Director Rian Johnson says Apple TV screensavers are 'most influential films' of the last 5 years

Apple TV screensaver (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Rian Johnson recently directed "Knives Out."
The director was speaking during a commentary for the movie.
He was speaking about drone shots used to make the Apple TV screensavers.

Apple TV owners have long known that the device's screensavers are some of the most gorgeous films around. Apple has worked with the likes of the BBC to create them in the past, and now director Rian Johnson has declared them "the most influential films of the past five years."

The "Knives Out" director was speaking on a commentary for the new movie (via Reddit) and the Apple TV screensavers came up when he mentioned drone shots.

I’m thrilled to announce the #KnivesOut in-theater commentary! Yes, now you can enjoy another round of whodunnit goodness with me squawking in your ear. Did this on Bloom & Looper, happy to try it again. Audio file and instructions here: https://t.co/0VZ453YYs7 pic.twitter.com/Cc8DvgjyCbI’m thrilled to announce the #KnivesOut in-theater commentary! Yes, now you can enjoy another round of whodunnit goodness with me squawking in your ear. Did this on Bloom & Looper, happy to try it again. Audio file and instructions here: https://t.co/0VZ453YYs7 pic.twitter.com/Cc8DvgjyCb— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) December 19, 2019 December 19, 2019

Somebody said, and I think it's really true, those Apple TV screensavers with the drone shots of cities are the most influential films of the past five years. I feel like every establishing shot in every movie is now just a beautiful drone shot and it's starting to get a little boring. Ours included.

You can listen to a 30-second clip covering the drone discussion over on Reddit, too.

Johnson's assertion that drone shots are getting a little boring is probably accurate, but that isn't likely to stop them from being a big part of making movies – and Apple TV screensavers – for a long time to come.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.