Netflix have just pulled the plug on the much-anticipated new movie by The Holiday writer/director Nancy Meyers. The romantic comedy was expected to be her first feature in nearly a decade.
Netflix and Meyers were unable to reach an agreement on the budget, with Meyers requesting at least $150 million and the studio refusing to go over $130million. Had Meyers been granted her ideal budget, it would have made the cancelled film the most expensive rom-com of all time, with most films in the genre usually occupying the mid-budget range.
Meyers’ last film was 2015’s The Intern, starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro. She’s also worked with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. Paris Paramount was expected to star Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender and Owen Wilson in lead roles, with Meyers writing, directing and producing the feature, which was first announced nearly a year ago.
The film would have focused on a young writer-director who falls in love with a producer. They go on to make a string of successful movies together but end up breaking things off both romantically and professionally. They’re only forced to get back together again when an exciting new project comes up, and they’re forced to strike deals with industry divas.
The film was set to be one of Meyers’ most autobiographical works. She had a long-term romantic-professional partnership with writer-producer Charles Shyer, with whom she worked on such films as Private Benjamin, Baby Boom, The Parent Trap and Father of the Bride. The Holiday, which opens with Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Ethan (Edward Burns) breaking up, was written and directed shortly after their split.
