Is there anything Apple makes that isn’t expensive?
Reports seem to indicate that Apple’s upcoming streaming service is completely gutless. The company has been known for censoring their app store for quite some time, but it may be a shot in the foot for their streaming service. The amount of executive meddling going on in the interest of keeping things family friendly is hampering progress on their original shows. So much so, that employees have apparently taken to calling the platform “Expensive NBC” in what may be the understatement of the decade.
And much of the problem seems to emanate from CEO Tim Cook. He personally canned the platform’s first scripted drama, Vital Signs, which was about the life of Dr. Dre. Notably, he was alarmed to find that the already-filmed show contained scenes of drug use, orgies, 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.
It’s about Dr. Dre, Tim. I’d be surprised if Vital Signs had no guns, drugs, and sex. This attitude of keeping everything as squeaky clean as possible can hurt them in this arena. Breaking Bad came to be considered as a masterpiece because it wound up on Netflix, where a larger audience could get hooked on it. Entertainment doesn’t have to be edgy, but deciding you won’t allow something outside your personal comfort zone is going to diminish your potential audience. No one’s going to pay for something they’re getting nothing out of, even if it’s made by Apple.
Among the dozen plus shows Apple has invested in, there seems to be little in the way of controversial fare. Most have broad,family friendly appeal; a show about Emily Dickinson, some form of Oprah Winfrey program, something related to Sesame Street. Even a Friday Night Lights-esque program about the life of NBA star Kevin Durant.
And speaking of Breaking Bad, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht are Apple’s Hollywood executive team for the project. And they apparently have to “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.” In one case, this involved fixing a perceived problem with an M. Night Shyamalan series.
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.
Emphasis mine. Fuckin’ A, is this Apple, or late 80’s/early 90’s Nintendo?
Apple also outbid a number of other platforms for an expensive (like $12 million an episode) program about a morning news show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. The show has been delayed due to some conflict with a producer, and the fact that Apple “wanted a more upbeat show and took exception to some of the humor proposed, according to people working on the project.” They also replaced the showrunners for Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories due to finding what had been produced too dark for their liking. Presumably, anything that displeases The Cook either gets changed or banished. Finally, they’re adapting Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy for the small screen; while they haven’t meddled with it, given the above, I’d temper those hopes.
And you know what? The real cherry on the sundae here is that the service still has a decent shot at being successful. Because rumor has it that they plan on packaging the service alongside something mundane and useful, like their news platform. Still, there’s always other sources for news. But then again, I’m not the sort that spends $1000 on a phone that is at best on par with the rest of the market, so who knows?
Source: Gizmodo
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