According to a new report from Deadline, Apple has halted its plans to produce an Elvis Presley biopic series in conjunction with The Weinstein Company. The move on Apple’s part comes following a bombshell report detailing years of sexual harassment on the part of Harvey Weinstein…
The report explains that the Elvis biopic series was in “very early stages” and that the deal was reached by Apple Music earlier this year, predating Apple’s worldwide video division led by two former Sony TV executives.
The deal between Apple and The Weinstein Company was for the Elvis series, but there was intention for it to grow into an “anthology franchise” covering the likes of Prince and Michael Jackson in subsequent releases. Now that Apple has dropped out, The Weinstein Company is shopping the idea to another network that was an initial bidder.
The Weinstein Company reached a deal with the Elvis Presley estate back in 2016 to create an eight to ten part documentary series. The company had rights to use all Elvis music and to shoot in his Graceland house and other property. Harvey Weinstein himself was slated to act as an executive producer alongside Priscilla Presley, Jerry Schilling, and TWC’s David Glasser.
Apple has been ramping up its original content efforts, focusing on both content that supplements Apple Music – like the Elvis series – as well as other creative products. The company hired Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, two former Sony Pictures executives, to head a new worldwide video operations division.
Other video projects being considered by Apple include taking over the James Bond franchise, a TV drama with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, a Game of Thrones-style drama, and more.
Apple hasn’t commented on Deadline’s report and it seems unlikely that it will. Last week, a report from The New York Times detailed decades of sexual harassment on the part of Harvey Weinstein. That report can be found here.
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