Films in Limbo Without Writers

Posted on November 13, 2007

With the writers' strike showing no signs of ending, producers are trying to figure out the status of all greenlit feature film. Even films that have a final script still need writers to do final polishes and make changers on-set due to changing circumstances on the shoot.

An estimated 50 or so projects across studios are at the "go" stage, among them the next James Bond movie, "The Da Vinci Code" prequel "Angels & Demons" and "The X-Files" sequel, rumored to be titled "Done One." A producer who has five films on the bubble, however, estimates that as many as 75% of the "go" projects are actually "up in the air." Inevitably, some will end up on hold or the chopping block.

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Sony, for example, has at least two big-budget, high-profile "go" films that may have incomplete scripts and/or major casting holes. Paul Haggis admitted while walking the strike line last week that his script for "Bond 22," which is skedded to shoot in December, is not locked. Similarly, the script for "Angels & Demons," which is based on Dan Brown's wildly popular prequel to "The Da Vinci Code," was rushed to meet the Nov. 1 deadline. That film also has no players signed beyond star Tom Hanks. Furthermore, the Denzel Washington starrer "Pelham 123 " is rumored to have script problems.

Michael Eisner called the writers' strike "stupid" today, saying that there won't be any money from digital media anytime soon, which is patently absurd. Many other industry players such as Mandalay Entertainment chair Peter Guber hinted that it's not the strike that's stupid, it's Eisner's comments. Guber noted that Eisner "missed his career. He should have done stand-up."



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