Macenstein

Recently there has been much buzz about Apple having a bit of trouble getting the big movie studios to agree to release their masterpieces on the iTunes store, at least at a reasonable price. Well, it looks like Apple might be attempting to just bypass the whole Hollywood system altogether and start making its own feature films for the iTMS.

A casting call post on the IMDBPro Boards (subscription required) describes a new horror movie called “HOT BABY�? set to begin filming this August in the New Jersey/NYC area, and lists Apple Computers as the co-producer.

From the post:
Casting august shoot for Horror Film, Hot Baby. Ultra Low Budget (Union/Non-Union) Top 50 at Slamdance script competition (out of 3000 scripts). Coproduction with Apple computer co., their first.

Must be NYC-metro based. If you already responded to Jroening before, no need to resubmit. We have your response.

The posting goes on to describe the tasty rolls for any would-be Brangelinas and Vaughnistons out there.

Casting the following parts:

Now, we’re not all that in tune with the Hollywood scene, and granted this may indeed be the way low-budget movies are cast these days, but this picture certainly seems like an odd choice for Apple to use as its springboard into the movie studio roll.

First of all, a horror movie. While these are certainly all the rage these days with the kids, and one of the easier genres to make your money back in if you are competent enough to light the thing, having the star of your movie be a killer named Jesus just seems like a bad move. Sure, this project could still be in the early stages (although with an August shoot date it can’t be all THAT early…) and character names can change, but still, that Jesus thing is just asking for trouble. Also, the casting call lists rolls for parts it claims are cut from the picture. Not sure what to make of that. And finally, we could find no mention of HOT BABY on the Slamdance website. So take this rumor for what it’s worth.

While there’s always the chance this is just some guy making a movie on Final Cut and therefore claiming “Apple�? is co-producing it with him, the timing makes sense if Apple IS ever going to start producing movies. And the good news is (as of this posting) the only roll anyone has so far shown interest in is the roll of one of the Cops, so if you are a “Crunchy hippy girl�?, a 50-year old “hammered out whore�?, or a “powerful man who is not a pantywaist�? and you want a chance to get noticed by his royal Steveness, this is your chance.

[UPDATE:] For what it’s worth I decided to contact the IMDB poster directly as to whether or not it was indeed Apple Computer, makers of the iPod, he was talking about filling the producer roll, and was told “…yes, its apple.�? Bad grammar and capitalization issues aside (not that we have much room to talk), this rumor could prove to be something after all. Stay tuned!

[UPDATE2:] The poster has pulled his casting call notice for HOT BABY, probably because Apple got wind of it and he was not actually affiliated with them.