Report: Budget Constraints Suspend BioShock Film Production

Universal Pictures has put the Gore Verbinski-directed BioShock film adaptation on hold, as its production swells over budget. The film was in pre-production and scheduled to begin shooting in Los Angeles, but now faced with a $160 million price tag, production must halt while Verbinski and Universal Pictures look for ways to cut costs, according to a report from Hollywood trade paper Variety. "We were asked by Universal to move the film outside the U.S. to take advantage of a tax credit," Verbinski said. "We are evaluating whether this is something we want to do. In the meantime, the film is in a holding pattern." Variety says Verbinski and the studio remain determined to produce the film, and that Verbinski in fact passed on directing a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie so that he could direct and produce the BioShock film.