Apple has struck a deal to produce Steven Spielberg’s ‘Amazing Stories’ series in what can be said as the first major push towards creating original video content for debut on its platform.
This also marks a revival of sorts of Spielberg’s science fiction based anthology series that was immensely popular in the 80s.
In all, there would be 10 episodes that would be made though there is no information when the first episode would be ready. Apple currently has on-offer shows on its iTunes Store, and it is likely the new Amazing Stories too might be hosted at the same place.
The deal involving what is inarguably one of the biggest names in Hollywood also matches with the usual Apple line of doing its business, that of catering to the high and mighty of the society. Apple product users are also among the biggest spenders in its App Store.
So it is not the least surprising the iPhone makers is out to work with the best of actors, writers, and producers. Apple has already made its intentions known on this for some time now and has also been in discussions with several top honchos at Hollywood as well. Towards this, the company had also hired two of former Sony Picture heads, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg just last June.
The budget earmarked for Apple’s move to produce original content is also a princely $1 billion to be spent over the next couple of years. However, each of the 10 Amazon Stories episodes has been allocated a budget of $5 million. Among its other upcoming projects include a comedy series starring leading TV stars such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
The Amazing Stories will be produced by Spielberg’s own production firm Amblin Television and Comcast Corp. together with the NBC Universal television production unit. The original series which ran from 1985 to 1987 has been a huge hit and had even gone on to win five Emmys during the period.
