Apple Won’t Let Bad Guys Use iPhones

If a director wants a character to use an iPhone or Mac on-screen, they can’t be a bad guy.

By Matthew Humphries edited by Jessica Thomas Feb 26, 2020
Apple via PC Mag

This story originally appeared on PC Mag

Movie director Rian Johnson has confirmed there’s some very strict rules around using Apple’s products on-screen.

As MacRumors reports, director Rian Johnson shot a video for Vanity Fair this week where he takes viewers through a scene from his movie Knives Out. It’s a great video for anyone interested in scene composition, but Johnson also reveals a tidbit regarding how serious Apple is about protecting its brand.

At the risk of ruining every movie where viewers try and guess who the bad guy is, Johnson says, “bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera.” It’s one of the strict rules directors need to agree to if they want to have any of Apple’s devices on-screen. Apparently a similar thing happened in the long-running TV show 24 and involved good guys using Macs.

Business Insider best smartphone

Movie director Rian Johnson has confirmed there’s some very strict rules around using Apple’s products on-screen.

As MacRumors reports, director Rian Johnson shot a video for Vanity Fair this week where he takes viewers through a scene from his movie Knives Out. It’s a great video for anyone interested in scene composition, but Johnson also reveals a tidbit regarding how serious Apple is about protecting its brand.

At the risk of ruining every movie where viewers try and guess who the bad guy is, Johnson says, “bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera.” It’s one of the strict rules directors need to agree to if they want to have any of Apple’s devices on-screen. Apparently a similar thing happened in the long-running TV show 24 and involved good guys using Macs.

Business Insider best smartphone

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Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor at PCMag

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