Apple tapped as contender for J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot studio
Apple appears to be one of the companies vying to pick up Bad Robot, the production studio founded by Star Trek, Star Wars, and Lost director J.J. Abrams.
Apple is facing competition from the likes of Disney, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros., Deadline said this week, citing several sources. Bad Robot is said to be avoiding its own term sheet, instead leaving potential dealmakers to come up with their own quotes.
Currently Bad Robot is under the wing of Paramount, which is reportedly paying an "eight-figure" overhead for the privilege. Abrams isn't under an exclusive directing agreement though, and in fact has spent much of the past five years directing two "Star Wars" films for Disney. Paramount is allegedly upset with this, in part because he could have improved the performance of movies like "Overlord" and "The Cloverfield Paradox," and he even chose to direct "Star Wars: Episode IX" after agreeing to direct a Paramount movie in exchange for a Bad Robot extension.
Disney is rumored to be the leading contender for the studio, in part because Abrams may have a close relationship with CEO Bob Iger, and Disney's upcoming streaming service could allow Bad Robot to pump out as many movies and shows as it wants. It also of course has theme parks, merchandise, and other moneymakers.
The studio does have some connections with Apple, since the two are working on a movie, "Little Voices," and "My Glory Was I Had Such Friends," a TV series with Jennifer Garner. Both of those should premiere on Apple's unnamed streaming service, coming sometime this year.
Apple is facing competition from the likes of Disney, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros., Deadline said this week, citing several sources. Bad Robot is said to be avoiding its own term sheet, instead leaving potential dealmakers to come up with their own quotes.
Currently Bad Robot is under the wing of Paramount, which is reportedly paying an "eight-figure" overhead for the privilege. Abrams isn't under an exclusive directing agreement though, and in fact has spent much of the past five years directing two "Star Wars" films for Disney. Paramount is allegedly upset with this, in part because he could have improved the performance of movies like "Overlord" and "The Cloverfield Paradox," and he even chose to direct "Star Wars: Episode IX" after agreeing to direct a Paramount movie in exchange for a Bad Robot extension.
Disney is rumored to be the leading contender for the studio, in part because Abrams may have a close relationship with CEO Bob Iger, and Disney's upcoming streaming service could allow Bad Robot to pump out as many movies and shows as it wants. It also of course has theme parks, merchandise, and other moneymakers.
The studio does have some connections with Apple, since the two are working on a movie, "Little Voices," and "My Glory Was I Had Such Friends," a TV series with Jennifer Garner. Both of those should premiere on Apple's unnamed streaming service, coming sometime this year.
Comments
Prior to Netflix and Amazon producing some big hits, I think a lot of people, including myself, would have said that producing content is out of their (Netflix and a Amazon) wheelhouse and better left to others. And it is tempting to say that about Apple. Thing is, there is now a deluge of content out there...and so many draws for our attention that even ‘good’ content (you be the judge) is getting missed. Unless Apple pulls out some magic and produces a mega hit (or multiple hits) there is a danger that this will fizzle like their social media efforts and other offshoots of the core Apple biz. Time will tell - I’m not going to expect anything of this for several years, as I noted above. If they have a chance at success here, I think it’s in the long play.
I am just managing my mischief
That said, smart people often get it wrong, even Apple.
Well said. And we know that Apple isn't immune to institutional inertia. They've done it before. Anyone remember the 90s? I think so many Apple fans have become so lazy when it comes to their own opinions about Apple. They've become incapable of objectively critiquing anything Apple does due to Apple's past decade of success. Any criticism is automatically dismissed because Apple never makes mistakes and disrupts every industry they touch in these people's minds. Of course these people's memories are also very short. It wasn't always that way and it's foolish to assume that just because Apple (or any company) has had a successful run, that that run will go on forever.
I'll also add that I don't think Apple has been very smart at all when it comes to video. They should - and could - have entered the content arena much sooner, but Eddie Cue is perhaps the least visionary executive they have. He's been asleep at the wheel while Netflix built a global brand. Unlike user experience and customer service, original content doesn't give them much room to distinguish themselves. It's either good or bad and the (often fickle) public will respond accordingly.
Nintendo!? They’d be much better off buying Sony. Huge content library, music, movies and TV shows, huge gaming presence, a huge move into consumer electronics, plus fairly advanced R&D and manufacturing abilities.
Apple could have a 2nd outlet for their platforms and services. Sony computers with macOS. TV’s with tvOS, mobile phones with iOS, etc.
"PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in."
or
etc.
*cough* Two decades.
Two decades which have seen monumental growth. The best portable music player. The best phone. The best tablet. The best smart watch. The best mobile silicon. Apple Pay, Apple Music, and other services growing rapidly. Stable Mac sales in a contracting PC market. I'd say that's a pretty good track record. They don't need to completely own the original content field — just do it well in order to bolster their services and ecosystem lock-in.
Sorry, but I'm gonna bet on Apple over the FUD peddlers.
Agree with most of your post.
The only thing is that I do not believe that there is a danger of this fizzling out like Ping or Connect. Those were just freebees appended to the music service.
Unlike those, Apple is actually investing money into Video content, so they will treat it like a premiere service.
Apple should have bought a home appliance company long ago to kickstart Homekit which should be renamed simply "Home".
Why do FUD peddlers always "remember the 90s"? A time when Apple had different people running the show. I don't think anyone from the 90s even works at Apple anymore.
And you’d be wrong. Eddy Cue has been there since ‘89, Jony Ive has been there since ‘92, Phil Schiller worked there in ‘87, left and came back later when Jobs returned. Several other senior leaders were there since ‘97/98 like Dan Riccio, Tim Cook, Bob Mansfield, etc but assumig you mean prior to Jobs’ return.