Report: Apple's Hollywood Venture Doesn't Want to Produce Any Negative Stories About Technology

Individuals working with Apple on the company’s venture into Hollywood to produce original content claim the Silicon Valley giant, and its CEO Tim Cook, are becoming too hard to work with. Cook is reportedly holding a tight grip on the content — shying away from any stories which show “the negative consequences of technology.”

“Shortly after Apple announced its Hollywood ambitions in 2017, Tinseltown’s wheeler-dealers were lining up to work with the iPhone maker,” reported the New York Post. “But as the company’s streaming project gets ready for launch, agents and producers can’t stop griping about how ‘difficult’ Apple is to deal with — citing a ‘lack of transparency,’ ‘lack of clarity’ and ‘intrusive’ executives, including CEO Cook.”

Apple and Cook have been accused of “nitpicking over content,” wanting only “family-friendly” projects, and requiring “video executives” to “make frequent trips to the company’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to approve tech changes, taking them away from their work in LA.”

One producer claimed “Tim Cook is giving notes and getting involved,” while another source expressed, “I think people are a little bit irritated because they keep moving the service launch.”

“They are making big changes, firing and hiring new writers. There’s a lack of clarity on what they want,” a producer proclaimed, adding, “A lot of the product is not as good as they hoped it to be.”

Cook has also reportedly been keeping a tight grip on the content, passing on “controversial topics, like religion or the negative consequences of technology,” with one producer declaring, “They want a positive view of technology.”

Apple’s interest in branching out into Hollywood was revealed in 2017, with reports claiming that the Big Tech company was looking into producing original movies and television shows.

In February, it was reported that Apple had dropped from first place on Fast Company‘s list of “most innovative companies” all the way down to 17th place.