Denzel is Stoppable?

UPDATE: As of today, Denzel has restarted UNSTOPPABLE and the movie will begin production in the fall, according to Variety. Washington and Fox reportedly “found ways to be flexible” regarding the budget and salary, which likely translates into something only agents, managers, accountants and execs can justify, since most of us will never even smell anything similar to $20 million.…

7.13.09 – You know studios are getting seriously tightfisted with cash when they won’t pay the asking price of Oscar-winning A-list actors.

Denzel Washington has leapt from the big-budget runaway train flick UNSTOPPABLE, thereby revealing the title as spurious. The Fox disaster-thriller, about a runaway freight train loaded with combustible liquids and toxic chemicals, has been on rickety rails for a few months despite the inclusion of veteran action director Tony Scott and hotshot Enterprise captain Chris Pine.

Fox reportedly wants to bring the budget under $100 million and slash some digits from Denzel’s salary, but he wasn’t having his pockets lighter than a standard $20 mill paycheck (although he and Scott are apparently still discussing possibilities). The studio clearly thinks that the duo might not automatically result in big box office, as demonstrated by the