The news that a few days ago Netflix decided to cancel their plans for the new film by Nancy Meyers for budget reasons. In fact, it seems that the streamer was not willing to spend more than 130 million dollars for the romantic comedy, while the director was aiming for 150 million dollars. A crazy figure for this kind of film: 80 million dollars were apparently intended only for the cast, made up of Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Owen Wilson and Michael Fassbender.
The project is now up for sale to the highest bidder, and Deadline reveals it could be Warner Bros. in the end. The studio has reportedly entered into exploratory talks with the director, who also wrote the film, currently titled Paris Paramount and inspired by his personal stories, centered on a pair of separated filmmakers who have to work together on a new project.
It seems that the negotiations imply a decisive reshuffle of the budget, but it should be specified that in the case of Netflix the figure was probably “inflated” by the fees relating to the non-release in theaters (as happened for the two sequels to Dinner with Crimecost a total of $450 million).
Warner Bros. and Meyers worked together successfully on The Unexpected Intern. The director has also directed high-grossing films such as What Women Want, Anything could happen, It’s complicated.