Netflix pulls the plug on Nancy Meyers movie over budget issues

We’ll have to wait a little longer for the next movie from Nancy Meyers as Netflix has pulled the plug on what was to be a star-studded romantic comedy.

The reason for Netflix choosing to axe the project comes down to the budget. Nancy Meyers was wanting at least $150 million dollars, which would have made it one of the most expensive romantic comedies of all time, but Netflix wouldn’t budge past $130 million. That’s still an awfully high budget for a movie of this type, but Meyers typically employs an all-star cast who demand big salaries. It was reported just last week that Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender and Owen Wilson were circling roles in the movie.

Nancy Meyers was set to write, direct, and produce the movie, which was known as Paris Paramount. The film was said to be “centered on a young writer-director who falls in love with a producer. The pair make several successful films before breaking up, both romantically and professionally. They are forced back together when a new, great project arises, and they find themselves having to deal with high stakes and volatile stars.” The story had parallels to Meyers’ own life, as she had a longtime romantic and professional partnership with writer/producer Charles Shyer, working together on Private Benjamin, Baby Boom, The Parent Trap, and Father of the Bride.

Nancy Meyers’ last theatrical movie was The Intern. The 2015 movie starred Robert De Niro as a 70-year-old widower who becomes a senior intern at an online fashion website, where he forms an unlikely friendship with the company’s workaholic CEO, played by Anne Hathaway. Reviews were mixed, but movie was a box office success, grossing $195 million worldwide against a $35 million budget. Now that Netflix has pulled the plug on Paris Paramount, it’s not clear what will happen to the Nancy Meyers film, but it’s hard to imagine anyone else paying that kind of money for a romantic comedy.