Remember that reboot of Ninja Turtles that was in production and handled by Michael Bay’s ‘Platinum Dunes’ production company? I say “was” because it appears that production on the film has come to a grinding halt and the film has been delayed well into 2014! Why would they do such a thing? It appears that the powers that be aren’t completely satisfied with development on the film specifying the script as one of the main causes for concern.
The effects-heavy film, which was in preproduction in Vancouver, was set for release in December 2013. That date is being pushed to May 2014, according to sources.
The issue is said to be the script. Paramount has delayed several big movies from this year to 2013, including G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Brad Pitt’s World War Z, leaving it with a spotty pipeline for the current year. Now it has halted work on its planned holiday movie for 2013, temporarily laying off preproduction staff and informing those prepping the film that the work stoppage is “indefinite,” according to sources. Another source close to the production says the movie has been pushed by ten weeks.
This may seem like an unsettling development for any fans who were looking forward to this film but let me tell you that this is a good thing. If the studios feel that the film isn’t shaping up well and needs more time to polish things to make a better film then by all means they should. It’s no secret that longtime fans of the characters aren’t very pleased with the information that has been released thus far and the stakes are quite high for Paramount to try to develop the franchise into a tentpole. I’d rather they identify problems early on and work to make things better now rather than release a subpar film.
Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes is producing and Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans) is set to direct from a script by Kevin Eastman and Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec. I’ll keep you posted on any other developments, that’s all for now…
Source: THR
