Martin Scorsese persists and signs with streaming platforms. After wearing the Netflix colors at the Oscars with The Irishman - ten nominations and zero statuettes but a vigorous debate on the future of cinemas - the director of Mean Streets and his company Sikelia Productions have signed a multi-year agreement for projects movies and TV with Apple TV +.
Also: Scorsese's next film starring DiCaprio and De Niro will be produced by Apple and hit theaters
This partnership confirms the very cordial understanding between the director and Apple. The apple brand has come to the rescue of its future feature film Killers of the Flower Moon , the adaptation of David Grann's book and in which Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro will play. Apple has reached an agreement with Paramount in which the computer firm agrees to finance the film while the studio will distribute it in theaters. Apple will then have the SVOD rights to the film. The strategy, unlike that of Netflix, does not oppose a streaming platform and exploitation in dark rooms.
The historical drama, which chronicles the massacre of the Osage Indians in the 1920s, is currently in pre-production and is set to begin filming in February 2021 in Oklahoma. Paramount balked at the planned $ 185 million, knowing that Martin Scorsese is known to exceed his initial budget. According to the specialized Hollywood press, the studio disapproved of the change in role of Leonardo DiCaprio who was initially to play a "nice" FBI investigator stammering. Finally after rewriting the script, the actor will play the nephew of the Machiavellian character played by Robert de Niro
With Sikelia Productions, created in 2003, Martin Scorsese has canned the films Aviator (2004), Les Infiltrés (2006), Shutter Island (2010), Hugo Cabret (2011), Le Loup de Wall Street (2013), Silence ( 2016) and The Irishman (2019). The studio has also produced the filmmaker Broadwalk Empire and Vinyl series .
Build up a stable and a catalog
Like its rivals, Apple is increasing its prestigious partnerships to supply its catalog. Sikelia Productions joined Appian Way by Leonardo Di Caprio, Green Door Pictures by Idris Elba, Scott Free Productions by Ridley Scott or even A24, which has had successes with its films such as Midsommar and Uncut Gems . The coronavirus, which has closed cinemas, has accelerated the digital transformation of the 7th art, calling into question the sacrosanct window of theaters.
Like its direct competitors, Apple has made its market. The firm has thus acquired, from Sony, the rights to Greyhound, Tom Hanks' submarine film, and assures without giving figures that the historical drama has been a hit with audiences. In the context of the pandemic, many studios are handing over the rights to low and mid-budget films to streaming platforms rather than risking physical release. When theaters reopen, a traffic jam of titles is to be feared. Disney has decided to release its latest films directly on its Disney + site: Hamilton, Artemis Fowl and soon Mulan .