Martin Scorsese has added Jared Harris to the cast of What Happens At Night, joining Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Mads Mikkelsen, and Patricia Clarkson in what's shaping up to be one of the most stacked ensembles in recent memory.

And here's the kicker: it's funded by Apple.

Let that sink in. One of cinema's greatest living auteurs, assembling A-list talent for an adaptation of a literary novel, and the money isn't coming from a traditional studio—it's coming from a tech company that sells phones.

This is the new reality of prestige filmmaking. The major studios have largely abandoned adult-oriented dramas that aren't based on IP. Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal—they're in the franchise business. If you want to make a $100 million character-driven film with movie stars, you go to Apple, Amazon, or Netflix.

Scorsese knows this better than anyone. The Irishman was funded by Netflix after every traditional studio passed. Killers of the Flower Moon was an Apple production. His next film will almost certainly be streaming-backed too, because that's where the money for this kind of cinema lives now.

Is this good or bad? Complicated, mostly. On one hand, streaming platforms are keeping auteur filmmaking alive. Without them, Scorsese, Alfonso Cuarón, Jane Campion, and others would struggle to get ambitious projects financed.

On the other hand, these films get limited theatrical releases and often disappear into the algorithmic void of streaming libraries. Killers of the Flower Moon played theaters for a few weeks, then landed on Apple TV+ where it's competing for attention with Ted Lasso and Severance. That's not how Scorsese films are supposed to be experienced.

But here's the thing: What Happens At Night wouldn't exist without Apple's money. So we can lament the changing economics of filmmaking, or we can be grateful that someone is still writing checks for mid-budget literary adaptations directed by masters of the form.

The cast Scorsese has assembled is proof that auteur cinema still attracts top talent. DiCaprio and Scorsese are on their seventh collaboration. Jennifer Lawrence could do Marvel movies if she wanted. Mads Mikkelsen and Jared Harris are character actor royalty. These aren't people chasing paychecks—they're choosing to work with Scorsese because he's Scorsese.

The irony is that streaming platforms are now the primary patrons of cinematic art, the way studios used to be in the 1970s. Except instead of studio executives with film backgrounds, it's tech companies trying to build prestige for their services.

In Hollywood, nobody knows anything—except that if you want to make serious cinema in 2026, you'd better have Tim Cook's number.