Sommers prices himself out of G.I. Joe picture?

Stephen Sommers was a nice fit for a G.I. Joe picture. Although I love the way he shoots movies, I thought a flick that was a little more realistic and fully character driven would allow him to improve on the weaker part of his directing... and I really thought he could have grown with it. Now, with the success of the Transformers it seems Sommers started to see big dollar signs in his eyes. The word is he wanted a deal similar to the one that Michael Bay got for directing that toy franchise to the big screen. $10 million is the figure quoted. What Sommers obviously doesn't realise is that G.I. Joe, whilst popular yes... it doesn't have the wider following that Transformers has. Paramount said they weren't offering him what they wanted, and rightfully so. Which mean's he's out of the picture and the hunt is on for a new director. Len Wiseman would have been perfect for this and I would have supported him to take on this film, just as I will when he takes up Gears of War. You know there's some movies that certain directors should stick to until they have crafted their art and can move on to better things and Wiseman should have stayed away from Die Hard and especially Escape from New York and done stuff like this instead. Oh and those rumors about Jason Statham being in the flick? I heard a while back that a role in the script was written specifically for him... so it wouldn't surprise me. source - iesb