Yesterday afternoon, the Wall Street Journal’s Tripp Mickle and Erin Schwartzel reported that Apple would be teaming up with A24 to produce “independent” features for the tech giant. Tweeted by WAPO entertainment writer Steven Zeitchik: “A24-Apple is about as smart as entertainment partnerships get. Apple just found a fast-track into the prestige-film game, and A24 has another financial backstop in case its hedge-fund backers go cold. Something for everybody.”
Variety is reporting that the A24/Apple deal is a multi-year agreement to produce a slate of films for the tech giant.
A24 is at the forefront of the indie cinema movement having produced some of the great independent visions of the last few years ("Moonlight," "The Lobster," Lady Bird," "Eighth Grade," A Ghost Story," "Hereditary").
The entertainment heads over at Apple know exactly what they are doing. They are knowledgeable enough to know that not only does the production company they are partnering with have good taste in movies, but they are also at the very forefront of what many consider to be the "cool cats" of the industry. A24's reputation is that of well-curated, risky cinema that rarely stumbles with critics or at the specialty box-office.
For months, people close to CEO David Ellison had hinted that he would leave if state AGs didn't drop their antitrust suit against the $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger.