One of the most bankable and likable stars in Hollywood has seen his reputation shattered in the time it took Will Smith to rise out of his seat at the Academy Awards and slap Chris Rock in the face. Everyone knows the story now and since film and television aren’t part of our beat, there is no sense in taking a deep dive and analyzing the whole affair. However, Apple is on our beat and there is part of this story that has an impact on the tech titan.
Apple TV+ and six other companies including Netflix have been bidding for the rights to a film version of Smith’s biography; the best-seller was published in 2021. A source said “Apple TV+ and Netflix have pulled out of the bidding for the project and are now planning to use the funds to develop original ideas pitched by new black actors. The source added that “Working with Will has become a risky business. They (including Apple) now plan on developing ideas with more family-friendly stars like Mike Epps and Michael B. Jordan.”
Think about how strange this all sounds. We should point out that Smith was scheduled to star in a new original film for Apple TV+ called “Emancipation.” Production had been halted on the set because of Covid and it isn’t clear what the film’s status is at this time.
After the slap, the awards show continued and Smith won the Best Actor Oscar for his part in “King Richard,” a film about Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. In winning that award, he beat out Denzel Washington who was nominated for starring as Macbeth in the Apple TV+ movie “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
The slap heard around the world is going to hurt Will Smith as companies like Apple drop him like a bad habit. Apple has enough bad press thanks to its App Store policies without having to carry Smith’s baggage too.
Eventually, the American people will forget, and Smith’s name will grace the “A” list once again. But right now, you can’t blame Apple for taking a hard pass on streaming a Will Smith Biopic. Speaking of streaming, Apple did become part of motion picture history on Oscar night as Apple TV+ became the first streaming service to take home a Best Picture Oscar as CODA took the victory in that category.
Winning “Best Picture” has helped Apple TV+ subscriptions soar 25% in the aftermath of the televised awards show. At the same time, the number of Apple TV+ subscribers viewing CODA soared 300% week-over-week. The film was also the first with a mostly all-deaf cast to pick up the hardware for “Best Picture” at the event. Apple has never released subscription numbers for Apple TV+, but by one estimate it is believed to have 40 million accounts with 20 million paying customers.
Apple secured the rights to the movie by paying a Sundance Film Festival record of $25 million. While it would seem that Apple made a smart investment in purchasing the movie rights, it isn’t clear whether many new subscribers were taking advantage of the seven-day free trial of the service that Apple offers just so they could view CODA and see what all of the excitement was about.
Apple also gives away three free months of Apple TV+ to consumers who purchase an iPhone or other Apple products. Apple will have to see whether these subscribers stick around before it can make a final statement about its investment in CODA. With the huge jump in subscriptions thanks to CODA’s Best Picture victory, it does seem that the world famous “slap” didn’t completely grab all of the attention away from the actual winners during the 94th Academy Awards.”
