While it's easy to find money for movies based on comics or '80s toys, directors who tend to make smaller projects are still having trouble. That even goes for Olivier Assayas, who had amassed a terrific cast for Idol's Eye, which would have starred Robert Pattinson, Robert De Niro, and Rachel Weisz. Unfortunately, even with that group of A-listers it was still too difficult for Benaroya Pictures to secure financing and the film has been cancelled. Here's their statement:
Due to the criteria for financing not being met by producers, Benaroya Pictures has formally decided to discontinue financing the motion picture titled IDOL’S EYE. The company cannot continue to put its investment at risk and has been forced to stop cash flowing the production. This is something all of us wanted to avoid, but due to the producers missing a number of financing criteria deadlines that were mutually established by all parties, we were left with no other options. Benaroya Pictures plans to retain the rights of the film and move forward with production on the picture after we generate a revised script and assemble a new filmmaking team.
So there's still some hope that the heist film, based on the true story of average criminals who accidentally rob a mob-owned porn store, will securing financing and move forward some time in the future. It's especially disappointing given how successful Pattinson's Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart was in Assayas' last film, Clouds of Sils Maria. [Deadline]
