Apple buys rights to Sundance documentary 'Boys State' for $10M
Apple has snagged another story aimed at taking a look at the cultural and political climate of America, with the purchase of "Boys State" for $10 million

Image Credit: Thorsten Thielow | Sundance Institute
There will be no shortage of political and social programming on Apple TV+, it seems. Titles like "Little America" and "Hala" take a close look at life in America for immigrant families.
"The Morning Show" dives into the cutthroat world of morning news, as told from the perspective of two women working their way through a sometimes volatile work environment.
"Boys State" is offering a look into American politics as viewed by the young men who are about to reach voting age. The highly praised Sundance film is a documentary that follows 1,000 17-year-old boys as they attend the titular program hosted by the American Legion.
The Boys State program is a week-long political summer camp of sorts. During the week, high school juniors are divided up into groups, elect municipal officials and representatives, and run mock political functions.
The documentary was directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBane, and follows the Texas Boys State program. The focus is on four individual boys of diverse backgrounds and and political views. The documentary shows them organizing political events as they campaign for the highest office at the Texas Boys State: governor.
Laurene Powell Jobs, Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan Silberberg and Nicole Stott are listed as the film's executive producers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple TV+ and A24 have acquired the rights to the documentary, paying $10. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Submarine. Submarine was also responsible for "American Factory"'s deal, the first film from the Obama's production company Higher Ground Productions.
There is no word as to when the film will be available on Apple TV+

Image Credit: Thorsten Thielow | Sundance Institute
There will be no shortage of political and social programming on Apple TV+, it seems. Titles like "Little America" and "Hala" take a close look at life in America for immigrant families.
"The Morning Show" dives into the cutthroat world of morning news, as told from the perspective of two women working their way through a sometimes volatile work environment.
"Boys State" is offering a look into American politics as viewed by the young men who are about to reach voting age. The highly praised Sundance film is a documentary that follows 1,000 17-year-old boys as they attend the titular program hosted by the American Legion.
The Boys State program is a week-long political summer camp of sorts. During the week, high school juniors are divided up into groups, elect municipal officials and representatives, and run mock political functions.
The documentary was directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBane, and follows the Texas Boys State program. The focus is on four individual boys of diverse backgrounds and and political views. The documentary shows them organizing political events as they campaign for the highest office at the Texas Boys State: governor.
Laurene Powell Jobs, Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan Silberberg and Nicole Stott are listed as the film's executive producers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple TV+ and A24 have acquired the rights to the documentary, paying $10. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers by Submarine. Submarine was also responsible for "American Factory"'s deal, the first film from the Obama's production company Higher Ground Productions.
There is no word as to when the film will be available on Apple TV+
Comments
Boys State Texas and program hosted by the American Legion.
Yes, very leftist organizations.
Last week there was a story in the Wall Street Journal the broke down streaming services by user base. Apple TV+ was estimated to be 33.6 million. For context Netflix was 61.3 million and Amazon Prime was 42.2 million. I think it is safe to assume that most of Apple's user base is due to people signing up for a free year with the purchase of a new product and are not currently paying customers. That said, if the number is anywhere close to correct then I think it is off to a great start and I don't think getting people to stay on for 5 bucks a month will be that hard. I am one of the free folks currently and have been surprised by the quality of the content. So, I think the service has a lot of longterm potential.
Frankly I don’t think a streaming service catering to that demographic will do well or is on brand. You realize Apple is and always been a liberal and progressive company, right? Because it’s founders and leaders are, thus it’s culture is. Thankfully they won’t change that for you.