Tag: Apple TV+

Posted on in News, Television News

‘Neuromancer’: Apple’s 10-Episode Series Based On William Gibson’s Seminal Cyberpunk Novel Coming From Director JD Dillard & Showrunner Graham Roland

Yesterday, it was announced by Apple that they’ll be working with Skydance Television and Anonymous Content on finally moving forward with a streaming series incarnation of the cyberpunk novel “Neuromancer” authored by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, who is considered a godfather of the sci-fi subgenre that marries noir, advanced computer technology, and dystopian elements. Sort of taking things that fellow writer Philip K. Dick was doing with his mind-bending sci-fi stories and the aesthetics of Ridley Scott’s first “Blade Runner” movie into a full-on sci-fi setting that would later influence everything from video games like “Cyberpunk 2077,” movies like “The Matrix,” and plenty of other works of fiction.

In Apple’s announcement about the series, they’ve secured director JD Dillard to helm the show’s pilot, and Graham Roland (“Jack Ryan”) is set as the show’s creator/showrunner.

Neuromancer: Gibson, William, Gaiman, Neil: 9780143111603: Books - Amazon.ca

“We’re incredibly excited to be bringing this iconic property to Apple TV+,” said creators and executive producers Roland and Dillard. “Since we became friends nearly 10 years ago, we’ve looked for something to team up on, so this collaboration marks a dream come true. ‘Neuromancer’ has inspired so much of the science fiction that’s come after it and we’re looking forward to bringing television audiences into Gibson’s definitive ‘cyberpunk’ world.”

Here is the synopsis for the show directly from Apple:

The series will follow a damaged, top-rung super-hacker named Case who is thrust into a web of digital espionage and high-stakes crime with his partner Molly, a razor-girl assassin with mirrored eyes aiming to pull a heist on a corporate dynasty with untold secrets.

Dillard is likely best known for the WWII film “Devotion” which starred Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell as U.S. pilots and had once been attached to direct a mystery “Star Wars” movie for Lucasfilm before it just vanished into thin air. This isn’t the first big sci-fi series for Apple based on an iconic string of books as their popular show “Foundation” is an adaptation of the Isaac Asimov property and also hails from Skydance Television. Gibson’s ‘The Peripheral‘ had been previously turned into a series at Amazon Prime Video with Chloe Grace Moretz and Jack Reynor starring.

Last year, there was a rumor that Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick”) was being eyed to play Case, but that has yet to be made official. At one point, director Tim Miller (“Deadpool”) had been trying to make a feature film incarnation at 20th Century Fox around the time he dropped out of making “Deadpool 2” but that never really materialized.  Based on the 1984 Gibson book, it’s part of the “Sprawl” trilogy and was followed by “Count Zero” and “Mona Lisa Overdrive.” This gives Apple plenty of source material from Gibson if they want to keep the cyberpunk series going beyond the first story.

Amazon is also working on its own high-profile cyberpunk streaming series with “Blade Runner 2099” which recently landed “Shogun” director Jonathan van Tulleken.

SOURCE: APPLE

Posted on in Television News

Tom Hardy & Zazie Beetz To Star In Apple TV+’s Serial Killer Series ‘Lazarus’

Apple TV+ has been positioning itself as the streaming service for adults and it’s reflected with the projects they’ve secured since launching back in 2019. This is only highlighted with of the their latest television series acquisition that has been announced as Lazarus that will see Øystein Karlsen write, executive produce and direct the serial killer thriller.

The news first broke at Deadline with the outlet revealing the show’s two high-profile leads will be Tom Hardy (Taboo) and Zazie Beetz (Altanta) with Hardy playing the serial killer at the center of the show that is said to be similar to Silence of The Lambs with Beetz playing a detective that goes undercover in a hospital to learn fate of her sister. Lazarus is a co-production between A+E Studios and Range Studios based on the Joona Linna book series by Lars Kepler that has been popular enough to sell 17 million copies and they’ve provided a synopsis which you can read below.

An emaciated young man is found wandering along a train track. Thirteen years earlier, he and his sister went missing, presumed victims of the notorious serial killer Jurek Walter. To find the sister, police detective Saga Bauer must go undercover in the maximum-security psychiatric hospital where Walter has been kept since his arrest years ago. 

