Update: Huh. Below we kind of predicted that some non-studio indie backer might take on the film, and now Deadline reports that MRC (one of the examples we mentioned) are now in talks to finance.
It's back to square one for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's ambitious adaptation of "The Dark Tower." Even with Russell Crowe eyeing to take over the lead, and a reduced budget, it seems it wasn't enough for Warner Bros. to pull the trigger on the project, leaving the future of it ever getting made — at least in this incarnation — in doubt.
To recap, the concept involved telling Stephen King's epic, multi-novel story stretched out across three films, with a television series between each movie in order to pack in the narrative. Akiva Goldsman was apparently turning in a new script that would be the deciding factor, and it seems the answer is a firm "no." With Universal having already passed last summer, it leaves the options at major studios quickly dwindling, but we'd reckon not all hope is lost yet. With folks like Media Rights Capital (Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium," David Fincher's "House Of Cards") and/or David Ellison ("True Grit," "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol") becoming deep pocket, indie backers for stuff like this, getting financed may just mean going outside the studio system before circling back for distribution. But it means conversations have to start all over, and ultimately, "The Dark Tower" is a long way from being built.
Meanwhile, WB has also said "no thanks" to "The Imitation Game." The Black List-topping script by Graham Moore is based on the biography "Alan Turing: The Enigma," and tells the story of English multi-hyphenate — mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, computer scientist — whose cracking of ciphers made a massive difference in World War II and whose exploration into early computer design paved the way for the technologies we have now. However, he was a closeted homosexual who, once he came out, subjected himself to "treatment" programs and sadly took his own life in 1954.
"The Disappearance Of Alice Creed" helmer J. Blakeson signed on to direct this spring, with Leonardo DiCaprio being sought to star. But it seems with the actor declining the project, the studio isn't much interested in making it anymore. But Blakeson and Moore are staying on and hoping to find another home for the film. [Variety/THR]