One of the most bankable and likable stars in Hollywood has seen his reputation shattered in the time it took Will Smith to rise out of his seat at the Academy Awards and slap Chris Rock in the face. Everyone knows the story now and since film and television aren't part of our beat, there is no sense in taking a deep dive and analyzing the whole affair.
The slap heard around the world is going to hurt Will Smith as companies like Apple drop him like a bad habit. Apple has enough bad press thanks to its App Store policies without having to carry Smith's baggage too. Eventually, the American people will forget, and Smith's name will grace the"A" list once again. But right now, you can't blamefor taking a hard pass on streaming a Will Smith Biopic. Speaking of streaming, Apple did become part of motion picture history on Oscar night as Apple TV+ became the first streaming service to take home a Best Picture Oscar as CODA took the victory in that category.
Apple secured the rights to the movie by paying a Sundance Film Festival record of $25 million. While it would seem that Apple made a smart investment in purchasing the movie rights, it isn't clear whether many new subscribers were taking advantage of the seven-day free trial of the service that Apple offers just so they could view CODA and see what all of the excitement was about.
Apple also gives away three free months of Apple TV+ to consumers who purchase an iPhone or other Apple products. Apple will have to see whether these subscribers stick around before it can make a final statement about its investment in CODA. With the huge jump in subscriptions thanks to CODA's Best Picture victory, it does seem that the world famous"slap" didn't completely grab all of the attention away from the actual winners during the 94th Academy Awards.