Two of the greatest and most well-known movie directors of the past 50 years are teaming up on a new series. Here's what Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are up to and how it could help a streaming company.
What Happened: Scorsese and Spielberg are uniting to serve as executive producers on a "Cape Fear" series. The series, which is based on 1962 and 1991 films will stream on AppleTV+, a unit of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).
It is unknown if Scorsese or Spielberg will direct or write the series, or both will simply serve as producers on the project. The news was reported by Variety.
Starring Nick Nolte and Robert De Niro, the 1991 film grossed $79.1 million domestically and $182.3 million worldwide. The film centers on a lawyer who is stalked by a former client who is released from prison. Scorsese was the director of the film.
The 1962 film starred Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum.
The new series isn't the only item in the works for Scorsese or Spielberg.
Scorsese plans on shooting back-to-back films according to Variety. One would be about Jesus and the other about musician Frank Sinatra.
The Jesus film is based on the 1973 book "Life of Jesus" and Scorsese is considering independently financing it.
The Sinatra film is eying Leonardo DiCaprio as the singer and Jennifer Lawrence to play the singer's second wife, Ava Gardner. This film is drawing attention from several companies including Apple, but Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY) is believed to be in the lead.
Spielberg is also working on a UFO film and on a series based on Napoleon Bonaparte. The series, which sources material from an unfinished film of Stanley Kubrick, will air on Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)-owned HBO.
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Why It's Important: Even as producers of the new series and no involvement beyond that, the inclusion of Scorsese and Spielberg could help AppleTV+ have a new hit series that will get a lot of attention.
Given the previous source material and the names attached, it could be one of the most highly anticipated series for Apple as it nears.
Apple spent around $1 billion on three blockbuster movies in 2023, with one being the Scorsese picture "Killers of the Flower Moon."
The film drew critical praise and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, but was ultimately shut out. The film also grossed $67.9 million domestically and $156.9 million worldwide.
Apple has worked with Spielberg in the past as the film legend is a producer alongside Tom Hanks on "Masters of the Air."
While it has a smaller content library, Apple's willingness to spend and grab big names along with key sports rights could make its streaming platform a must-subscribe for consumers.
Photo: Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese in the press room at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards, photo by s_bukley via Shutterstock