Nancy Meyers’ $130 million ensemble romantic comedy “Paris Paramount” is being eyed to land at Warner Bros. Discovery, according to an insider with knowledge of the project. The studio is in an exploratory phase to add it to its slate.
Netflix pulled the plug on the project earlier this week due to reported budget issues that indicated Meyers was pushing for a $150 million budget but the streamer wouldn’t budge above $130 million.
Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender and Owen Wilson were previously in talks for roles in the film which centered on an above-the-line filmmaking duo who reunite on set after falling in and out of love with one another.
“Paris Paramount” would have been Meyers’ return to the director’s chair since helming 2015’s “The Intern,” which starred Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.
Talent deals with Warner Bros. Discovery would need to be reworked since the cast previously had buy-out deals because their deals were for Netflix.
The shocking move from Netflix comes as streamers are under ever-greater scrutiny to cut costs and rein in content-for-content’s-sake spending splurges. Wall Street no longer rewards growing subscriber counts, nor does it treat billions of dollars in content spending as an automatic sign of streaming strength. The investor class, at least since early 2022, is now demanding profits and revenue.