Deadline and “The Dish”

27 JULY 2022 - A couple of interesting Deadline stories tied to Apple Originals. They come with a bit of a caveat though. The stories, about two of Apple’s biggest and most anticipated films, are part of a new Deadline column called “The Dish.” The column is meant to let Deadline journalists “plant their flag in deals, hires and firings and industry developments before they’re fully baked.” Makes it sound shakier than “secret sources say,” but… away we go.

Apple’s “Flower Moon” May Not Rise Until 2023

We may have several seasons to wait before Killers of the Flower Moon is out. The Deadline column says the Martin Scorsese-directed film starring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio may be held until 2023. Nothing negative. The powers that be are simply looking for the splashiest road to an Oscar, rather than the fastest. The film-watching world had expected a late 2022 release, targeting the 2023 Academy Awards. Now, folks behind the film are said to be considering a premier at Cannes 2023. That would be followed by a traditional theatrical release on many-many screens before finally settling into streaming. True of False? Time will tell.

Troubled Apple Original “Emancipation" May Make Next Oscar Season

And finally today, signs of life for one of Apple’s most troubling titles. The same Deadline/Dish piece says the Antoine Fuqua-directed film Emancipation may see a premier this year.

Set in the mid-1800s and based on an actual person, Emancipation tells the story of Peter, “an enslaved man” who escapes to the North, then joins the Union Army. Dramatic as that story is, it was photographs of Peter’s back - scarred  from “a near fatal beating” - that made him famous, and gave the world what Deadline calls “a gruesome testament to the barbarity and cruelty of slavery in the antebellum South.”

The film is said to be Fuqua’s bets since 2001s Training Day. It stars Will Smith - and there’s the trouble. He’s kind of Hollywood kryptonite since walking up on stage and punching Chris Rock at this year’s Oscars. But, Deadline says, the film is done, “sources said it has been tested numerous times and gotten very high scores.” It could still be out in time for next year’s Oscars, according to people said to know people said to know something about something.

Apple offered Deadline no comment on either story.