In retrospect, the decisions taken to shelve these following movies were probably right, however, it would have been good to see them if they had been made.
When Rich Ross took over from Dick Cook at Disney, he decided to take stock of what was realistic and what was not. His most perplexing decision may have been the axing of Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. What no one could explain was why Ross axed the project after the studio had already spent several millions on pre-production. Of course, Ross’ rampage did not end there, Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride starring the original cast and Wedding Banned Starring Robin Williams, Anna Faris & Diane Keaton were dumped. However, the good news here is that all three will have second lease of life in 2011.
Disney was not alone in the axing department; Sony put a stop to Moneyball, a Brad Pitt and Steve Soderbergh movie. The reasoning behind it was economically sound as the movie was based on baseball and was expected to cost around $60 million. The studio felt that the theme would not have much appeal in the international market. However, by the time the cancellation came around, several hundred thousand dollars had already been spent on pre-production. The movie is being rewritten to suit a wider audience with the same actor in the lead but with Bennett Miller (Capote) in the Director’s seat.
The much awaited/dreaded remake of Footloose is also on the shelf because director Kenny Ortega decided to leg it. The dispute about creative and budget differences caused the director to leave while Paramount looked desperately for a replacement. Universal also decided to shelve a Hugh Hefner biopic for undisclosed reasons.