3-hour Kong way over budget: Variety in 60 Seconds
Filed under: Casting, Deals, Universal, Variety in 60 Seconds, Distribution, Peter Jackson
Universal has agreed to release Peter Jackson's King Kong in its current, three-hour long cut – a move which will stretch the budget of the Big Fake Monkey Movie to $207 million. Jackson had originally planned to bring Kong in at $175 million and about 150 minutes. Jackson's original $20 million contract on the film stipulated that he could be docked pay if he brought the film in over budget; presumably to avoid that, he's paying for the extra $32 million worth of effects himself. Still – three hours. $207 million. Y'all better not watch this one on bit torrent.- Robert DeNiro will star in Barry Levinson's What Just Happened?, based on the memoir by producer Art Linson. DeNiro will co-produce out of his Tribeca Films; Mark Cuban's 2929 will put up the green. Sean Penn will play Sean Penn (really). Shooting starts next summer.
- Dreamworks has acquired Jonathan Lethem's magical-science novel, As She Climbed Across the Table. The story follows a "love triangle" between a particle physicist, an anthropologist, and a black hole. "When you are attempting a romantic comedy that takes place in the context of theoretical physics, it is not a premise you come across every day," said producer Walter Parkes. "It's a fascinating book, but it will be a challenging adaptationThe deal was sparked when Lethem won the MacArthur Genius Award.
- Bauer Martinez Distribution have picked up distribution rights on The Moguls, an indie comedy starring Jeff Bridges, Lauren Graham and Ted Danson, about an amateur pornographer "who brings together a motley group of friends and neighbors." Who the hell are Bauer Martinez? The distributor caused a minor splash at Toronto, when they beat some tough competition to pick up Danny Ayer's Iraq vet drama Harsh Times; they're also distributing new films from Andrew Lau and Amy Heckerling within the year.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-27-2005 @ 12:32PM
nilblogette said...
At least Jackson is putting up the $32 mil himself, so it'll be personal if it disappoints. Still, it is shocking, considering his economy in budget and time is part of what made LOTR such a success.
As for DeNiro in the Linson movie, I should hope so. DeNiro is such a huge part of Linson's career, and he jokes in one of his books that he is accused of only having a career because he has DeNiro and Mamet's home numbers.
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10-27-2005 @ 12:28PM
Ed W. said...
Do we really need three hours of a giant gorilla? I mea n seriously, how interesting can a giant gorilla really be?
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