] never done that before, so we didn’t have a set idea,” he says.

He should know with several Apple ads under his belt.

“The Apple brief was four underdogs with a project in a boring office,” Molloy says. “Everything is based on that small nugget of an idea.”

Perhaps not the most romantic brief, but the idea worked.

Those who have seen all three “Apple at Work” episodes know the cast is perfect.

“We had a guess about these four people. Molloy says seeing ourselves in others is key. “The casting made the underdogs successful. Because we have four great characters with a great dynamic.”

Director-friendly production companies included Apple

Apple TV+’s most-watched movie is ‘Wolfs’ There will be no sequel. War is like that.

By ki0nk

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