Apple Plans TV Adaptation of Gregory David Roberts' Novel 'Shantaram'

shantaramFollowing yesterday's news that Apple is partnering with producer J.J. Abrams on a show called "Little Voices," Variety today reports that Apple has now landed the TV adaptation rights to Gregory David Roberts' 2003 novel "Shantaram."

Multiple parties were said to be interested in purchasing the rights to adapt the novel as a dramatic series, leading to Apple's win in a "competitive situation."

Shantaram is a fictional novel based somewhat on Roberts' real life, and focuses on a character named Lin, a convict who flees an Australian prison and disappears into the city of Bombay.

Once in India, Lin's journey takes him through a hidden society of soldiers, gangsters, and criminals, all while figures from his life in prison hunt him down.

Previous plans for Shantaram had Joel Edgerton in the starring role of a feature film, but plans have now shifted into a television series. The show will be produced by Paramount Television and Anonymous Content, which also own the rights to the sequel novel called "The Mountain Shadow."

"American Hustle" screenwriter Eric Warren Singer will serve as the showrunner and executive producer of the new Apple series. Singer also worked on "The International", "Only the Brave", and wrote the script for the upcoming sequel "Top Gun: Maverick."

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...

Top Rated Comments

citysnaps Avatar
98 months ago
T. Cook once again focusing on anything but innovation.
Apple will spend $14B on R&D in fiscal 2018. Has Mr. Cook revealed to you how that's being allocated within Apple, leading to your conclusion about innovation?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
98 months ago
R&D Spending Last fiscal year is below. Apple's R&D investment significantly lags the leaders Amazon & Alphabet. They are behind in key areas relative to other tech companies, and chose to buy back $100 Billion in stock with the recent tax windfall. The buy back is especially worrisome.

In Billions:
16.1 - Amazon
13.9 - Alphabet
12.7 - Intel
12.3 - MSFT
10.0 - Apple
What is included in those numbers? Do they all classify R&D spending the same way?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
98 months ago
In 2017, Amazon spent more on r&d than Apple. What do you think about that?
"Amazon spent more on r&d than Apple."

Yeah. So?


"What do you think about that?"

I dunno... two different companies with different needs, and different priorities with respect to profits, etc.

I don't, but perhaps you have inside insight/knowledge about the two very different companies that for the most part provide very different products and services, leading you to draw some conclusions.

Do you feel Apple is not spending enough on R&D? If so why? Be specific. I hope your answer is not simply, "Amazon spends more!"
[doublepost=1528402324][/doublepost]
R&D Spending Last fiscal year is below. Apple's R&D investment significantly lags the leaders Amazon & Alphabet. They are behind in key areas relative to other tech companies, and chose to buy back $100 Billion in stock with the recent tax windfall. The buy back is especially worrisome.

In Billions:
16.1 - Amazon
13.9 - Alphabet
12.7 - Intel
12.3 - MSFT
10.0 - Apple
Apple will spend $14B on R&D in fiscal 2018. How does that compare with Amazon? You may not be aware Apple and Amazon are two very different companies with different products/services and objectives.

How much should Apple spend on R&D? Be very specific on the amount and reasons why, and how those R&D dollars should be allocated among Apple's different internal research efforts.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
98 months ago
T. Cook once again focusing on anything but innovation.
Because Apple and all it’s employees can only do one thing at a time? I suppose diversification is a foreign concept, as well as recurring revenue.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macrooster Avatar
98 months ago
T. Cook once again focusing on anything but innovation.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alex00100 Avatar
98 months ago
Actually sounds interesting. The only show on their list I'm cautiously excited about.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)