Apple TV+ has been attracting an impressive group of filmmakers to make projects with the streamer and handing them a ton of money, from Martin Scorsese to Steven Spielberg. So now that Sofia Coppola is making her first move into television with an adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel “The Custom of the Country,” a hefty payday follows.
READ MORE: Sofia Coppola Developing Edith Wharton’s ‘Custom Of The Country’ As Apple TV+ Series
A recent Wall Street Journal piece about how streaming is changing the rules of the movie industry during the pandemic mentions that filmmakers are embracing streamers and their ability to greenlight projects not commonly made by studios. The article mentions Sofia Coppola’s first-ever episodic series, “The Custom of the Country” for Apple TV+ and how Coppola “garnered one of the most lucrative paydays of her career” for doing the project.
“The Custom of the Country” tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl trying to make it big in New York City. The novel is described as “a stunning indictment of materialism and misplaced values that is as powerful today for its astute observations about greed and power as when it was written nearly a century ago.” Essentially, it’s a story of divorce and American ideals and traditions on the eve of the 20th century.
Granted, Sofia Coppola has technically already worked on TV before, on the Netflix special “A Very Murray Christmas” musical revue which is honestly quite entertaining, even if it doesn’t feel like a Coppola movie. Still, a “proper” TV series made by Coppola, possibly with a budget to match her payday, is an exciting proposal.