Rian Johnson Says Apple Won't Let Bad Guys Use iPhones In Films

When people watch mystery films, they normally fall into one of two camps. The first camp is the person that just sits back, doesn’t think too hard about the plot, and just lets the events unfold, waiting for the genuine shocking reveal to make them gasp. And then there’s the other camp, including me, that is always on the lookout for clues to help solve the case before the big reveal, almost as if the film itself is one big puzzle waiting to be solved. If you fall in that latter group, then “Knives Out” director Rian Johnson is here to spill the beans on one major giveaway that can help your future mystery film watching.

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Speaking to Vanity Fair, while breaking down scenes from his Oscar-nominated mystery film, Johnson realized that he had the opportunity to share a secret that might be a bit too damaging for his future projects.

“Another funny thing—I don’t know if I should say this or not,” said Johnson. “Not because it’s lascivious or something, but because it’s going to screw me on the new mystery movie that I write. But forget it, I’ll say it. It’s very interesting.”

What could it be? What secret does Johnson have that will ruin mystery movies for film fans in the future? Well, it has to do with the phones the characters use.

READ MORE: Rian Johnson Says His Oscar Nomination Is “Surreal” But Is Sad That ‘Uncut Gems’ Was Shut Out

“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,” revealed Johnson.

He added, jokingly, “Oh no! Every single filmmaker that has a bad guy in their movie that’s supposed to be a secret wants to murder me right now.”

Now, you may read that and think Johnson is just being silly, but he’s dead serious. Apple, like many other major companies, allows films and TV shows to use the products on screen, but there is a certain amount of quality control that goes into it. Obviously, Apple isn’t going to let a film use a phone and then have a character trash the phone and talk about how shitty it is. But apparently, according to Johnson, the company’s rules go much deeper, down to which characters are actually allowed to use an iPhone.

READ MORE: Rian Johnson Said He “Had A Blast” Watching ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ & It Was A “Really Special Experience”

Obviously, the Apple vs. Android jokes write themselves, as the good guys are the only ones allowed to use iPhones and the evil people use Android phones. Whatever. But for eagle-eyed viewers looking to get one step ahead of a filmmaker, just look at a character’s phone.