Apple bags rights to novel 'Shantaram' for drama series

Apple bags rights to novel 'Shantaram' for drama series

Shantaram

NEW DELHI: Apple has secured the rights of Gregory David Robert's Mumbai-set novel `Shantaram’ and will be developing it as a drama series.

The 'Shantaram' series will be produced by Anonymous Content and Paramount TV, a PTI report from Los Angeles quoted Variety magazine as saying. The two companies had earlier this year won the rights to adapt the novel.

The 2003 novel, which has been published in 39 languages in 42 territories worldwide and sold six million copies, follows Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.

Oscar nominated scribe Eric Warren Singer will pen the series as well as be the executive producer. David Manson will also executive produce along with Nicole Clemens, Steve Golin and Andrea Barron.

The mob drama was previously being developed as a feature film, with Johnny Depp producing and Joel Edgerton as the lead. However, the project failed to take off.

Last week Apple had announced at its annual developers meet that the company was working on programmes that would have Apple TV powered by the innovative Dolby Atmos-supported audio for the 4K cinematic experience, taking the service to a new level once its tvOS12 was released for general use on the company’s devises for consumers.

The tvOS 12 (part of the iOS12 platform), the powerful operating system designed for enjoying entertainment on the big screen, takes the cinematic experience of Apple TV 4K to the next level with support for Dolby Atmos audio. The company had said there were convenient new features to easily access shows and movies and breathtaking aerial shots from space.

The Apple TV app is being positioned as a prime destination to find and watch TV shows, movies and more from more than 100 participating video apps in 10 countries.

Media reports have also suggested that Apple has already started toying with original content, with Carpool Karaoke as an example. It has also put more than $1 billion toward original programming, with its first efforts due to launch sometime in March 2019.

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