LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Plans for a movie based on the "Halo" video game have been scrapped after the two Hollywood studios that were financing the project dropped out of the deal.
Ignfilforce.net reported on rumors that 20th Century Fox and Universal dropped out of the project upon learning about a growing $135 million budget. Producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are asserting that the budget was exaggerated and the real reason the studios bolted is because the filmmakers and Microsoft refused to give up part of their share of the profits.
"Basically, they said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals," said Ken Kamins, representative for Walsh and Jackson, the filmmakers behind "King Kong" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
After speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungee -- the studio that designed the original game -- Walsh and Jackson declined.
Ignfilmforce said the filmmakers and Microsoft plan to pursue another possibility for making a "Halo" movie.