This pairing is certainly not something we would have cooked-up but I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if their scenes together are electrifying. The two actors have comic book projects in common as Beetz is currently working on the sequel to the billion-dollar hit Joker and Hardy is leading his third Venom movie that recently promoted franchise screenwriter Kelly Marcel to director. It’s unclear when Lazarus is expected to being production as that information wasn’t mentioned.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Godzilla & The Titans’ Series Spinoff At Apple Will Be Shot By ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Cinematographer Jess Hall

Legendary and Apple have teamed up for a series spinoff of their Godzilla/Monsterverse franchise with Godzilla & The Titans. It’s been already announced that Matt Shakman will be directing and we’ve learned he’s reuniting with a familiar director of photography.

The Ronin has been able to confirm that WandaVision cinematographer Jess Hall is joining the Apple TV+ series. Some of Hall’s feature film credits include things like the live-action Ghost In The Shell movie that starred MCU alumni Scarlett Johansson and Edgar Wright’s fantastic action-comedy Hot Fuzz, part of his Cornetto trilogy.

Interestingly enough, speaking of Ghost In The Shell, that film’s director Rupert Sanders worked on Apple’s big sci-fi show Foundation which is heading into its second season.

The creative team behind Godzilla & The Titans includes Chris Black (who will also serve as showrunner) Matt Fraction, Joby Harold, and Tory Tunnell.

Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series explores one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.

Legendary’s Monsterverse is an expansive story universe of multi-layered experiences centering around humanity’s battle to survive in a world that is under siege by a catastrophic new reality — the monsters of our myths and legends are real. Beginning in 2014 with “Godzilla” and continuing with 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island,” 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” and 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong,” Monsterverse films have accumulated close to two billion dollars globally at the box office and is ever-expanding with the latest iteration being a new anime series, “Skull Island.”

On the Monsterverse’s theatrical front, Adam Wingard is directing a sequel to Godzilla vs Kong and will begin shooting sometime this year in Australia. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that the next film, expected to explore the Hollow Earth, will feature dinosaurs after being previously teased in Kong: Skull Island.

Casting on Godzilla & The Titans is the next big step.

Posted on in News

‘Metropolis’: Apple Announces Series Inspired By Fritz Lang’s Dystopian Sci-Fi Masterpiece Coming From Sam Esmail

Apple TV+ is still playing catch-up when it comes to compelling original content that gets viewership on the level of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, and other streaming platforms but has been seemingly focusing on quality over quantity. One example is their extremely popular sci-fi series Foundation based on the collection of novels from author Issac Asimov.

The streaming service is looking to adapt another sci-fi hallmark for an upcoming series, as Sam Esmail’s long-gestating television incarnation of Metropolis has finally found a home at Apple. They’ve given the project a series order with Esmail writing, producing, and will act as Metropolis’ showrunner. Apple made the announcement in a press release via Forbes.

It comes from Universal Studio Group’s UCP.

Based on Thea von Harbou’s 1925 novel, Metropolis was released in 1927 with legendary German director Fritz Lang putting together one of the most beloved pieces of cinema history. The landmark silent film helped inspire things like Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, and the Japanese anime/manga of the same name.

Metropolis presents a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the privileged youth Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) discovers the grim scene under the city, he becomes intent on helping the workers. He befriends the rebellious teacher Maria (Brigitte Helm), but this puts him at odds with his authoritative father, leading to greater conflict.

It’s unclear if Esmail will attempt to modernize the visuals by taking an original route or attempt to incorporate designs from the original 1927 film.

SOURCE: FORBES

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Argylle’: Apple Buying Matthew Vaughn’s New Spy Movie Starring Henry Cavill For $200M

A while back, Netflix made headlines when they spent an obscene amount of money to secure the global rights to Rian Johnson’s next two Knives Out sequels starring Daniel Craig. Well, it looks like Apple is jumping into the blockbuster game themselves as Deadline reports that they’ve spent $200 million to land Matthew Vaughn’s new spy project Argylle.

Argylle is based on the upcoming novel by Ellie Conway with a script from Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman, Pan).

