Apple wins bidding war for ‘Snow Blind’ starring Jake Gyllenhaal

After winning bidding wars for movies like Emancipation, Greyhound, and Killers of the Flower Moon, Apple Studios has now acquired rights to Snow Blind. The movie is a thriller adaptation of the BOOM! Studios graphic novel of the same name by Ollie Masters (The Kitchen) and Tyler Jenkins.

With Gustav Möller’s (The Guilty) English language directing debut, the movie will star Jake Gyllenhaal. The script is being written by Patrick Ness, the author/scribe of A Monster Calls who is currently scripting Lord of the Flies for Warner Bros. and director Luca Guadagnino. It’s unclear how much Apple paid to secure the rights to the movie.

So here’s some big news ‘Apple Studios Wins ‘Snow Blind:’ Jake Gyllenhaal Stars, Gustav Möller Directs Graphic Novel Adaptation’ https://t.co/IgFA0KCUKI

— ollie masters (@olliemasters) July 11, 2020

Here’s how the six-way bidding war took place, according to Deadline:

In pandemic pitching, prospective bidders received a link to a recorded video of the pitch with an introduction from Gyllenhaal and the filmmaker, with Ness guiding buyers through the story in a multimedia presentation that might well set the tone in how to set things up in the age of COVID-19. The town responded enthusiastically to the format and a pitch that’s Prisoners meets Running On Empty. Gyllenhaal took part in followup Zoom meetings.

Apple’s plan to start producing shows aimed to drive down the cost and bring in more revenue through Apple TV Plus. But streaming platform competitors like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus have been doing the same for a while now, with in-house production and exclusive distribution through their platforms. This has made the streaming space really very competitive.