The bidding war over one of the highest profile films in Hollywood is nearly over, Deadline reports. Apple will win the derby for the Martin Scorsese-directed film Killers of the Flower Moon, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in the lead roles.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is the third non-fiction book by American journalist David Grann. The book was released on April 18, 2017 by Doubleday.
Mike Fleming Jr. for Deadline:
The deals are being papered — Paramount still has to sign off — but I’m told when they are, it will be an Apple original film, and Paramount will distribute theatrically worldwide.
The deal, which calls for Apple to finance and become the creative studio, gives the movie a hybrid situation and the best of both worlds. The film will get a wide theatrical release through Paramount before it becomes the biggest film title so far on Apple’s streaming service. A big priority was for this to be a large scale Western and that was important to Scorsese, DiCaprio, De Niro and the film’s producers Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas at Imperative.
It’s the second huge movie deal for Apple, which Deadline recently revealed acquired Greyhound, the WWII film that stars Tom Hanks, who wrote the script. Clearly, Apple is making its move.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple is obviously playing for keeps.
Sounds like Hollywood’s elite are just gonna abuse Apple as a cash cow with promises of greatness for AppleTV+. Disney already owns Hollywood’s blockbuster engines, this game was over before Apple even got in.
I stopped watching De Niro after he turned political. Shut up and act
I have need doctors
I have needed teachers
I have needed electricians
I have never needed an actor
To quote his own immortal words, “F*?K DeNiro”!
More lack of focus on content on Apple’s part.
Apple is just a new sucker in Hollywood see Edgar Bronfman Jr. (Seagram fame).
There is no profit at Apple level in Hollywood and no it doesn’t sell Apple devices.