Although still veiled, the “Apple Studios” (fictitious name for the company's video content service) is a giant project by Ma to enter the streaming video and has already yielded some benefits for the company, such as Primetime Emmy Award per Carpool Karaoke.
The company's investment forecast for the development of the $ 1 billion service and, in recent days, Apple decided to spend some of that amount during the Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto International Film Festival, or TIFF), which runs from September 6th to 16th.
The festival, which brings together thousands of producers, directors, actors and actresses from around the world, takes place annually in Toronto (Canada); Apple was present at this year's event and who represented it were the heads of the future service, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg (former Sony Pictures Television executives), as disclosed by Variety.
As the name of the event already indicates, the focus of the festival is on films, something that, until now, Apple has not given so much attention to. In fact, we only know of a possible animated feature film contract in partnership with Cartoon Saloon, a company that developed films already nominated for Oscars, such as The Breadwinner, The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea.
In addition to Apple, executives at Amazon, gives Netflix It's from Hulu they are also participating in the festival in Toronto. As competition is strong in the event, Ma soon acquired some news, including the rights to show a documentary film that we will talk about below.
“The Elephant Queen”
Apple acquired global rights to “The Elephant Queen”, a feature film in the documentary format about an elephant matriarch who leads his herd in search of a new place to call home, deadline.
Athena is a mother who will do everything in her power to protect her flock when she is forced to leave her well. This picnic journey, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor, takes the audience across the African savannah and into the heart of an elephant family. A tale of love and loss coming home.
The documentary was shown last Saturday, during the TIFF, and the negotiation was supposedly led by Van Amburg and Erlicht. The documentary is directed by award-winning wildlife filmmaker Victoria Stone and director of photography Mark Deeble.
"Wolfwalkers"
In addition to “The Elephant Queen”, Apple acquired the rights to the animation "Wolfwalkers", also produced by Cartoon Saloon in partnership with Melusine Productions, as disclosed by Bloomberg. The film, directed by Tomm Moore twice nominated for an Oscar and Ross Stewart, tells the story of a young apprentice hunter named Robyn.
In a time of superstition and magic, when wolves are seen as devils, and nature is evil to be tamed, a young apprentice hunter, Robyn, goes to Ireland with her father to end the last pack of wolves. But when Robyn saves a wild native girl, Mebh, her friendship leads her to discover the world of the Wolfwalkers and go and transform her into the thing that her father is in charge of destroying.
Although recent, the contract for the screening of the film "Wolfwalkers" it was closed before TIFF, which indicates that Ma and Cartoon Saloon are actually talking about partnerships and projects. Also according to Bloomberg, there is no information on whether the films will be shown in theaters or only on the streaming from Apple.
via MacRumors: 1, 2