It will star Henry Cavill (The Witcher, Man of Steel), Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2, Moon, Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards), Bryce Dallas Howard (Black Mirror, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Dominion), Bryan Cranston (Godzilla, Breaking Bad), Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone, SCTV, Schitt’s Creek, John Cena (Bumblebee, F9: The Fast Saga), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained), and singer Dua Lipa making her acting debut.

While Apple is reportedly only buying the single installment, it’s been said that Vaughn expects the movie to be expanded into a trilogy.

In theory, Argylle could give Apple their own spy franchise as their director competitor Amazon is looking to acquire Bond production partner MGM Studios and will likely attempt to expand that franchise for streaming projects beyond the feature films.

The Ronin first revealed that the title for Matthew Vaughn’s next flick would be titled Argylle (originally we thought it was a working title) along with confirmations that the film’s production team would consist of cinematographer George Richmond (Fantastic Beasts 3, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Rocketman, Eddie The Eagle), production designer Daniel Taylor (Tetris), and costume designer Stephanie Collie (Layer Cake, Silent Night, Hellboy, Peaky Blinders).

Argylle is expected to be released sometime in 2022, but it’s unknown if Apple will pursue a traditional theatrical release or keep it as simply a Apple TV+ exclusive. The latter is assumed though.

Apple is also behind the big Napoleon Bonaparte historical epic Kitbag from director Ridley Scott film with a cast to include Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix and Jodie Comer. They’re working with Martin Scorsese on his upcoming thriller Killers of The Flower Moon, which will likely give Apple a strong awards contender.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

Watch New Trailer For Apple’s Epic Sci-Fi Series ‘Foundation’; First Three Episodes Will Debut On September 24

Today, Apple has finally announced that it’s original series Foundation will debut on Apple TV+ on September 24, with three episodes out of the first season’s 10-episode run. The show is based on the epic and expansive world created by author Isaac Asimov and the adaptation was overseen by showunner by David S. Goyer (Blade, Batman Begins, Kryton).

When revolutionary Dr. Hari Seldon predicts the impending fall of the Empire, he and a band of loyal followers venture to the far reaches of the galaxy to establish The Foundation in an attempt to rebuild and preserve the future of civilization. Enraged by Hari’s claims, the ruling Cleons – a long line of emperor clones – fear their grasp on the galaxy may be weakening as they’re forced to reckon with the potential reality of losing their legacy forever.

They also released a brand new teaser trailer.

‘Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom’ Has Officially Started Filming & Cinematographer Don Burgess Confirmed

SOURCE: APPLE

Posted on in Television News

‘Dune’ Actress Rebecca Ferguson To Star In Sci-Fi Series ‘Wool’ For Apple TV+

Today, it was announced that Apple TV+ and AMC Studios are teaming on a series adaptation of the Hugh Howey sci-fi dystopian trilogy of novels that focuses on a community of survivors living underground in a ruined world, titled Wool, and they have selected British actress Rebecca Ferguson to play the lead role of Juliette with Graham Yost (Band of Brothers) writing and Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Games) directing.

Rebecca is best known for her role in the Mission: Impossible franchise and will be next seen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune remake in the role of Lady Jessica this October. Legendary is already developing a second Dune film to focus on the second half of the first novel and would allow Rebecca to reprise her part in the sci-fi epic. The studio is also working on an HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood, but there hasn’t been any word on casting for that series.

Ferguson recently shot Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible 7 during the pandemic and is assumed to return for the production of Mission: Impossible 8 later this year.

Some of the other Apple TV+ shows I’m anticipating is the Isaac Asimov adaptation Foundation alongside the WWII series Masters of The Air from producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Below is the official press release from Apple.

Apple TV+ today announced a series order for “Wool,” a world building drama series based on Hugh Howey’s New York Times bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels that will star Rebecca Ferguson (“Dune,” “Mission: Impossible” films), who will also serve as executive producer. “Wool” will be written by Emmy-nominated screenwriter Graham Yost (“Band of Brothers,” “Justified”) and directed by Academy Award nominee Morten Tyldum (“Defending Jacob,” “The Imitation Game”).

“Wool” is a set in a ruined and toxic future where a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Ferguson will star as ‘Juliette,’ an independent and hardworking engineer.

