Apple signs first-look film and TV deal with Martin Scorsese
Apple has roped Martin Scorsese in! The greatest American director alive has signed a first-look film and TV deal with Apple TV+. This is a multi-year deal in which he will direct titles of films and TV series for Apple's video streaming platform. The biggest highlight of this deal is the upcoming film Killers of the Flower Moon, which is being produced by Apple.
Why so much hype around 'Killers of The Flower Moon'
Killers of The Flower Moon stars none other than Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is based on the mysterious deaths of rich Osage Indians after they were given the allowance to unearth and commercially exploit the oil found underneath their lands. The film is Scorsese's second such venture for direct streaming platforms after he did The Irishman for Netflix.
Sikelia Productions: How it fueled Scorsese's dreams
Sikelia Productions, Scorsese's company that has inked the deal with the tech giant is co-producing Killers of The Flower Moon along with Appian Way and Imperative Entertainment, as Paramount distributes it. Founded in 1996 by the ace director, Sikelia is behind many noted films like Shutter Island, Silence, The Departed, The Aviator and other titles including documentaries such as A Letter to Elia.
Will Scorsese direct a series for Apple?
Now that Scorsese has associated with a streaming platform for many years to come, will he ever direct a TV series? He once told reporters that he had tried to do this with Vinyl on HBO but it didn't work out beyond the pilot episode. "We tried for one year with HBO, but we couldn't get the creative elements together," he had said.
'If you do it, you do it right'
"I think I would have had to direct every episode. If you do it, you do it right like Sorrentino does [with The Young Pope], you do everything...If you don't, you shouldn't be making the series," Scorsese asserted. However, now at least his fans are about to get a lot of his genius, films and TV included, through Apple TV+. So, rejoice!
Other heavyweight tie-ups with Apple
Apple is building an army of content behemoths to fuel itself in its competition with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and even HBO Max. Alfonso Cuarón, Justin Lin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey are few of the celebrity giants who have recently signed deals with Apple TV+. A Christmas musical featuring Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell is also on the cards for Apple.
