Hollywood Reporter:

Kang-Lowe, who will bring Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron with her as a client, has set up an exclusive deal with Apple TV+.

Cuaron is best known as the writer of Roma, Gravity, and Children of Men. Gal Gadot has already signed a deal with Apple TV+ to exec produce and star in “Hedy Lamarr”.

Her client roster reads like a who’s who of Hollywood, with producers, writers, directors and talent including Riz Ahmed, Simon Beaufoy, Damien Chazelle, Deborah Chow, Ryan Coogler, Guillermo del Toro, Gillian Flynn, Gal Gadot, Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan, Lena Waithe, and Steven Zaillian.

Big get for Apple.

Apple:

Hailed as “the most beautiful woman in the world,” Hedy Lamarr was first exalted and iconized, then destroyed and eventually forgotten by American audiences, all the while keeping her brilliant mind active through a series of inventions, one of which became the basis for the spread spectrum technology we use today.

I am incredibly excited about this project. Hedy Lamarr was an inspiration for me, breaking through barriers in pursuit of a technical dream.

From Hedy’s Wikipedia page:

At the beginning of World War II, Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes, intended to use frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. She also helped improve aviation designs for Howard Hughes while they dated during the war.[9] Although the US Navy did not adopt Lamarr and Antheil’s invention until 1957, various spread-spectrum techniques are incorporated into Bluetooth technology and are similar to methods used in legacy versions of Wi-Fi. Recognition of the value of their work resulted in the pair being posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.

Lamarr was completely self-taught. She had an intuitive intellect, followed it constantly. The world was not kind to Hedy Lamarr, an unappreciated genius. Looking forward to this series.

Variety:

Francesca Gregorini, the writer and director of “The Truth About Emanuel,” filed the suit in January, accusing Shyamalan of lifting her story and “bastardizing” it through a male gaze.

Both works are about a grieving mother who cares for a doll as if it were a real child, and her relationship with a female baby-sitter.

But Walter ruled that sharing a premise is not a violation of copyright law.

This one was thrown out on lack of merit, with the judge saying, “Beyond this unprotectable shared premise, the works’ storylines diverge drastically and quickly.”

Mikey Campbell, Apple Insider:

Hours after HBO launched its long-awaited HBO Max app on iOS, Apple TV and other platforms on Wednesday, the AT&T-owned company has pulled streaming integration with Apple TV Channels.

One of the first major cable networks to sign on to Apple TV Channels, HBO is no longer available to new users accessing Apple’s collaborative streaming hub.

HBO Max is a confusing beast. It sits alongside HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now. Such confusing branding. And when HBO Max arrived on Apple TV, it seemed to replace HBO Go in the collection. But without explicitly doing so.

Which makes me wonder if it’s possible that HBO Max will eventually fully integrate with Apple TV+, as the branding confusion gets sorted.

Deadline:

Deadline hears that the tug of war over one of the highest profile films in Hollywood is about over. Apple will win the derby for the Martin Scorsese-directed film Killers Of The Flower Moon, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in the lead roles. The deals are being papered — Paramount still has to sign off — but I’m told when they are, it will be an Apple original film, and Paramount will distribute theatrically worldwide.

OK, a grain of salt there, “Deadline hears” that this is true. But Deadline has a reasonable track record and I do want Apple to have an original Scorsese movie!

The deal, which calls for Apple to finance and become the creative studio, gives the movie a hybrid situation and the best of both worlds. The film will get a wide theatrical release through Paramount before it becomes the biggest film title so far on Apple’s streaming service.

Apple TV+ is evolving, their deals adjusting to the marketplace. This is a high-profile project and might be a path to high profile awards that will lend Apple TV+ movie creds. Grain of salt for all of this.

Apple:

Following the overwhelming global fandom around the recent debut of the Apple TV+ shorts “Fraggle Rock: Rock On!,” Apple today announced a new partnership with The Jim Henson Company to reboot the beloved classic series “Fraggle Rock.”

And:

The new “Fraggle Rock” series will be reimagined as a global Apple Original series for new generations of fans to enjoy together on Apple TV+. Produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with New Regency, the series will reunite the original stars – Gobo, Red, Boober, Mokey, Wembley and Uncle Travelling Matt – for new songs and adventures, with the same spirit as the classic.

And these nuggets from Vulture:

As part of the agreement, Apple has also acquired exclusive streaming rights to all 96 episodes of the original 1983–87 live-action HBO series (and some specials) and will make them available to subscribers in 100 countries on Wednesday, May 27.

And:

According to a source familiar with Apple’s thinking, the company remains uninterested in using Apple TV+ as a repository for old shows and movies from other suppliers, the way Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu have done for years. That’s because, per the source, with big studios such as Warner Bros., Disney, and Universal looking to keep their best and biggest titles for their own streaming platforms, there simply aren’t enough great titles around to make a library strategy work.

Some excellent insight there.

From Variety:

The following is a compliment: While watching the new “Mythic Quest” quarantine special, I forgot several times that it is, essentially, a very effective commercial for Apple products.

And:

With video technology already layered into the show, “Mythic Quest” was simply better equipped for a virtual special than most shows ever could be. And from a character standpoint, the show’s collection of nerds work together at an increasingly powerful video game company and already spend their days making cyber connections more tolerable or even more interesting. That is, after all, their literal job.

Some spoilers in the review, so I’d encourage you to watch the episode if you’ve not yet seen it. But the review captures what this episode did so well and, in my mind, shows the evolution of the work-at-home entertainment that we’ll surely see more of over time.

The second review is this one from Mashable, which folds in quotes from an interview they did with star and co-creator Rob McElhenney.

If you are into the show, or interested in the business of Apple TV+, both reviews are worth reading. And both show, to me, how much of a home run this series is for Apple.