Film
Rumors: Has Oliver Stone put a hex on his own career? Just two days ago the
director announced he would retire after his next two projects. But that number
has just halved. Stone's next movie was due to be the troubled 'Beyond Borders'.
However, the project is on the verge of being called off altogether, unless
the director and Mandalay Pictures can agree on money. According to Variety,
the two sides are currently about $10m apart on budget. Normally this would
not be a big problem, but with an impending actors' strike throwing Hollywood
out of sync, an agreement has to be reached by the end of the week, otherwise
the project will be shelved completely. 'Borders' has had a long and troubled
history. Stone first began prepping the project over a year ago, almost signing
Kevin Costner and Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the leads. After Jones decided
to pull out, Costner changed his mind too, only to change it back again a
couple of weeks later. Meg Ryan then began talks to play the female lead,
but this eventually came to nothing. Angelina Jolie was then signed up, but
Costner pulled out again, leaving the male lead to be taken over by Ralph
Fiennes. Jolie has already started receiving offers on the assumption that
'Borders' isn't going to make it to production. One of those is the lead role
in 'Sweet Home Alabama', a movie that once had Charlize Theron attached to
it. It's unclear what Stone or Fiennes would do next if the plug is pulled
on 'Beyond Borders'.