According to Variety, Netflix has officially decided to exit Nancy Meyers’ next romantic comedy film following disagreements concerning the proposed budget for the project. The Father of the Bride filmmaker reportedly wanted a $150 million budget for her feature directorial comeback. However, the streamer doesn’t want to commit to a budget that would go over $130 million.
The outlet’s sources note that Meyers is currently looking to shop the all-star project to other streamers or studios. Given this setback, it’s unclear whether or not Scarlett Johansson and Penélope Cruz are still attached to lead the movie, which would reunite them after over a decade since starring together in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Besides them, Owen Wilson (Zoolander) and Michael Fassbender (X-Men films) were also previously announced to star.
The romantic-comedy film will be written, produced, and directed by Meyers, who’s best known for her work in a number of classic movies including Private Benjamin, The Parent Trap, What Women Want, and Something’s Gotta Give. The movie is being described as a semi-autobiography movie about a filmmaker and a producer, who are exes and former collaborators that must once again work together for their next great hit.
The film will revolve around “a talented young writer-director who falls in love with a producer, with the pair making several successful films before calling it quits romantically and professionally. The two are forced back together, however, when a great new project arises, and they find themselves teamed up again and having to deal with high stakes and volatile stars.”
Besides Paris Paramount, Johansson will also next be seen in Wes Anderson’s next star-studded dramedy Asteroid City and the space race film Project Artemis with Channing Tatum. Meanwhile, Cruz, who won an Oscar for her performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, is currently filming Michael Mann’s Ferrari biopic.
