I'm no legal expert but how does a company who owe $4 billion to creditors justify hiring screenwriters to develop a new expensive movie when staff have been fired on productions like
The Hobbit and
Bond 23 because they have no money to continue making them? Beats me but anyway -
Variety say MGM have paid a six figure sum to
Saw regulars
Patrick Melton and
Marcus Dunstan (they also
wrote and directed The Collector) to pen a feature adaptation of
The Outer Limits, the 1960's ABC anthology series that acted as the diet version of
The Twilight Zone. Both shows, which at one point were aired over the same period, were similar in many ways though 'Limits' tales were usually more centered on science fiction fables and the show was never of the quality of the Rod Serling productions, and indeed never as popular.
Leonardo DiCaprio with his unlimited resources bought the rights to The Twilight Zone two years ago for his company Appian Way and quickly setup development at Warner Bros. but he has been so busy focusing on his acting career with Hollywood's elite directors that he hasn't been able to focus much time on it.
Though he did manage to hire
Joel Anderson, writer/director of the 2008 horror flick
Lake Mungo to put together a screenplay for what was pitched as a single story movie. We would expect The Outer Limits to be adapted in the same way, as everyone knows
anthology movies don't work. MGM owe $4 billion to 140 creditors and were given a sixth extension to their debt last month, amazingly around the same date it's speculated they paid Melton/Dunstan their fee. That forebearance will expire Sept. 15 but the studio clearly think they have a future beyond that as they have given Melton/Dunstan an October deadline for the screenplay. Does anyone even conceive the possibility that this could be made given MGM's current state?