Warner Bros. Pictures is buying a stake in "The Island" according to trade papaer The Hollywood Reporter. The studio has closed a 50-50 co-production deal with DreamWorks for the project, which will star Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson for director Michael Bay.
DreamWorks had been looking for a studio partner on the project, and sources said it came down to Warners and Paramount Pictures, with Warners winning out. The pair have previously co-produced before on troubled sci-fi productions "The Time Machine" and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence."
The deal sees DreamWorks handling domestic distribution and Warners international, both studios will cough up half of the budget, estimated to be somewhere in the $100 million range. "Island" centers on a "harvested being" who suddenly becomes self-aware and tries to escape the utopian facility where he and others are being kept.
Thanks to 'KarlChilders'.
