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"Ali" Biopic: Let's Get It On!
Which means Will Smith better keep doing those pushups.
After weeks of speculation that Ali might get canned for good, Sony's Columbia Pictures has put the film back on track, and director Michael Mann (The Insider, Heat) has reportedly agreed to make some cost-cutting concessions to keep the film within its $105 million budget.
The decision comes after Mann, Smith and producer Jon Peters all agreed to reduce their upfront fees on the film, as well as adjust their take on foreign profits and alter portions of the script to exclude potentially pricey location shoots.
Under the agreement, reached late Thursday, Sony will be responsible for less than half of the $105 million budget, and Initial Entertainment Group has agreed to finance $65 million of the project in exchange for foreign rights, Inside.com reports.
Mann, meanwhile, has agreed to cover any overages on the film. That was a key point for Sony, which initially questioned whether the director--known to bust a few budgets in his day--would be able to get the movie made within its limitations. Ali, starring Smith as the butterfly-floating, bee-stinging boxing legend, will include location shoots in Africa, where Ali knocked out George Foreman in 1974.
In a statement, Columbia said: "We are pleased that we could successfully work with all involved--Will Smith, Michael Mann, Jon Peters and our foreign partner IEG--to reach an understanding that will allow a great actor and a talented director to team up and tell the story of one of the best-known men in the world."
Production on the film is scheduled to start in January.
Sources told Inside.com that the negotiations revolved around $5 million in the budget, but Sony wanted Mann to take responsibility for anything over that figure. The media site also quoted sources as saying the company didn't want to pay for "60,000 extras in Africa and...private jets everywhere."
Looks like they'll just have to settle for 20,000, and maybe a few flights on business class.
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