The series is executive produced by Ferguson, Yost and Tyldum, alongside author Hugh Howey. Remi Aubuchon, Nina Jack and Ingrid Escajeda will also serve as executive producers on the drama, produced by AMC Studios.

SOURCE: APPLE

Posted on in Television News

Cary Fukunaga Announces WWII Series ‘Masters of The Air’ Has Started Filming In London – Produced By Tom Hanks & Steven Spielberg

Director Cary Fukunaga is going to be following-up his James Bond movie No Time To Die with a WWII series, titled Masters of The Air, for producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks at Apple TV+. As you would expect the project is considered a sequel to previous HBO series Band of Brothers and The Pacific, except this time the series will be exploring the airmen of the war.

The filmmaker has announced on his Instagram account that they’ve completed the first week of filming in London under the working title of Whirlwind with cinematographer Adam Arkapaw. I can confirm they’ve also hired production designer Chris Seagers (Alien: Covenant, X-Men: First Class), who recently worked with Ridley Scott on the TNT/HBO Max series Raised By Wolves.

The series is based on the novel by Donald L. Miller with a cast that consists of Anthony Boyle as Major Crosby, Austin Butler as Major Gale Cleven, Raffery Law as Sgt. Ken Lemmons, Nate Mann as Major Rosie Rosenthal, Callum Turner as Major John Egan, and James Murray as Colonel Chic Harding.

Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes you on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people. Fighting at 25,000 feet in thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller’s Air Force band, which toured US air bases in England. But they had a much greater chance of dying than ground soldiers. Masters of the Air is a story of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with a vivid description of the grisly hunger marches captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.

Cary Fukunaga as mentioned before is coming-off the massive production on Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 in No Time To Die with other credits that includes True Detective, Beasts of No Nation, Maniac, Jane Eyre, and Sin Nombre.

SOURCE: CARY FUKUNAGA

Posted on in Television News

Alexander Siddig Joins Charlie Hunnam In Apple’s Gangster Series ‘Shantaram’ – From ‘Punisher’ Showrunner Steven Lightfoot

Apple is developing a series adaption of the novel Stantaram by author Gregory David Roberts, the story focuses on escaped Australian prison now living in India and getting himself embedded into the criminal underworld.

The series is being written and showrun by Steven Lightfoot, likely best known for his work on the two seasons of the Netflix series The Punisher starring Jon Bernthal as the Marvel Comics vigilante Frank Castle. British actor Charlie Hunnam is set to play the show’s protagonist, Lin, the escape convict.

A new casting report from Deadline has revealed that Star Trek and Game of Thrones alum Alexander Siddig will be playing Lin’s father figure and Bombay underworld kingpin, Khader Khan.

Shot across two continents, Shantaram tells the story of Lin (Hunnam), a man on the run from an Australian prison looking to get lost in the teeming city of Bombay. Cut off from family and friends by distance and fate, he finds a new life in the slums, bars and underworld of India.

Hunnam’s more recent acting credits include Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen and the Netflix thriller Triple Frontier.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Zac Efron, Russell Crowe & Bill Murray In Talks For Peter Farrelly’s Vietnam War Pic ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ – Eyes Production Start In August

Director Peter Farrelly is going to follow-up his Oscar-winning film Green Book with an adaptation of the novel The Greatest Beer Run Ever by Chick Donahue and J.T. Molloy.

The filmmaker is now assembling his cast as Deadline reports that actors such as Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, and Bill Murray are in talks. The first two being eyed for lead roles and Bill being wanted for a supporting role. Efron could end up playing Chick Donahue, the story’s main character that thought it was a bright idea to search a war zone for his buddies to have a couple beers.

Beer Run tells Donohue’s story of leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army — while they are fighting in Vietnam. Donohue took a good idea to the extreme, hitching a ride on a Merchant Marine ship, then carrying the beer through the jungle as he tried to track down his three friends. Dressed in shorts and Hawaiian shirts, he was mistaken for CIA, which made his effort a bit easier. Finally, when he completed his beer run, the Tet Offensive happened.

They add that filming is eyeing a start this August possibly in Australia or New Zealand.

SOURCE: DEADLINE