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Character Marta (played by Ana de Armas) in "Knives Out". Photo: Lionsgate . |
Over the years, there has been much discussion about Hollywood’s “unwritten rule” regarding iPhones. Also known as “no villains,” this rule states that villains cannot use Apple devices on screen.
In 2020, director Rian Johnson became the first celebrity to publicly share about the rule. However, some viewers still found loopholes. For example, in the horror film Trap (2024), a serial killer uses a product that looks very similar to an iPhone.
While Apple has never confirmed the rules, several filmmakers have shared some interesting details regarding the iPhone on-screen policy.
Apple's terms
While the rules don't go into detail, Apple's copyright/trademark usage document states that the product "may only be displayed in a favorable light, to a positive degree or context about Apple products and Apple."
“You may not use the Apple trademark or any proprietary graphic mark, logo, or icon in a derogatory manner,” the document says.
According to People , Apple has never confirmed or denied the existence of the “no bad guys” rule. Rian Johnson, director of many famous films such as Knives Out , Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Looper , is one of the few entertainment figures to speak publicly about the rule.
“Apple allows iPhones in movies, but the important thing is that if you ever watch a detective movie, the bad guy doesn't have an iPhone in the frame,” Johnson told Vanity Fair in 2020.
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Kiefer Sutherland (left) and Leslie Hope in the movie 24. Photo: 20th Century Fox . |
In August 2024, prop expert Heidi Koleto also talked about Apple’s “unspoken rules” in an episode of the Wrap Drinks podcast. She emphasized that Apple requires “extreme detail” about the context in which the iPhone appears.
“I once received a script where an actress would look at her smartphone while driving drunk and get into an accident.
“The script had a screen that showed text messages. I just said, ‘We’re building a character with an Apple phone. We can’t have her driving drunk and getting into an accident while looking at her Apple phone. They’ll never work with me again,’” Koleto said.
Koleto added that the props department also received emails from Apple with desired conditions, including “how they want the iPhone to be seen” and “the circumstances under which you are allowed to have it appear.”
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Actor Nicholas Braun in Succession season 3. Photo: HBO . |
Many people theorize that this is part of the iPhone advertising terms. However, in 2012, Business Insider and many other news sites reported that Apple does not pay for product advertising.
“Apple won’t pay to put products in the film, instead they’re willing to give away tons of computers, iPads, and iPhones,” Gavin Polone, executive producer of the comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm , told Bloomberg .
There are also movies that break the rules.
In fact, some movies and TV shows have shown that Apple’s “no bad guys” policy is valid. In the movie Knives Out , every character uses an iPhone except for Ana de Armas’s Marta (who does the bad things) and Chris Evans’ Ransom (the main villain).
Some viewers even suggested that Johnson confirmed the rule in Glass Onion (the sequel to Knives Out ), by including dialogue emphasizing that the upcoming villain doesn't even have a phone.
Another example is HBO's Succession . While most of the characters use iPhones, viewers never see villains Logan Roy, Gerri Kellman, or Tom Wambsgans holding an Apple device.
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A scene from the movie Trap . Photo: Warner Bros . |
NowThis even theorizes that the rule dates back to the early 2000s, when 24 first aired. If you look closely, you'll see that the regular characters use Macs, while the bad guys use basic PCs.
Not all films are so serious about the subject, though. In John Wick , the man who kills John's dog and steals his car uses an iPhone. The serial killer played by Josh Hartnett in Trap also uses a device that looks a lot like an iPhone.
Many viewers also noticed an iPhone appearing in the briefcase of a villain in Marvel's Ant-Man (2015).
Source: https://znews.vn/su-that-ve-quy-dinh-ke-xau-khong-dung-iphone-trong-phim-post1538936.html
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