Denzel Washington has decided to pass his role in 'Unstoppable' after waiting for three months for 20th Century Fox to manage its budget and set a start date.
- July 14, 2009
AceShowbiz -
Denzel Washington has dropped out from his involvement in 20th Century Fox's "Unstoppable", Variety reported. According to an insider close to Washington, the actor decided that he won't join the cast after waiting for almost three months while the studio is still trying to set a budget and a start date.
Washington might leave the movie project because the studio tried to cut the $100 million budget to $90 million which resulted in them asking the two-time Oscar winner to shave $4 million of his $20 million fee. The "The Taking of Pelham 123" actor turned down the request and decided to seek other projects for the fall.
After Washington formally withdrew from the film, Fox reportedly was open to do another negotiation with the star of "American Gangster" and prepared a different offer. The studio hoped that the 54-year-old star would reconsider his decision of leaving the movie project with the new offer.
"Unstoppable" is a story about a veteran engineer and his conductor, portrayed by Chris Pine, who jump into a locomotive to halt an unmanned runaway train filled with a toxic chemical. Director Tony Scott is still attached to helm the movie although he was also asked to cut his salary from $9 million to $6 million. The movie eyes 2010 release, but the production allegedly came to a halt earlier due to budgetary issue.
