Knives Out director reveals a character's phone could give away if they're the bad guy
Spoiler alert for Knives Out 2: the guy on the iPhone didn't do it.
Director Rian Johnson in a Knives Out scene breakdown for Vanity Fair this week revealed one of Apple's rules for the use of its products on screen. Supposedly, the company has a strict policy of not allowing filmmakers to show bad guys using an iPhone.
"Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies, but, and this is very pivotal if you're ever watching a mystery movie, bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera," Johnson said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Johnson, who in the video wrestled with whether to reveal this information, joked that every director with a secret villain in their movie now "wants to murder me," with this possibly including his future self as he gets to work on his Knives Out sequel.
While we'll have to take Johnson's word for this supposed bad guy iPhone moratorium, Apple, Mac Rumors notes, is "known for having strict rules about how devices are used, portrayed, and photographed," insisting that they're portrayed "in the best light." We can only presume from this that Kylo Ren and Rey were originally supposed to FaceTime rather than Force-connect in Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but the pesky folks at Apple required a re-write. Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Striking homes with indoor poolsFeature Featuring a Queen Anne mansion near Chicago and mid-century modern masterpiece in Washington
-
Why are federal and local authorities feuding over investigating ICE?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Minneapolis has become ground zero for a growing battle over jurisdictional authority
-
‘Even those in the United States legally are targets’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
