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J.J. Abrams Declined Apple's $500 Million Offer Because it Would Have Restricted Bad Robot Productions to Apple TV+

cmaier said:
He took the money. Just not from Apple. He signed for less with warner, but non-exclusive. The non-exclusive is so that he can take even more money from others. It was a monetary decision. Not a decision to put his art above money.
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There is always SOME amount of money that is worth it.
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You think it is greedy to offer someone $500 MILLION?

I wish my employer was that greedy.
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Any you know this because you were involved in brokering the deal? Apple have been pretty strict about what content they want to see and that could have been an issue for JJ. Instead of taking the easier route of taking half a billion dollars, he’s potentially earnt less and will have more creative freedom.
 
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ipponrg said:
I don't think so. I don't find AppleTV+ able to stand toe to toe with the other streaming services. They do have the most opportunity to grow though if they convince and play their cards right.



In the industry, we all recognize Apple is trying to get some attention. After all, they have some patents on streaming technologies and what not. The issue though is content creators want to be ubiquitous. We're talking not just android/ios/roku but also set top boxes, consoles, public spaces like stores/kiosks, etc. If Abrams was to deal exclusively with Apple, they would hamstrung that initiative.
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Based on what?

My "force" analysis in 5 years is based on 1.4B devices, loyal customers with money, and Apple having unlimited cash to buy and create content. Why wouldn't they be a force?
 
Why would Apple want to hire a failed production company? Look at what happen to the Star Trek franchise both TV and Movies since J.J. Abrams took control! Star Trek Discovery is a disaster; and the Star Trek movies made the least amount of money and the last one lost a lot of money! Star Wars is a total disaster in the same way as the Star Trek franchise is under Bad Robot. The 3 Star War movies together just broke even. Apple must be mad to consider Bad Robot! Two mega franchise down the drain. I do not think Apple TV+ will be successful if these are the type of people Apple pick to run the show!
 
Duane Martin said:
Thank you for making clear a fallacy many have as to who is responsible for the final look and feel of television and film; it is the producer. That is why when productions win "Best Picture" the producers accept the award. To state that someone's involvement ends because they are "just" the producer demonstrates ignorance of the process. As an example, on most small screen projects the director is gone long before the edit is completed, the producer finishes the show (with a team). This is the case with most movies as well. That's why the most talented directors will also have a producer (or executive producer) credit so they can stay involved in the final decisions. Love Abrams or hate him, he is ultimately responsible for everything as the producer.

The story is told three times: when it is written, when it is shot, and when it is edited. Producers have the final say on the edit. And if you think that the editor's hands are tied by what has been shot watch a little movie you might of heard of called "Star Wars" which was saved in the edit suite.

I am speaking from 25 years of making a living in film and television.
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I worked on Lost. I'm pretty much 100% aware of JJ's involvement. Which was nothing beyond the pilot.
 
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Baymowe335 said:
Based on what?

My "force" analysis in 5 years is based on 1.4B devices, loyal customers with money, and Apple having unlimited cash to buy and create content. Why wouldn't they be a force?
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Unfortunately, I can't comment on that.

What I will say is they may have 1.4B devices, but I wouldn't discount what other preferred devices people stream on, even their own customers. In addition, the content itself remains to be seen. The 9 shows have so far garnered very neutral reactions. I don't think Apple is intending to duke it against Netflix / others to be honest. They are so behind in this domain. I think they are trying to expand their subscription / services rhetoric.
 
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If I am a content creator I would steer away from exclusivity, specially with Apple which has a track record of heavily curating content. Apple TV+ is at its infancy, no one knows if this will have a future or not. Why would you want to lock your self into it then. For the desperate $500 million is a win but for the established its not a risk worth taking in my opinion. If Apple TV+ fails Bad Robot will become a junk robot.
 
Good for him. And us.
MacRumors said:



A new article by The Hollywood Reporter today sheds light on why director/producer J.J. Abrams declined a big deal with Apple, which would have seen his Bad Robot production company become one of the main creators for exclusive content on Apple TV+.

jjabrams.jpg

According to sources, Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath wanted to be able to sell Bad Robot's content to other outlets. Of course, Apple wanted the company to exclusively produce shows and movies that would only be made available on Apple TV+ and nowhere else. Ultimately, Abrams decided to stick with WarnerMedia, which offered far less than Apple.
Now that Bad Robot remains under WarnerMedia, the company is able to create shows like "Lisey's Story" and sell it out to other brands, including Apple. Abrams hopes to turn Bad Robot into a "consumer brand" in this way and get its content in front of as many people as possible, which would have been more difficult if it were locked behind the Apple TV+ exclusivity barrier.

Apple's exclusivity deal (valued in the $500 million range), also would have restricted Abrams' ability to work on outside projects under the Bad Robot umbrella for other studios, like his work on Star Trek for Paramount. Additionally, Bad Robot was concerned about Apple's lack of a clear theatrical distribution model, which the company as of yet has not needed to dabble in.

There are a multitude of other reasons that appear to have ultimately convinced Abrams to remain at WarnerMedia. These include Apple's lack of IP for him to adapt, his alleged disappointment in Apple's March media event where it introduced Apple TV+, and a disagreement on the exact valuation of Bad Robot.

J.J. Abrams is still producing many shows on Apple TV+, including "Little Voice," "My Glory Was I Had Such Friends," and the adaptation of the Stephen King novel "Lisey's Story."

Article Link: J.J. Abrams Declined Apple's $500 Million Offer Because it Would Have Restricted Bad Robot Productions to Apple TV+
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chfilm said:
It's a shame though, because I'm sure he had been a great match with Apple.
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The company who is completely new to the film business, doesn’t own the movie rights to any popular story and can’t bring itself to make a TV set.

Not a set-top box to someone else’s TV, your own TV. A 27” iMac doesn’t cut it anymore. You want to control my TV experience? Build me a freaking TV!
 
Good for JJ Apple wants to be the overload of all new technologies with there tight closed systems, heres to hoping Apple will eventually crash and burn with this evil empire strategy
 
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Baymowe335 said:
You’d make sick money and a lot of people would watch.

Abrams doesn’t have awesome content, honestly. I’m glad he said no.
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Wouldn’t it be even sicker if you were exposed on more platforms / devices? You’d have world penetration in all countries, not just a select 1st worlds. I think most content makers care about that a lot more than being exclusive to Apple
 
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gplusplus said:
I think it’s a poor move by Apple. By continuing to be greedy and relentlessly pushing for exclusivity, Apple missed out.

A little bit of something is much better than a whole lot of nothing.
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Nope. You got it wrong. I think it’s a great sign that Apple is going for it. And they still have a relationship with JJ Abrams—he is in the middle of producing multiple shows for them. And I’m sure that they will work together more in the future.
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lamerica80 said:
Why? Financially, perhaps, but i'm sure he has enough money for a few lifetimes. He wants his content to be accessible to as many people as possible, not just those with an apple TV. Thats a good thing.
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What are you even talking about? Abrams is already doing exclusive deals with Apple. And other networks and streamers as well. Almost every producer does.

Also, iOS has the world’s most active and profitable user base of over a billion people. If 1/10 of them watched one of his movies or shows he’d be tickled.
 
ipponrg said:
Wouldn’t it be even sicker if you were exposed on more platforms / devices? You’d have world penetration in all countries, not just a select 1st worlds. I think most content makers care about that a lot more than being exclusive to Apple
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Maybe, maybe not. You assume the other platforms will be as lucrative.
 
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