Okay, so this was not just your ordinary Tuesday over at Annapurna Pictures. The taste-making studio made headlines by dropping two of its biggest upcoming projects, not to mention ditching Chelsea Barnard, their President of Film who oversaw those projects. So what's up? Let's take a look at what was dropped and where it looks like they'll end up.
The biggest surprise came as Annapurna cut ties with the upcoming Fox News film about Roger Ailes and the sexual misconduct charges that ended his career. This is the star-studded movie that had Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron, John Lithgow, Allison Janney, Macolm McDowell, and Kate McKinnon with Jay Roach (Game Change) directing. Production was set to begin in just a couple of weeks. While reasons for the decision vary, Variety says that a ballooning budget are a big part of the reason. Fortunately, it appears that Focus Features will come to the film's rescue. No way a movie with that much talent would languish for long.
Meanwhile, Variety also has news on The Hustlers at Scores, a film by Lorene Scafaria (The Meddler) with Jennifer Lopez attached as a former stripper turned criminal mastermind. Crazy Rich Asians' Constance Wu is also on board. We just learned about that film in August and already it has been dumped by Annapurna over what is being called "creative differences". It looks like STX will swoop in to claim the rights and keep things moving.
Annapurna CEO Megan Ellison has taken over to right the ship, and I'm sure they'll continue on as if nothing has changed. The good news is both of these high-profile films have found new homes and, at least for now, they have not been delayed by much.
