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Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Catherine O’Hara Set For New Matthew Vaughn Spy Franchise ‘Argylle’
Matthew Vaughn has set an all-star cast for his next big budget action project, which will start shooting this August in Europe.
Pop star Dua Lipa will make her acting debut on the project and will provide original music for the title track and score.
The film, based on the soon to be launched spy novel Argylle from author Ellie Conway, follows “the world’s greatest spy” ‘Argylle’ as he is caught up in a globe-trotting adventure.
The movie will be the first of at least three films in the franchise and is set in America, London and multiple locations across the world.
Conway’s debut thriller is scheduled to be published in a major launch in 2022 by Transworld Publishers Ltd, a division of Penguin Random House
Kingsman director-producer Vaughn will direct from a script by Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman). Vaughn’s regular collaborators Adam Bohling and David Reid will also produce, as well as Fuchs. Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres, Claudia Vaughn and Adam Fishbach will serve as executive producers.
Matthew Vaughn commented: “When I read this early draft manuscript I felt it was the most incredible and original spy franchise since Ian Fleming’s books of the 50s. This is going to reinvent the spy genre.”
Zygi Kamasa, CEO of Marv added: “We are delighted that we will be starting our fourth, and by far the biggest, feature film production since the start of the global pandemic. It demonstrates both our desire to scale up our production activity and our ambition to continue to launch new franchises beyond the Kingsman series of films.”
Reply by Blue-Rose
on April 11, 2024 at 2:27 AM
Never judge an author by their cover. Argylle is coming to Apple TV+ in one week.
https://twitter.com/AppleFilms/status/1776257368172511323
The Matthew Vaughn-directed escapade arrives on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 12 and will be free to stream for new and existing subscribers.
The release date was announced on the Apple Original Films' X account with a cheeky pun and a picture of cast member Bryce Dallas Howard.
"Never judge an author by their cover. Argylle is coming to Apple TV+ in one week," read the caption.
Reply by Blue-Rose
on April 16, 2024 at 4:24 AM
The globetrotting adventures of a super-spy. Argylle is now streaming on @AppleTV.
And last chance to get 3 months of Apple TV+ free on your LG Smart TV. Just open the Apple TV app to redeem by 4/30/24. New subscribers only. Terms apply.
https://twitter.com/LGUS/status/1778830519683232018
No BOYZ were crushed in the making of this video.
https://twitter.com/AppleFilms/status/1779646692909789286
It's hard to beat a writer's block.
Argylle is now streaming on Apple TV+
https://twitter.com/AppleFilms/status/1778912830844031291
Argylle is now streaming on Apple TV+. enjoy your time and have fun 🔷💙
https://twitter.com/updatesofHC/status/1778738123544932452 [HC pic]
Reply by Blue-Rose
on April 18, 2024 at 3:18 AM
Collider
Reply by HCFan
on April 22, 2024 at 2:37 PM
Argylle became available on AppleTV+ on Friday April 12 and it's doing very good, as it should, since it was originally made for Atv+.
Top 10 Streaming Movies in the USA | Apr 11 — Apr 17
Reelgood Streaming Film Charts
Top 10 Overall [films (F) + shows] Streaming Charts USA | Apr 11 — Apr 17
Reelgood Overall Streaming Charts
Argylle is officially the #1 most watched movie in the US across all streaming platforms. and It is the #1 most watched movie on Apple TV+ in the world this week. #ArgylleMovie
https://twitter.com/updatesofHC/status/1781825782827843823
Reply by AnnaB
on April 22, 2024 at 8:14 PM
Good. Where’s my sequel?
Reply by Triksy
on April 22, 2024 at 11:59 PM
FlixPatrol [Reported Monday 04/15]: APPLE VIEWERS BECOME DOUBLE AGENTS. 🐈
@argyllemovie w/ @BryceDHoward failed at cinemas, but on @AppleTV stays on top w/ slightly weaker results than #Napoleon or #KillersoftheFlowermoon.
🥇 No. 1 Worldwide
🏆 Top position in 95 countries
See more: https://flixpatrol.com/title/argylle/
Reply by Blue-Rose
on April 23, 2024 at 4:00 AM
OK. Last time I hear, Atv+ is a trillion $ business. That's not a number you hear everyday. So Atv+ should green-light a proper adaptation of the Argylle book. Put that in Matthew Vaughn's contract.
Reply by AnnaB
on April 24, 2024 at 8:03 PM
Someone said that Argylle was in iTunes' Top 10, until it became available to stream on Atv+ Friday April 12. You could have bought or rented it since Tuesday March 5th,
So yeah, where's my sequel?
