A Delta Airlines plane takes off past the control tower at Burbank Hollywood Airport on September 25, 2023 in Burbank, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Apple TV is hoping to keep the planes in the sky with The Flick, a thriller centered on a heroic air traffic controller. Apple Original Films has picked up The Flick, an unpublished short story from writer Matt Hickey set in the high-pressure world of air traffic control. Peter Chernin and David Ready will produce for The North Road Company's Chernin Entertainment. The project marks one of the first features under Chernin Entertainment's recently inked first-look feature deal with Apple TV+. Hickey, the author, will also produce. Related Stories Business Inside Apple's Big Major League Soccer Bet TV Michael Fassbender to Star in 'Kennedy' Series at Netflix The story follows a controller named Sonny Braden, who is already at his breaking point when he picks up a distress call from the cockpit of a plane whose pilot is unconscious. With storms closing in, dwindling fuel, and a panicked, pregnant passenger at the controls, Braden must talk her through an impossible landing while fighting his own exhaustion, guilt, and unraveling personal life. The project is described as "a white-knuckle thriller about control, connection, and survival in the thin air between order and chaos, where every second counts." The air traffic controller industry is currently in the spotlight due to the havoc being caused by the government shutdown. Apple's acquisition of Flick took place before the shutdown began. Flick was developed by Will Malnati's content studio, At Will Media. No writer is on board to adapt at this stage. Hickey recently wrote the Apple Original podcast series, Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story. Chernin Entertainment has produced several projects for Apple TV, including most recently the Hawaiian historical drama Chief of War, starring Jason Momoa. The company also produced Momoa's previous series, See. Last week, Chernin Entertainment landed a hot package, with Sam Hargrave attached to direct an adaptation of Dark Horse Comics graphic novel Last Flight Out, written by Marc Guggenheim. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Tom Hollander Anthony Hopkins, Charlotte Rampling to Play Charles and Emma Darwin in 'The Species' From 'The Other Boleyn Girl' Director Justin Chadwick Sentimental Value Palm Springs Film Festival to Honor 'Sentimental Value' Cast With International Star Award Spike Lee Spike Lee, Joan Chen Board Liz Rao's Short 'The Truck,' a Post-Roe Thriller, as EPs (Exclusive) international Helen Mirren to Receive 2026 Cecil B. DeMille Award La Chimera Alice Rohrwacher to Receive European Achievement in World Cinema Award Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 'The Secret Floor': Where Time Travel Meets History to Teach Children About Nazi Germany Tom Hollander Anthony Hopkins, Charlotte Rampling to Play Charles and Emma Darwin in 'The Species' From 'The Other Boleyn Girl' Director Justin Chadwick Sentimental Value Palm Springs Film Festival to Honor 'Sentimental Value' Cast With International Star Award Spike Lee Spike Lee, Joan Chen Board Liz Rao's Short 'The Truck,' a Post-Roe Thriller, as EPs (Exclusive) international Helen Mirren to Receive 2026 Cecil B. DeMille Award La Chimera Alice Rohrwacher to Receive European Achievement in World Cinema Award Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 'The Secret Floor': Where Time Travel Meets History to Teach Children About Nazi Germany