Warner Bros. has put production for Akira on hold in the face of casting and budgetary issues. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter [1], the production offices in Vancouver are being closed, with below-the-line talent and crew told to stop working.
Producers for the project, which has already been through several incarnations, will meet with director Jaume Collet-Serra for the next two weeks to iron out the script. It is unclear if Harry Potter writer Steve Kloves, who did a rewrite on the project a year ago, will be brought in to help out. If the issues cannot be resolved, the project could end up being shelved entirely.
Collet-Serra already had halved the budget from the incarnation that Albert Hughes was going to direct. He now is working on a budget in the $90 million range. But with only Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) signed on to star, and Kristen Stewart, Ken Watanabe and Helena Bonham Carter in various stages of negotiation, the studio feels that the price tag is still too high for a sci-fi project with that level of star wattage. The goal, say insiders, is to bring the budget down to between $60 million and $70 million.
An adaptation of the classic Japanese manga, Akira is an Americanized story set in a postapocalyptic New Manhattan, where a motorcycle gang leader (Hedlund) must stop his brother and fellow gang member from abusing his newly acquired telekinetic powers.
Akira already has “died” three times only to rise phoenix-like from the ashes. Ruairi Robinson and Hughes were previously deep into the project as directors before dropping off. Collet-Serra got the project green-lighted and has come the closest to going before cameras.
Links:
[1] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/akira-production-shut-down-budget-warner-bros-278729?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: thr/news (The Hollywood Reporter - Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader