Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Nixes Elvis Presley Biopic Series From The Weinstein Company Amid Scandal

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
66,354
35,415



elvisimage.jpg
Apple has opted not to move forward with an Elvis Presley biopic series produced by The Weinstein Company following a sexual harassment scandal involving founder Harvey Weinstein, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

The Apple Music project with The Weinstein Company was in the early stages of production, and would have seen Apple airing a 10-part Elvis biopic. It was reportedly one of four music-related projects that Apple had in the works with The Weinstein Company, with the others set to feature Michael Jackson, Prince, and Frank Sinatra.

Apple first established the deal with The Weinstein Company ahead of the June hiring of Sony executives Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, and the Elvis biopic was the only one of the four projects that was nearing development.

The Elvis series was first announced in September of 2016, but at that time, Apple's involvement was not known. It was developed alongside the Presley estate, with the estate offering access to the entire Elvis Presley music catalog, cars, clothing, and Elvis' Graceland home.

Apple's decision to end the project comes following a Thursday report from The New York Times that detailed the decades-long sexual harassment history of founder Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company over the weekend, and sources have told The Hollywood Reporter that the company will change its name shortly.

(Image via Elvis.com)

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Nixes Elvis Presley Biopic Series From The Weinstein Company Amid Scandal
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/10/09/apple-nixes-elvis-presley-biopic/
Apple finally doing the right thing. Dr. Dre's scandal happened decades ago and he's since apologized to everyone including the women he hurt. HW's scandal is recent and he's not remorseful at all.
 
Apple has absolutely no idea about entertainment. It’s pretty obvious that Apple will only offer extremely boring, terrible ‘artsy’ movies/tv shows. Wrong move. Artsy is the exact opposite of how you make money doing movies/tv and it’s the exact opposite of what they are designed to be: entertaining.
 
  • Like
Reactions: augustrushrox
I understand why Apple is doing this but Harvey is no longer even working at The Weinstein Company anymore, so I'm not sure why Apple doesn't just continue with their original plans? o_O
 
  • Like
Reactions: shamino
IJ Reilly said:
Assume you meant Michael Jackson, Prince, and Frank Sinatra.
Click to expand...
OK I’d love to know more about this Prince biopic. I wonder who Weinstein is working with and what material they had/have access to. Hmm...

EDIT: ah it looks like the others were only ideas not actively being worked on.

I hear the deal, which now has been terminated, was for an biopic series, but there was an idea to grow that into an anthology franchise with Prince and Michael Jackson eyed as subjects in subsequent installments.
Click to expand...
 
rafark said:
I'm in no way defending the accused, but ditching him from his own company and changing its name is downright stealing.
Click to expand...

Not at all - he's still going to get rich from it. He's never going to see a jail cell, and the settlements he has and will pay are not nearly enough consequence; this is all just an early forced retirement for him.

I only wish we could find a way to make these people (him, Cosby, O'Reilly, and the rest of their kind) suffer more. Pressuring young women for sex is not a part of professional conduct. Of course they don't have the tiniest clue or concern about what that feels like for the victim; they just get off on the power trip. The appeal is precisely that they are so powerful that they can pressure people to perform intimate acts against their will. We all know what that's called.
 
jdillings said:
Very hypocritical of Apple considering they employ Dr. Dre and are making a TV show about his life ("Vital Signs") and he has physically assaulted numerous women and been convicted of it in a court of law.
Click to expand...

Didn’t Dre fess up to his past?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oblivious.Robot, CarpalMac, 5105973 and 2 others
springsup said:
Not at all - he's still going to get rich from it. He's never going to see a jail cell, and the settlements he has and will pay are not nearly enough consequence; this is all just an early forced retirement for him.

I only wish we could find a way to make these people (him, Cosby, O'Reilly, and the rest of their kind) suffer more. Pressuring young women for sex is not a part of professional conduct. Of course they don't have the tiniest clue or concern about what that feels like for the victim; they just get off on the power trip. The appeal is precisely that they are so powerful that they can pressure people to perform intimate acts against their will. We all know what that's called.
Click to expand...

I agree with pretty much everything you said and those type of actions should be punished by the state with no exceptions.

However I just don't think is the right thing to trash the founder and move on like nothing happened, after all the company exists because of him. If they wanted to get rid of him why not close the whole company instead and start a new one from scratch? What they are doing while legally acceptable, Is morally a steal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ilovemykid3302012
rafark said:
I agree with pretty much everything you said and those type of actions should be punished by the state with no exceptions.

However I just don't think is the right thing to trash the founder and move on like nothing happened, after all the company exists because of him. If they wanted to get rid of him why not close the whole company instead and start a new one from scratch? What they are doing while legally acceptable, Is morally a steal.
Click to expand...


So, the Board should destroy the company and fire all the employees because of the actions of one man? That is very mean-spirited.
 
  • Like
Reactions: shamino, ILikeAllOS and raybo
rafark said:
I'm in no way defending the accused, but ditching him from his own company and changing its name is downright stealing.
Click to expand...

You don't know how businesses work.

He and his brother only owned 42%, which doesn't give them control of the company. The board of directors could fired him at any time and did.
[doublepost=1507596346][/doublepost]
ILikeAllOS said:
I understand why Apple is doing this but Harvey is no longer even working at The Weinstein Company anymore, so I'm not sure why Apple doesn't just continue with their original plans? o_O
Click to expand...

His name may still be credited on it if it was from before the firing which would mean he would get royalties.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973
Sad they only do it when Weinstein is officially fired from Weinstein Co i.e. No financial repercussions at this point.

They weren't interested in doing it prior even though Weinstein was forced to issue a half arsed insincere apology for these substantiated "allegations"

Hmm

Better late than never of course, but cowardly "courage" at this point IMO
 
  • Like
Reactions: shamino
In other news, Apple continues to sell Powder and Jeepers Creepers 1 and 2 on their iTunes Store, directed by convicted child rapist Victor Salva, proving that you can **** a 12 year old boy in the ass, film it, and still have your movies sold by Apple (after serving a whopping 15 months in prison of course).

Total hypocrites.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: old mac
budselectjr said:
Should do a documentary on house plants instead
Click to expand...
Haha..... Newsflash for Apple: nothing like a little scandal to up the ratings.

But in earnest, if Harvey is gone, why should Tim even care? No one is going to hold the newly named company responsible for the actions of a major shareholder who happened to be the founder and a former executive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: shamino
Do the biopics with a different name. Obviously, Prince and MJ have me sold, but Sinatra was incredibly interesting. Mob ties, agnostic (when it could ruin you), Sammy Davis.... I’m not sure if Sinatra was a civil rights activist, but he fiercely defended Sammy Davis.

If Weinstein was scum f him, but I appreciate art.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back