Apple might lease Culver Studios as part of its plan to take on HBO, Netflix and others

As the battle for best movie scripts and television projects intensifies between tech giants in the Silicon Valley, Apple might lease the Culver Studios in California as it plans to pour $1 billion into TV and movie productions. [caption id=“attachment_2647472” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Apple is in discussions with the studios, where movies like Gone With The Wind and The Matrix were shot, Financial Times reported. While Google-owned YouTube is already producing original television series, Amazon, which recently won Oscars for Manchester by the Sea, has been linked with a move to The Culver Studios, the report said. The iPhone maker has already hired top Hollywood talent Sony duo Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg to lead its Hollywood push.The site has 13 soundstages up to 32,000 sq ft in size that can accommodate TV show shoots and full-length feature film work but Apple is mainly looking for office space. Apple Inc looks interested in entering the original video content market, as it is believed that the US tech giant has set aside around $1 billion to spend on Hollywood. According to a  report  in the Wall Street Journal, considering the estimate, Apple Inc could acquire and produce up to ten TV shows. The estimated figure is said to be half of Time Warner Inc’s HBO’s spending on original content. This is, however, close to what Amazon had spent, before venturing into original content. (With inputs from IANS)