Sci Fi reports that the movie vesion of Steve Alten’s bestselling shark thiller Meg has run into another snag.

Meg, the film version of the Steve Alten novel about a giant prehistoric shark, is stalled at New Line after nine years in development, Variety reported. New Line has had the rights to the book since last year, and was planning to release a film in 2006 with a budget of $75 million. But when the budget estimate came in at $150 million, the studio put the project on hold in order to come up with ways to scale it back.



The CGI work for Meg would itself cost $40 million to $70 million, the trade paper reported. Aside from aquatic challenges (CGI waves, thousands of species of fish), the giant shark attacks ships and a helicopter. Now,

the film is looking to shoot this spring for a summer 2008 release, at the earliest.



Director Jan de Bont, who was attached to the project at New Line, told the trade paper that the film has taken a back seat to other costly films such as Inkheart, Rush Hour 3 and The Golden Compass. “But I have no doubt Meg will swim,” he said.
Alten is counting on the film to generate publicity for the fourth book in his Meg series, Meg 4: Hell’s Aquarium, and doesn’t plan to finish it until the film is greenlit.

This is ridiculous. Meg — which is brief for megalodon, a giant prehistoric shark — will make a awesome summer movie. $150 million is nothing: New Line should write the check and get things moving.

Original post by ReadersRead.com Book Blog