Apple TV boss’ meeting with CAA is talk of Hollywood after comments about ‘F1’ leak
What constitutes a hit at Apple? It’s been a question on the minds of producers and filmmakers across the entertainment business eager to get into bed with one of the industry’s last deep-pocketed, if puzzling, buyers.
So when CAA’s high-powered motion pictures department recently hosted a meeting with Apple TV + co-head Zack Van Amburg, the question was understandably posed by the assembled agents and their assistants. Van Amburg’s response set off an only-in-Hollywood micro-drama that’s been pinballing around the industry ever since — from Jerry Bruckheimer‘s office to rival agencies and beyond, we hear.
According to several sources with knowledge of the meeting held at CAA’s Century City offices two weeks ago, Van Amburg didn’t pay sufficient homage to Apple’s formula-one drama “F1,” which apparently ticked off several CAA employees.
“F1” grossed $630 million globally, and is currently vying for a Best Picture Oscar. More saliently, the film stars Brad Pitt, was directed by Joseph Kosinski and was produced by Bruckheimer — all CAA clients.
Van Amburg apparently told the CAA gathering that while Apple was obviously pleased with “F1” and its results, the project — one of the most expensive movies ever produced with a budget somewhere between $200 to $300 million — wasn’t exactly a runaway hit right after it was released on the platform.
Van Amburg noted that Apple’s sci-fi romance film, “The Gorge,” actually performed better than “F1.” (It’s worth noting that “The Gorge” stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy are also represented by CAA, but I digress). The point Van Amburg was making — or at least trying to make, according to a source — was that Apple wasn’t solely interested in making massive nine-figure budgeted films like “F1,” and that there was a growing appetite in Cupertino for mid-sized budget films as well.
Alas, it was his comments about “F1” that resonated inside CAA, and the remarks ultimately made their way back to Bruckheimer and Kosinski. (A CAA spokesperson declined to comment.)
“Zack is a pretty straightforward and honest dude,” said a showbiz source who spoke to Van Amburg shortly after the meeting took place. “He came in and made some comments that should not have left the meeting, but they did and [the comments] got back to their clients. It’s f–ked up that people can’t keep their mouths shut.”
Another source who was present at the meeting chalked it up to a muddled message. “A couple people were chirping [about the comments],” said the source. “Zack has this elliptical way of speaking, and he didn’t say anything bad. It was just the scatteredness of trying to answer the question: ‘What do you want to do?’”
Van Amburg was apparently upset by the whole episode, according to the source who spoke with him shortly after the meeting. An Apple rep did not comment.
For its part, CAA, sensing that a top buyer was upset, dispatched motion-picture group co-head Joel Lubin and principal Richard Lovett to smooth things over with Van Amburg, according to a source.
Sources stressed that there is no bad blood over the incident, pointing out to Page Six Hollywood that Apple and CAA are collaborating on a number of top-tier projects including an “F1” sequel, which is still in development. Apple also recently shelled out a fortune, according to The Hollywood Reporter, for another Kosinski project, “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,” which is being written by Zach Baylin (also a CAA client) with Bruckheimer producing.
We hear that Van Amburg even received some gifts from CAA after the mix-up — but that the agency often sends visitors goodies après meet.
The entire drama kicked off after an agent sought clarity on what Apple was looking for. Ever since bursting on the scene eight years ago, Hollywood has been trying to decode Apple Studios’ strategy to no avail. “We like working with them. We just don’t know what their identity is, and I think they’re still trying to figure it out,” said a top agent.
Unlike Netflix and Amazon which produce exponentially more content to appeal to a broad range of subscribers, Apple is largely viewed as a prestige play. (It made history in 2022 as the first streamer to win an Oscar for Best Picture with “CODA.”) And while none of the major streaming platforms are known for transparency, Apple is considered the most opaque when it comes to sharing viewership data.
Furthermore, Apple has kept its distance from the industry. (It’s not a member of the MPA, and doesn’t present at the annual exhibitor showcase, CinemaCon—though it does send its reps there.) There’s also a corporate culture of secrecy and fiercely protecting its image: At Apple’s first ever Press Day which was held at Santa Monica Barker Hangar this month, press were barred from recording panels, and audience questions were accepted only via QR code.
Van Amburg and his partner Jamie Erlicht both came out of Sony Pictures Television, and have found success with prestige streaming series, like “The Morning Show,” “Severance,” “Ted Lasso,” “The Studio” and, most recently, “Pluribus.”
Where they’ve struggled is feature films. As my colleague Tatiana Siegel previously reported, Apple had the reputation of spending recklessly — at least $700 million to make, and market, just three films in “Killers,” Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” and Matthew Vaughn’s “Argylle” — with not enough to show for it.
In 2021, Erhlich and Van Amburg hired Jessie Henderson from HBO Max, but Henderson abruptly left after just a few years later to run Ryan Gosling’s production company. Her role hasn’t been filled.
“Like a lot of places there’s less delegating to executives going on over there,” said a manager. “If you don’t go through Zack or Jamie you can’t get anything done.”
At the very least, the CAA-Van Amburg meeting can be the basis for a great episode of its Seth Rogen show, “The Studio.”
