10 Insane Rules Movies Weren't Allowed To Break
7. The Villain Couldn't Use An IPhone - Knives Out
Rian Johnson is just one of many filmmakers who's had to deal with this restriction, but he's the director who's been most vocal about it in recent years.
Product placement is simply a foregone aspect of the movie business, because if a character needs a phone for a scene, why not get Apple to provide the phones and maybe even pay to have their brand in the film, right?
Though Apple did indeed provide iPhones for Johnson's brilliant murder-mystery Knives Out, it came with a strict caveat, that the phones not be used by any villainous characters on-screen.
Like most major companies, Apple are extremely - one could argue, pathetically - protective over how their brand is portrayed, and were seemingly fearful that having a murderer use an iPhone could create an unsavoury connection in audience's minds. Johnson said of the rule:
"Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies, but, and this is very pivotal, if you're ever watching a mystery movie, bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera."
Tellingly, then, most of Knives Out's suspects can be seen using an iPhone at one time or another - including Jamie Lee Curtis and Jaeden Martell - except for Ransom (Chris Evans), who of course turns out to be the killer.
Johnson was reluctant to reveal this deal, as he's effectively given away the game for not only his fellow filmmakers but himself, what with Knives Out 2 due to release later in the year.
Basically, if you see any character in a movie using an iPhone, they're not going to be the bad guy.