Reply by Triksy
on April 30, 2024 at 10:19 PM
Top 10 Streaming Movies in the USA | Apr 18 — Apr 24
Reelgood Streaming Film Charts
Top 10 Overall [films (F) + shows] Streaming Charts USA | Apr Apr 18 — Apr 24
Reelgood Overall Streaming Charts
For these charts, a week is from Thursday to Wednesday. Rebel Moon definitely caught my eyes. It was released Friday 19. Yet, just #4 and #8? Where are the ZS goonies?
Reply by Sue-Yin
on May 1, 2024 at 9:06 AM
Is the book about HC’s character or a younger version? LP is supposed to play young Argylle.
Reply by Blue-Rose
on May 7, 2024 at 3:41 AM
I forgot about that. And I haven't read the book either. So I don't know.
Reply by Blue-Rose
on June 18, 2024 at 12:50 AM
Empire
Offensive?
Reply by AnnaB
on June 23, 2024 at 7:18 PM
Well, he offended people's intelligence. lol
Reply by Triksy
on September 6, 2024 at 11:37 PM
HCS
Reply by Cashmere
on September 15, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Even Apple, which has seemingly unlimited resources, will start spending less on content. So… we won't get a... proper adaptation or any adaptation of the book.
Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are all cutting back to reduce their streaming losses. Amazon has the resources to compete with Netflix, but is still figuring out the best path to streaming sustainability. Even Apple, which has seemingly unlimited resources, is growing a little more cost-conscious. That’s our subject for this week. But first…
Five things you need to know
Apple tries to rein in Hollywood spending after years of losses
After spending more than $20 billion to produce original TV shows and movies that not a lot of people watch, Apple is starting to refine its strategy in Hollywood.
Based on interviews with more than a dozen people, including former employees, current employees and business partners, Apple services boss Eddy Cue has been having regular meetings with studio chiefs Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht to go over budgets, pushing them to exert more control over spending on projects. Van Amburg and Erlicht have told some of their top creative partners that they want to change their reputation as the biggest spender in town, according to these people.
Apple doesn’t buy the most projects in Hollywood — that is still Netflix. But it splurges on individual titles. The studio spent more than $500 million combined on movies from directors Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott and Matthew Vaughn, and upward of $250 million on the World War II miniseries Masters of the Air, one of more than a dozen new series released this year.
Those pictures were all disappointments at the box office, and only Killers of the Flower Moon registered in Nielsen’s rankings of the most-popular streaming titles. Masters of the Air delivered a smaller US audience than House of Ninjas, a Netflix show in Japanese, according to Nielsen. Even so, it’s the only new Apple show this year to appear in Nielsen’s rankings.
Apple is spending billions of dollars a year on original programming that has received strong reviews and many awards nominations. But its streaming service is attracting just 0.2% of TV viewing in the US. Apple TV+ generates less viewing in one month than Netflix does in one day.
“Subscriber growth has been weak, with the platform’s original content a fraction of what rivals offer,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Geetha Ranganathan and Kevin Near wrote in a recent note.
Apple has largely escaped scrutiny from the press and Wall Street. The company discloses no data about its spending or the financial performance of its Hollywood operation. Investors are more focused on iPhone sales.
Yet as studios and streaming services across Hollywood cut back after years of record spending and record losses, Apple is also looking to make its streaming business more sustainable. This newfound caution is turning up in plans for upcoming seasons of Severance and Foundation, two science-fiction series that Apple has commissioned.
Management is trying to pay less up front for shows and is quicker to cancel ones that aren’t working (see chart below). It’s forcing third-party studios to shoulder more of the burden when productions go over budget and is starting to license programming from competitors to reduce the service’s reliance on original series.
Apple, which has long sold other companies’ movies and TV shows in its digital store, first signaled its interest in original productions with the hiring of Van Amburg and Erlicht, two stars at Sony’s TV studio. The Hollywood veterans positioned Apple as a talent-friendly heir to HBO, a place where creators could come and make their dream projects with nearly unlimited financial resources.
Apple introduced its Apple TV+ streaming service in 2019, around the same time as Disney+ made its debut. Hollywood insiders weren’t sure what to make of Apple, one of the world’s most-valuable companies. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook hadn’t outlined a clear reason why he wanted to make TV shows or compete with Netflix, and producers worried Apple would dabble for a couple years and then disappear. They also worried Apple wouldn’t take risks in its programming. These fears have largely dissipated.
