21ST CENTURY FOLKS

The Studio is Apple's sharpest product yet—a beautiful, biting satire that shows how Silicon Valley is rewriting Hollywood

- BY NAVIN J. ANTONY

Golden Globes 2020. The host is Ricky Gervais, master of caustic wit. In his opening monologue, he announces that this will be his final time hosting the awards—a relief to the 1,400 guests packed into a ballroom. If the Oscars are grand—over 3,000 attendees at the vast Dolby Theatre—the Globes are intimate: guests in tuxedos, seated around tables stocked with champagne and snacks. The jokes cut deeper, and Gervais can be a butcher.

“Let's have a laugh at your expense, shall we?” Gervais begins. “Remember: it's just jokes. We are all going to die soon—and there's no sequel.”

He starts with mild jabs at actors, directors and Hollywood at large. Then the gloves come off: “No one cares about movies anymore. No one goes to the cinema. No one really watches network TV. Everyone's watching Netflix,” he says, as the camera lingers on stiff expressions. “Most films are awful—lazy remakes, endless sequels. The best actors have jumped to Netflix and HBO. The actors who just do Hollywood movies now do fantasy adventure nonsense—masks, capes, tight costumes. Their job isn't acting anymore; it's going to the gym and taking steroids.”

Then comes what sounds like praise: “Apple rolled into the TV game with The Morning Show, a superb drama....” Applause erupts, and Gervais pauses. The camera cuts to Apple CEO Tim Cook, wearing a crisp tuxedo and a cautious smile—perhaps aware of what is coming. “A superb drama,” Gervais continues, “about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing—made by a company that runs sweatshops in China.”