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

Wednesday September 5, 2018 2:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover
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.


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.

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corebeliefs
18 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.
Rating: 8 Votes
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ipedro
18 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.
Rating: 7 Votes
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wigby
18 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.
Rating: 7 Votes
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ipedro
18 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.

Rating: 7 Votes
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DevNull0
18 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.
Rating: 6 Votes
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mcfrazieriv
18 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.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Winni
18 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.


Well, you have to admit, it certainly is a highly efficient way to sink a LOT of money FAST... All they have to do is to produce a bunch of flops and those billions on the bank will vaporize rather quickly.
Rating: 4 Votes
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PickUrPoison
18 months ago

I think they should rather focus on computers...

So the way forward for Apple is to go back to the 1990s? Sales of desktops/laptops have dropped from 350 million in 2012 to 250 million in 2017—and most of those are Windows boxes.

Apple would wither to irrelevance if they just focused on computers. There’s a reason Jobs dropped “Computer” from Apple’s name in 2007. After iPhone, he saw the future, and it’s not (only) computers.
Rating: 2 Votes
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robbyx
18 months ago

Apple, just buy HBO or Netflix.


I think it's a little too late to buy Netflix. They should have done that several years ago. At Netflix's current valuation, it wouldn't make any sense. Getting into TV is pretty risky for Apple. Their billion dollars could disappear quickly. Although what's a billion when you have hundreds of them in the bank?

My worry for Apple Video, however it looks and whatever it's called, is that it doesn't replace anything. It adds. I would bet most people have an Android phone OR an iPhone. They subscribe to Spotify OR Apple Music. Etc. Video, and original content, is different. Apple needs to convince people, many of whom are already paying quite a bit for existing, entrenched and established services like Netflix to open their wallets every month for yet another one.

It will be very interesting to see what the total Apple Video package looks like. The dozen or so original shows announced to date do not a service make. Will subscribers have access to iTunes TV shows and movies? There has to be more than just a few original shows.
Rating: 2 Votes
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rmoliv
18 months ago
I think they should rather focus on computers...
Rating: 2 Votes

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