New Line Cinema won't be bringing any of Steve Alten's shark series Meg to the big screen after 2 years of failed attempts by the studio have seen the sword fatally put through it. In 2005 the studio bought the rights from Disney (who paid a large $1 million sum in 1997 for the rights) but just like the "Mouse" they never got a movie off the ground and they have officially given up on the project. Lots of money has been wasted on adapting Meg for film and it must be so disheartening for Alten, to see director after director and studio execs after studio execs giving him optimism before ultimately letting him down time and time again. However let's be honest with ourselves for a second. The idea of Jan De Bont filming one of your novels would surely give you dread, so maybe he's pleased by the outcome...
MEG MOVIE: Extinct at New Line Cinema Yes, this is bad news mostly in the wasted two years. The key execs at New Line always treated MEG like an unwanted stepchild, and now, with my option set to expire in October, the decided NOT to proceed. In a way this is actually GOOD news. The MEG movie WILL HAPPEN and it is better to wait and do it right with the right team than accept mediocrity. From now until October 30th (the day I officially get MEG back) we'll be hard at work! Until then, I am restricted from offering details publicly because (technically) New Line still owns the rights to MEG. There are many people at New Line that really did work very hard on MEG and I appreciate their efforts. No bad feelings let's just move on and work with the right studio that ACTUALLY WANTS TO MAKE A GREAT MOVIE AND OWN A BILLION DOLLAR FRANCHISE.