Apple Original Films has picked up "The Flick", a tense new thriller about an air traffic controller who must guide a passenger to safety after disaster strikes midair.
Based on an unpublished short story by writer Matt Hickey, The Flick follows Sonny Braden, an air traffic controller on the edge of burnout. He picks up a distress call from a plane whose pilot has gone unconscious.
A pregnant passenger is now at the controls as storms close in and fuel runs low. Braden has to guide her through an impossible landing while fighting his own exhaustion and guilt.
The story is described as "a white-knuckle thriller about control, connection, and survival in the thin air between order and chaos, where every second counts."
Apple and Chernin's growing collaboration
The project will be produced by Peter Chernin and David Ready under Chernin Entertainment and The North Road Company, marking one of the first films under Chernin's new first-look feature deal with Apple TV. Hickey will also serve as a producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Chernin Entertainment has become one of Apple's closest partners in long-form storytelling. The company produced Jason Momoa's historical drama Chief of War and his earlier Apple TV series See.
In late October, Chernin also secured a new project based on Last Flight Out, a Dark Horse Comics graphic novel written by Marc Guggenheim.
From podcasts to the big screen
Hickey previously created Apple's original podcast series Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story, which explored the real-life origins of one of history's most infamous financial schemes. His move to film marks Apple's continued effort to build cross-media connections between its audio, film, and TV divisions.
The original short story was developed by Will Malnati's At Will Media, but no screenwriter has been attached yet. Apple's acquisition reportedly occurred before the recent government shutdown that has drawn new attention to the high-stress world of air traffic control.
