Apple Video Execs to Scope Out Movies at the Toronto International Film Festival

Apple executives in charge of the company's video efforts will be attending the Toronto International Film Festival this week to scope out potential movie acquisitions, reports Variety.

The site says that at least one of the top programming executives, which includes Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, will be at the festival to look for new content that could fill out an upcoming entertainment service.

appletiff
The Toronto International Film Festival is set to kick off on Thursday, September 6, and it will run through Sunday, September 16. This will mark the first time that Apple executives have attended the film festival, and the company will be competing with at least one other TV giant -- Amazon. Amazon executives are also going to be attending the festival to look for new movies to pick up.

342 films are set to be shown off at the Toronto International Film Festival, with a list of content available on the website for the festival.

While Apple has more than a dozen original television shows that are in the works, it has thus far established few deals for movies.

In fact, we only know about one potential movie deal with Cartoon Saloon, a company that develops animated movies like "The Secret of Kells," "The Song of the Sea," and "The Breadwinner."

Rumors have suggested that Apple is planning to launch some kind of streaming television service in the future where all of the television shows are in the works will be available, and if Apple is aiming to compete with Netflix and Amazon, exclusive movie offerings will help to fill out its content catalogue.

There has, however, been no concrete information outlining exactly how Apple is going to distribute its original content, nor details on what a potential streaming service could cost if it is in the works, but we may learn more next year as the first of the TV shows is rumored to be debuting in March 2019.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

space black mbp

Apple Potentially Facing Worst Leak Since iPhone 4 Was Left in a Bar

Monday October 7, 2024 3:03 pm PDT by
Alleged photos and videos of an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 chip continue to surface on social media, in what could be the worst product leak for Apple since an employee accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype at a bar in California in 2010. The latest video of what could be a next-generation MacBook Pro was shared on YouTube Shorts today by Russian channel Romancev768, just...
Alleged M4 MacBook Pro Leak Video

Alleged M4 MacBook Pro Unboxing Video Reveals These Four Upgrades

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:10 pm PDT by
An alleged unboxing video for an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip was uploaded to YouTube today by Russian channel Wylsacom. The video was later linked to on social media platform X by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It is possible that this is the same MacBook Pro box shown in photos that were shared by leaker ShrimpApplePro in late September, as he claimed that this MacBook Pro...
watchos 11 vitals

Apple Watch Users Report Vitals App Detecting Illness Before Symptoms Appear

Monday October 7, 2024 5:34 am PDT by
Apple's new Vitals app for watchOS 11 appears to be impressing some users with its ability to detect potential illness days before symptoms manifest, according to recent reports on Reddit. The Apple Watch app, which analyzes key health metrics measured during sleep over the last seven days, appears to be providing early warnings of impending sickness for at least some Apple Watch wearers...
iPad mini review thumb

iPad Mini 7 Coming Next Month: What to Expect

Tuesday October 8, 2024 6:16 am PDT by
Rumors strongly suggest Apple will release the seventh-generation iPad mini in November, nearly three years after the last refresh. Here's a roundup of what we're expecting from the next version of Apple's small form factor tablet, based on the latest rumors and reports. Design and Display The new iPad mini is likely to retain its compact 8.3-inch display and overall design introduced with...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Tuesday October 8, 2024 5:45 am PDT 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 simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.1 Beta 6

Monday October 7, 2024 4:27 pm PDT by
We're nearing the end of the iOS 18.1 beta testing process, but Apple is continuing to make tweaks to refine built-in features ahead of when the software launches. With testing winding down, there are fewer new additions, but Apple has made changes worth noting. The new beta is available for both developers and public beta testers. Control Center In the Control Center, Apple has added new...
M4 Real Feature Red

Gurman: Apple to Launch First M4 Macs and Potentially iPad Mini 7 on November 1

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:40 am PDT by
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

Waiting for a New Apple TV? Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

Tuesday October 8, 2024 8:57 am PDT by
The current Apple TV was released two years ago this month, so you may be wondering when the next model will be released. Below, we recap rumors about a next-generation Apple TV. In January 2023, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that a new Apple TV was planned for release in the first half of 2024:Beyond the future smart displays and new speaker, Apple is working on revamping its TV box....

Top Rated Comments

corebeliefs Avatar
80 months ago
So Apple cancels routers and monitors and other useful computing devices because it would split their attention. So they go into movies. Got it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
80 months ago
Well, that was eerie. I just walked my dog along King Street where the festival is being held and I noticed a group of men and a woman and one of them was wearing a blue Apple Park polo. I immediately thought that they might be Apple execs here for the festival. Then I came here and saw this news.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wigby Avatar
80 months ago
Let's hope they skip film festivals and just buy original content.
How does one "just buy original content"? The films at these festivals are original content looking for distributors. Yes they are already made but not by big studios.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
80 months ago
Update:

I'm almost certain that one of the people in the group of Apple executives that I saw was Zack Van Amburg, co-head of Apple worldwide video programming. Amburg came to Apple with Jamie Erlicht from Sony Pictures. Together, they're responsible for hits like Breaking Bad.



If it was indeed him, Apple is sending their A-Team to the Toronto International Film Festival. They're serious about TV. I can't wait for the Apple TV announcement.

I'm photographing the festival. Who else should I be on the lookout for? Eddie Cue? I doubt Tim Cook would be here.

Attachment Image
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DevNull0 Avatar
80 months ago
Let's hope they skip film festivals and just buy original content.
They tried that. We got carpool karaoke, planet of the apps, cult of Mac, and that awful fictionalized bio of Dre that pretended he wasn't a misogynistic woman-beater.

Apple sucks at original content.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mcfrazieriv Avatar
80 months ago
This whole Apple Production Studio thing will go down in history as a mistake. Maybe not right now when Apple is seemingly unbreakable, but someday, when they think "damn, where did all our billions go?" and Tim Cook has gone off into politics.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)