Brent
At a time when blockbuster budgets are facing extra scrutiny, Warner Bros. has halted pre-production on its live-action "Akira" remake.
Studio confirmed Thursday that it shut down the project's Vancouver offices as the creative team reworks the story. Though it was reported that WB wanted to whittle down the $90 million budget -- cut once already from the $130 million to $150 million range -- insiders tell Variety execs want fixes on the sci-fi script that's already gone through rewrites from Steve Kloves and David James Kelly
Delays for major titles are nothing unusual: "The Hobbit" will have taken nearly a decade by the time it unspools in December. In recent months, bloated budgets were largely responsible for hobbled production starts ("The Lone Ranger" at Disney) or projects being shelved outright ("The Dark Tower" series and "At the Mountains of Madness" at Universal). And though creative concerns alone are icing "Akira," Warner Bros. projects haven't been immune to the belt-tightening mentality spurred by the dual problems of declining theater attendance and downward DVD revenue. To wit:
- Steven Soderbergh ankled from directing spy pic "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." in November after the director and the studio had disagreed over budget issues.
- "Arthur and Lancelot," given a March 15, 2013, release date, is on hold while the studio pares down David Dobikin's $135 million budget to $110 million, and its 2012 start date is scrubbed for now
- "Paradise Lost," a retelling of John Milton's epic Lucifer tale financed by Legendary, will miss its Janaury start date over budget issues
Warner Bros. execs declined to comment, though Time Warner chief financial officer John Martin noted at a Citigroup conference Thursday in San Francisco that the company's bullish about WB's 2012 lineup -- "as good as you can at the start of the year about any film slate," he said, singling out "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Hobbit." But he also said the overall DVD market looks weaker in the fourth quarter than the third, so that's still dicey -- and likely driving decision-making.
Warners continues to be aggressive at acquiring new material, and its slate for the next two years looks formidable. Besides the two "Hobbit" films, it has the most anticipated title of the year in "The Dark Knight Rises" and next year's Superman revamp "Man of Steel." And WB has nearly three dozen producing deals, far more than any other studio, and output pacts with a trio of reliable suppliers in Legendary, Alcon and Village Roadshow.
Managers and agents say that their marching orders from Warners execs haven't changed: give us another "The Dark Knight," a tentpole project with either A-list stars and directors attached or with built-in awareness; give us a project that's unique, that can cut through the clutter when the moviegoing public has growing numbers of choices.
As for "Akira," which only has "Tron: Legacy" star Garrett Hedlund locked, the studio is by no means pulling the plug. Insiders say a new writer will probably be brought on over the next two weeks to focus on character elements and particularly on the pic's look. While no one's yet been offered the job, studio is eyeing Jonah Nolan ("The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises") and Michael Green ("Green Lantern").
WB prexy Jeff Robinov met with the "Akira" team to discuss several things, including who would land the second lead opposite Hedlund. Choices had been narrowed down to Michael Pitt and "Chronicle" star Dane DeHaan, but the studio wanted to wait until after the holidays to decide; now that decision will be delayed further.
It's been a long string of stops and starts for a live-action "Akira," in development since Warners acquired rights in 2008. Albert Hughes came on to direct last year, only to drop out. His replacement, Jaume Collet-Sera, then had to work with producers to slice the budget down to $90 million before its greenlight.
Since those cuts were made, the studio had been working on putting a cast together with Hedlund landing the lead and Kristen Stewart, Helena Bonham Carter and Ken Watanabe working out deals.
Republished from: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118048156