No Summer for Uni

Cate Blanchett has been nominated for an Oscar four times in the past four years but her chances for 2010 have taken a hit. Universal has put the kibosh on her upcoming INDIAN SUMMER, which was scheduled to begin filming early next year. The project, set to be directed by Joe Wright (THE SOLOIST), follows Edna Mountbatten who was the last viceroy of the British Indian Empire and oversaw the country’s transition to…..zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Wait, they put the movie on hold?? I can hardly imagine why… Apparently Universal took a look at the budget, which was estimated at $40 million, and decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Perhaps another studio would be willing to take the gamble but Universal has had a particularly grim 2009 with a number of pics – LAND OF THE LOST, BRUNO, PUBLIC ENEMIES, etc. – underperforming. Wright said script issues were also a concern. The project was to film in India and “the Indian government wanted us to make less of the love story while the studio wanted us to make more of the love story.”

It’s not to say that the project will never get made (it’s currently “on hold”) but it will probably lose the participation of Blanchett who will move on to other projects while Wright figures out a way to make the budget work (if he can reduce the budget below $30 million, production company Working Title doesn’t need Universal’s blessing to greenlight).