By Tripp Mickle and Joe Flint
Tim Cook sat down more than a year ago to watch Apple Inc.'s
first scripted drama, "Vital Signs," 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.
It's too violent, Mr. Cook told Apple Music executive Jimmy
Iovine, said people familiar with Apple's entertainment plans.
Apple can't 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 mustn't taint a pristine brand image that
has helped the company collect 80% of the profits in the global
smartphone market.
Apple's entertainment team must walk a line few in Hollywood
would consider. Since Mr. Cook spiked "Vital Signs," Apple has made
clear, say producers and agents, that it wants high-quality shows
with stars and broad appeal, but it doesn't 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 "House of Cards," a drama about an ethically bankrupt
politician, and "Orange Is the New Black," a comedic drama about a
women's 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 don't subscribe, he said. "With Apple, you can say, 'I'm
going to punish them by not buying their phone or computer.' "
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.
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
"Ghostbusters" and "Stand by Me" was outweighed by expensive flops
such as "Ishtar."
Entertainment is "irrational and unpredictable," said Peter
Sealey, a consultant who led marketing for Coke's Hollywood
business. Apple excels at devices and Coke at soft drinks, he said,
but "movies and TV are none of that. They're emotional."
Mr. Cook told analysts in July that Apple wasn't ready to detail
its Hollywood plans, but he felt "really good about what we will
eventually offer." The company didn't make executives available for
interviews for this article.
Hollywood is central to Apple's 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 Apple's entertainment plans.
Apple's 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 and Facebook
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.'s deal for 21st
Century Fox Inc. assets and AT&T Inc.'s 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.'s
$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 "Friday Night Lights"-style drama about
basketball star Kevin Durant. Apple signed partnerships with Oprah
Winfrey, perhaps entertainment's most wholesome star, and Sesame
Workshop, the producers of "Sesame Street."
Of roughly two-dozen shows Apple has in development or
production, only a few could veer into "TV-MA" territory,
television's equivalent of R-rated films.
Apple's sensitivity affects how its top Hollywood executives,
Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, approach their jobs. The duo,
who previously shepherded "Breaking Bad" 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.
Before saying yes to that psychological thriller, Apple
executives had a request: Please eliminate the crucifixes in the
couple's house, said people working on the project. They said
executives made clear they didn't want shows that venture into
religious subjects or politics. Mr. Shyamalan wasn't available for
comment.
Not every moviemaker has found Apple imposing boundaries. Early
work on a comedy called "Little America" with Kumail Nanjiani
"feels like a typical development process," said co-producer Lee
Eisenberg.
And graphic content certainly isn't the only path to success in
TV and streaming. There's little or none in some of Netflix's hits,
such as "Stranger Things," and in some popular broadcast-TV shows
such as "The Big Bang Theory."
Still, there's 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 "Deadpool" superhero films into its fold with its pending
21st Century Fox acquisition.
Where Apple draws the line isn't clear, say producers, agents
and writers.
"I'm not sure myself what they're after," said producer Shawn
Ryan, whose credits include the FX hit "The Shield."
"I do adore Zack and Jamie and trust in their taste. I think
we're all curious to see what it's going to be."
Apple is making big commitments to win projects. It outbid
Netflix and CBS Corp.'s 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 show's price could top $12 million an episode, according to
people familiar with it.
Apple's venture entails behind-the-scenes drama unusual for the
tech company's typically regimented operations. Apple replaced the
person in charge of the Aniston-Witherspoon show, known as the
showrunner, before filming. The executive producer's 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
Spielberg's anthology "Amazing Stories," finding the original
team's vision a little dark, said people familiar with that
project. Apple's handful of TV-MA projects include "Shantaram,"
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 "Friday Night Lights" and
"Madame Secretary, " say people he has spoken with about it.
Mr. Cue acts as Hollywood translator. He made his mark leading
Apple's iTunes business with a tough negotiating style that
cemented the 99-cent price for songs. Mr. Cue has said shows he
enjoys include HBO's violent and sex-filled "Game of Thrones" and
the sci-fi "Westworld."
The two men started exploring a video-programming strategy
almost three years ago. With investors calling for Apple to buy
Netflix, and Apple's 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
Apple's streaming-music service. In addition to the ill-fated
"Vital Signs" project with Beats co-founder and Apple executive Dr.
Dre, Mr. Iovine worked on a show called "Planet of the Apps" and
partnered with CBS on "Carpool Karaoke."
Some content on both shows, which now are available on Apple
Music, originally troubled Apple brass. The company edited out
"Planet of the Apps" segments with swearing, frustrating stars of
the show, said a person familiar with the editing.
In "Carpool Karaoke," which won an Emmy this week, Apple
sanitized comedian James Corden's faux outrage in the first episode
so the audience hears "What the [bleep]?"
As Apple Music's 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:
"Don't edit yourselves. We're Apple, and we're going to take big
swings." 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 Apple's team in Los Angeles began
calling themselves "expensive NBC."
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 "Empire," Lee Daniels. Apple subsequently sent word
there was concern about the sensitive topics, and the sides had
differing opinions on the show's direction.
The show is now in talks to end up at Amazon.
Write to Tripp Mickle at Tripp.Mickle@wsj.com and Joe Flint at
joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2018 00:16 ET (04:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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