Despite developing a reputation for its prolific cancellation of fantasy shows that don’t meet the algorithm’s requirements, Netflix somehow always seems to find the money to fund a star-studded blockbuster or two that almost always ends up being greeted with a shrug of indifference by critics, even if big names are always guaranteed to perform in terms of viewing figures.
However, the streaming service draws the line at $150 million romantic comedies, having recently pulled the plug on genre legend Nancy Meyers’ in-development offering. The company was more than happy to shell out $130 million for the privilege of having Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Owen Wilson, and Michael Fassbender headline the cast, but that extra $20 million turned out to be the unnecessarily expensive straw that broke the camel’s back.
It was reported that the project – tentatively titled Paris Paramount – was being shopped around Hollywood in an effort to find another interested party, and it looks as though the most unlikely of candidates has come forward. David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. – which we needn’t remind you has been on a cost-cutting spree of its own – is interested in acquiring the A-list romp for what would presumably be a wide theatrical release.
Of course, you’ve got to question the business sense in an outfit that stated its desire to shave billions of the budget stumping up $150 million for a film that was deemed as too risky of a proposition for one of its direct competitors, never mind how DC fans would feel were the man who brutally axed Batgirl as a $90 million tax write-off to green light an outlay of almost twice as much for a frothy caper that doesn’t need to be anywhere near as expensive as it currently is.