The proliferation of streaming services has made it so that companies like Apple need to compete aggressively. Apple TV+ has already wooed some serious talent lining up the next Martin Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon, as well as the next Joel Coen film, The Tragedy of Macbeth. Now it’s getting into the Adam McKay business, as well.
Deadline is out with a new report that Apple has secured “a multi-year, first-look deal for scripted feature films” with McKay’s Hyperobject Industries. According to this report, “the plan is for McKay and team to generate projects that range from scripted comedies to dramas, horror, documentaries, documentary series and podcasts.”
What the Apple Deal Means for McKay and Hyperobject
This doesn’t necessarily mean that McKay will only be making movies for Apple TV+. Again, it’s a first-look deal, so that just means that Apple gets first dibs on whatever movies McKay wants to make through Hyperobject Industries. As noted by Deadline, Apple already has deals like this with Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson’s Appian Way, Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures, Ridley Scott’s Scott Free, Imagine Entertainment, and Skydance Animation.
It has a similar deal with indie giant A24, as well, but as mentioned in our article about A24’s possible sale, it has already passed on some of the ideas that the studio wanted to bring to the screen. The market for non-franchise films has gotten tougher and filmmakers have to go where they can to get their projects off the ground.
Scorsese made The Irishman for Netflix before jumping ship to Apple, and McKay appears to be following a similar trajectory. Don’t Look Up is the next film on the way from him; it will hit Netflix sometime this year and is stacked with plenty of big names over and above its two co-leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
Since making his directorial debut with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, McKay has evolved from a helmer of Will Ferrell vehicles to an Oscar-winning screenwriter and filmmaker who now regularly attracts star-studded casts for his ensemble pictures. His films have grown more politically minded without losing their comedic element and The Big Short and Vice both received nominations for Best Picture.
Outside his directorial efforts, McKay continues to be a busy guy. He’s an executive producer on HBO’s Succession and also has a series about the L.A. Lakers basketball dynasty of the 1980s in development at the network. In addition, he’s teaming with Bong Joon-ho to bring Joon-ho’s Academy Award-winning film, Parasite, to the small screen with a series that will expand on the movie. He’s got a lot of other balls in the air, and you have to wonder sometimes how Hollywood’s creators and multitaskers manage to be such expert jugglers.
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