What you need to know
- Apple TV+ has landed the rights to "Cherry."
- The Anthony and Joe Russo film is their first since "Avengers: Endgame."
- It stars Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo in an adapted drama.
Reported by Deadline, Apple has landed the rights to Anthony and Joe Russo's "Cherry," an adapted drama starring Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo. The film is expected to premiere on Apple TV+ in early 2021.
In a deal that lands in the high $40 millions, Apple Original Films has acquired worldwide rights to Cherry, the first film directed by Anthony and Joe Russo since their Avengers: Endgame became the highest global grossing film of all time. The film is a decidedly different kind of drama, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Nico Walker that is based on his story. It is a finished film that will become an awards season entry.
"Cherry" focuses on the story of a young man who, after coming back from a deployment in Iraq, turns to oxycontin to manage his PTSD. Eventually, both he and his wife become addicted to heroin, and the couple turns to robbing banks to pay their debt and keep up their drug addiction.
Tom Holland plays a young Cleveland man who, after being spurned by the love of his life, joins the army before she returns to tell him she has made a mistake and they belong together. He becomes an Army medic in Iraq and sees violence and carnage no one should. Returning with a raging case of undiagnosed PTSD, he is prescribed the opiate Oxycontin. Soon, he and his young wife move from pills to heroin, and he turns to robbing banks to pay their debts and feed their habit. Walker's young wife is played by Ciara Bravo (Small Engine Repair). Holland is a revelation in his first adult role and Bravo establishes herself as an actress to watch in the harrowing drama.
Apple is reportedly planning to submit the film for Oscar consideration. The plan, according to the report, is to qualify with the academy and then premiere the film in 2021.
The project was then introduced at Cannes by Endeavor Content, which arranged the financing when the Russo Brothers were repped by WME. The siblings then moved to CAA. And so CAA Media Finance teamed with Endeavor Content to broker one of the year's biggest film deals in a season full of them. It is also a deal that gives Apple a viable awards season contender in a season that so far hasn't unveiled a lot of them. The plan is to qualify with the Academy, and premiere the film in early 2021 on Apple TV +.
Apple is continuing to build a catalog of content that features some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. While "Greyhound," which starred Tom Hanks, was likely the biggest film to premiere on Apple TV+ yet, there is a slate of projects coming in the future featuring names like Martin Scorsese, Leonardo Dicaprio, Will Smith, and more.
"Tehran," Apple's espionage thriller set in the capital of Iran, also just premiered on the streaming service today.
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