Apple declined to license older TV shows and movies for Apple TV+, which meant the service relied entirely on new shows to satisfy viewers. The studio chiefs prioritized making a handful of splashy programs rather than flooding the market. To stand out, Apple focused on big stars — names so loud that people had to pay attention. The pair signed deals with Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Aquaman star Jason Momoa.
No program epitomized this approach more than The Morning Show, which united Reese Witherspoon with Jennifer Aniston. Like all new players in Hollywood, Apple TV+ needed to shell out for a seat at the table, paying them both more than $1 million an episode in the first season.
The two stars will make more than double that for season four, which just started production. Apple is spending more than $50 million just on the cast.
Apple’s deference to talent and generous budgets have earned it the affection of the creative community, which already revered the company for its devices. The Apple studio won best picture at the Oscars in 2022 for Coda, a movie acquired at the Sundance Film Festival, capturing Hollywood’s most illustrious prize before either Netflix or Amazon.
The company’s programming has also charmed critics, who put many of the studio’s shows on their year-end lists.
But for all the star power and emphasis on quality, few Apple shows have broken through to the wider public. Over the last five years, the company has only had four series make Nielsen’s weekly list of the 10 most-popular original streaming shows. Apple TV+ released the most-watched streaming show of 2023 — Ted Lasso – but accounts for a smaller share of top 10 hits than any streaming service save for Paramount+.
Some Apple employees push back on the Nielsen figures, arguing they are inaccurate and incomplete. Nielsen only measures US viewing on certain devices. And if you exclude Netflix, Apple’s share of top shows isn’t that far behind most of its peers.
They also say that outside criticism and analysis fail to capture the metrics that matter to Apple (in part because Apple shares so little data with the outside world). Apple invests in entertainment to sell more consumer devices – not to make money in Hollywood. Entertainment services like music, TV and games generate billions of dollars in sales, but they also create a halo effect around the brand. They make you more likely to buy an iPhone.
The company considers programs like The Morning Show, Hijack and Slow Horses hits, and its streaming service just earned a record number of Emmy nominations.
Still, many of those hits have gone over budget. In 2019, Apple bought the rights to Severance, a dystopian science-fiction show that was supposed to star Ben Stiller. Though Stiller ended up backing out — replacing himself with Adam Scott — he directed six episodes and served as executive producer of the series. His previous directing credits include Zoolander and Tropic Thunder.
Production of the first season dragged on far longer than anticipated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. By the time the first season debuted in 2022, it had cost $40 million more than initially expected.
The show was an immediate hit with critics and viewers (by Apple standards). It became one of Apple’s few breakout hits and earned 14 Emmy nominations.
But producers Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman fought, as first reported by Puck News. As the show geared up for a second season, Stiller also had plans to make a movie for Amazon that was being written by Beau Willimon, the creator of House of Cards. Stiller asked Willimon to help with season two of Severance and potentially oversee season three.
Plans for the Amazon movie fell apart, leaving Stiller with extra time on his hands. Production of Severance was also delayed when striking writers and actors shut down Hollywood. Stiller decided to remain in charge of Severance (alongside Erickson). Apple ended up paying Willimon millions to contribute to a few episodes. All told, the cost of the show ballooned to more than $20 million an episode, making it one of the most expensive projects on TV.
Such stories were common when every major media company was looking for the hit show that would bring customers to a brand-new service. But the industry began to contract a couple of years ago as investors rebuffed the mounting losses in streaming. Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount have all fired staffers. Netflix stopped increasing its programming budget and even mighty Amazon scrutinized costs.
Apple hasn’t responded to the same degree, and it’s still a little unclear just how much pressure the studio is under. While Van Amburg and Erlicht make jokes about losing their jobs, Cook and Cue seem to delight in attending major Hollywood functions and the steady stream of awards nominations. The company can afford to play the long game.
But there is no question that Apple has learned from several years of investment and is now trying to bring more discipline and strategy to its Hollywood operation. It wants to end what some call the “Apple tax.” Because the company is worth more than $3 trillion, people assume it can and will spend more than anyone else.
Apple has declined to buy some of the shows that sellers say the company would have accepted just a couple years ago and, like most peers, is also ordering fewer projects straight to series.
The company has also delayed production on other shows, like the science-fiction series Foundation, to ensure the show doesn’t go over its budget. Apple had started work on the upcoming season of Foundation, but was delayed by the strikes. It then asked the producers to adjust the scripts to account for the additional costs associated with that delay.
The company is now in the middle of discussions about future seasons of Severance. Apple can’t wait to make more of the show, but management has a request for Stiller and the show’s studio, Fifth Season. They need to bring down the cost.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-07-21/apple-tries-to-rein-in-hollywood-spending-after-years-of-losses