Apple TV+ production of 'Metropolis' has shut down permanently

AppleInsider

Production for the upcoming Apple TV+ "Metropolis" adaptation has been permanently shut down, with insiders citing costs and the writers' strike as the cause.

'Metropolis' production shuts down

Apple TV+ secured rights to a series adaptation of "Metropolis" in 2022 and production was set to begin in Australia soon. However, an ongoing writers' strike has created enough of an impact for Apple to back out of the project entirely.

According to Deadline, the "Metropolis" crew has been notified that production has been permanently shut down. Economic headwinds and the writers' strike were mentioned as reasons for the decision.

The show began seeing delays as soon as the strike began on May 2. Production drafts of the script, budgets, and casting hadn't finished at that point and were put on pause.

Delaying a production leads to a lot of unexpected costs. Filming was expected to begin within weeks, large sets had already been assembled, and VFX was already being planned -- which means increasing costs over time to maintain the "ready" state.

The production studio, UCP, came to the conclusion that the risk of waiting and the increasing costs were too much. The studio notified Apple TV+ that production would be permanently shut down.

Show creator Sam Esmail, known for "Mr. Robot" has been trying to get "Metropolis" made for years. The eight-episode series was set to create nearly 4,000 jobs and dump millions into the local Australian economy.

The ongoing strike has caused problems for several Apple TV+ shows currently in production. Work on "Loot" season 2 is paused along with the new season of "Severance."

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zimmie

I was really looking forward to this one, but the strike is more important, without a doubt. Oh well. We can always hope they pick it up again in a few years.

greginprague

zimmie said:

I was really looking forward to this one, but the strike is more important, without a doubt. Oh well. We can always hope they pick it up again in a few years.

Streaming services were already a thing in 2008 when they had the last writers strike and new contract. Can you please give a synopsis for those of us not in the industry with what writers think needs to change and why?

sunman42

zimmie said:

I was really looking forward to this one, but the strike is more important, without a doubt. Oh well. We can always hope they pick it up again in a few years.

I guess I must be a stick in the mud or just an old curmudgeon, but I feel that the original is such an awesome, original work of art that any reimagination would have a very steep path to being nearly as good, much less better.

Maybe Mr. Esmail can develop another original idea, like Mr. Robot, that will be as memorable as that series.

Graeme000

greginprague said:

zimmie said:

I was really looking forward to this one, but the strike is more important, without a doubt. Oh well. We can always hope they pick it up again in a few years.

Streaming services were already a thing in 2008 when they had the last writers strike and new contract. Can you please give a synopsis for those of us not in the industry with what writers think needs to change and why?

It mostly sounds like they’re not wanting to change with the times. There is a big complaint  about a lack of royalties going to writers for steaming shows (whereas writers and some other rolls get a cheque every year when reruns play). However there are so many other jobs in film/tv-making that are just as important that don’t get the royalties and never have (most of post production for one). So many other rolls also have to work on multiple projects per year rather than working on 22 episode seasons year after year. 

I do agree that without the royalties, it just means the studios and bigwigs are making more. 

bobolicious

I consider Metropolis of epic merit, although might some say best left untouched...?
I keep asking if our digital ability might ever venerate such classics as Dante's Divine Comedy or Homer's Odyssey...?
Would we need a global non-profit crowd source option for that...?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdrS7HGNvbM

zimmie

greginprague said:

zimmie said:

I was really looking forward to this one, but the strike is more important, without a doubt. Oh well. We can always hope they pick it up again in a few years.

Streaming services were already a thing in 2008 when they had the last writers strike and new contract. Can you please give a synopsis for those of us not in the industry with what writers think needs to change and why?

Ahead of the vote on whether to strike, WGA leadership shared internally a list of the demands and what the AMPTP (Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing the studios) had responded to each. Adam Conover posted the list on Twitter. Basically, the WGA's demands are about fixing flaws in the old contract which the studios have been exploiting (see: Hollywood accounting), and improving the sustainability of writing for video as a profession.

One of the really big ones is a demand that "AI" can't be used to write or rewrite, and that contractually-covered scripts can't be used to train such systems. The AMPTP rejected this one and countered with an offer for "annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology", which is just insulting.

The WGA demanded base pay increases roughly in line with inflation, the AMPTP countered with base pay increases lower than inflation (still, any increase is better than none). The WGA demanded minimum employment terms (minimum duration, minimum number of writers for shows based on episode count, etc.) and guarantees for things like rewrite pay (executive producers tend to demand a lot of free rewrites) and health insurance, which the AMPTP mostly rejected and refused to even counter.

In 2008 the studios successfully argued that streaming was new and unproven (à la Spotify), and they didn't know if they would be able to afford to pay residuals. Now that everyone sees how wildly profitable streaming media is, the WGA demanded increases in streaming residuals. The AMPTP countered with much lower increases. The WGA also demanded more information about view counts for streaming episodes and features (movies) to make sure the residuals were accurate, which the AMPTP rejected and refused to counter.

I'm 100% in favor of the writers. Studios get up to some deeply unethical nonsense to avoid paying most of the people involved in making a show.

beowulfschmidt

zimmie said:

I'm 100% in favor of the writers. Studios get up to some deeply unethical nonsense to avoid paying most of the people involved in making a show.

It seems like every big corporation has a tendency towards such abuse.  It's like they get so big and make so much money that they feel like they can't be stopped.  From what I've seen, Apple is better than most, but there are still signs.

That's why unions, despite certain problematic union management, are a good thing.  The government usually won't step in until it's borderline too late, and even when they do, the "punishment" they exact tends to be a pittance compared to what a company is pulling in in profit.  Was it Amazon that was recently fined something like 5 million dollars for some infraction?  That takes them what, about an hour to recoup?

Grind their business to a halt until they give up something worthwhile.  Screw 'em.

robin huber

Hoping that Apple settles with writers separately. 

jbdragon

robin huber said:

Hoping that Apple settles with writers separately. 

It doesn't work that way with Union strikes!

jbdragon

So we are back to another strike which will affect a bunch of current shows and upcoming content.  Basically, kill a lot of content like in the past.   Then we all end up with more Reality shows!!!  They're cheap and you don't need much in the form of writing.

cornchip

Well that’s lame

ronn

Wanda Sykes earlier this month:

"From retail workers, to app developers, to TV and film writers, we’re all fed up with Silicon Valley’s #BadApple.

@Apple it’s time to come back to the table and bring an end to the #WGAStrike."

https://twitter.com/iamwandasykes/status/1665831951213772802