It appears as though filmmakerEli Rothwon’t be making his studio debut on a monster movie for Warner Bros. anymore. TheHostelfilmmaker boarded the giant shark movieMeglast summer, aiming to make the film his big studio debut, but now Roth has departed the project over budget concerns. The film has been in development for years and tells the story of two men who band together to take out a giant, prehistoric shark that’s threatening the California coast. The film almost came together in 1997 at Disney, but the failure ofDeep Blue Seacaused the studio to rethink its decision.
It appears a similar situation befell Roth, asTHRreports that Warner Bros. became wary of the film’s $100 million price tag after the studio’s disappointing box office performance in 2015. Indeed, Warner Bros. is apparently reconsidering much of its slate, but it’s trying to keepMegtogether by entering early talks withNational TreasurehelmerJon Turteltaubto take over as director as they search for a way to scale back the budget, which will include a rewrite ofDean Georgaris’ (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) script.
Roth is just coming off back-to-back filmsThe Green Infernoand the home invasion thrillerKnock Knock, andhe told us just last fall that he had decided to go CGfor the creature at the center ofMegafter Warner Bros. showed him some footage fromIn the Heart of the Sea. I suppose the disappointing box office prospects of theRon Howardfilm, in addition to costly tentpoles likePanandThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.performing below expectations, were factors in reconsidering the development ofMeg.
Turteltaub most recently helmed the pilot for theRush HourTV series and the ensemble comedyLast Vegas, but he has experience with effects-driven pictures like 2010’sThe Sorcerer’s Apprentice. That said, it’s a bummer that Roth won’t be making his studio debut on a creature feature for Warner Bros. He seemed like a pretty perfect fit for this particular material.
