Motor City is officially in production hell and possibly finished for good. Deadline is reporting that pre-production came to a screeching halt on Albert Hughes’ Gerard Butler-starrer this morning just one-month away from the start of shooting. The picture had a supporting cast inclusive of Mickey Rourke and the recently added Adrien Brody which makes this news somewhat of a shock.
For those unfamiliar with this picture, it was to star Butler as a man getting out of prison that is hell bent on avenging his wrongful imprisonment. It definitely sounded like a good old fashion Count of Monte Cristo-type movie that people might want to see, but problems consisted with financing, not creative. Apparently, the backers could not secure a bond after failing to make a studio-given release date. Basically, Warner Bros. killed the project by giving the crew only 12 weeks in post-production which was a no-go and that big studio release was necessary to validate foreign distribution deals critical to budgeting Motor City.
Here is what the film’s producers and financiers had to say on today’s news [via Deadline]:
“Faced with the realities of a very short post-production schedule and complicated visual and special effects, the producers have decided to push back production on Albert Hughes’ Motor City. We are dedicated to delivering top-tier productions such as 2 Guns starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg which is currently in production and Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor which is in pre-production. The circumstances surrounding this project made it impossible to meet the firm March 31st delivery date without compromising the quality of the film.”