Apple TV boss' CAA meeting stirs talk after 'F1' comments

CAA’s motion pictures group recently hosted a meeting at its Century City offices with Apple TV+ co-head Zack Van Amburg, and a question from the room about what counts as a hit at Apple prompted remarks that have circulated around the industry. The comments touched on Apple’s big-budget Formula One film F1, which stars Damson Idris and Brad Pitt and earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination after grossing $630 million worldwide.

Van Amburg reportedly told the gathering that while Apple was pleased with F1, the film was not a runaway success on the platform and that Apple’s sci-fi romance The Gorge had performed better. He used the moment to argue Apple is interested in mid-sized budget films as well as nine-figure projects; F1’s production costs were said to fall between $200 million and $300 million.

The remarks upset some attendees and made their way back to F1’s producers and director, prompting CAA to send motion-picture co-head Joel Lubin and principal Richard Lovett to meet with Van Amburg.

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