The ongoing writers strike in Hollywood has had an impact in Australia with the news that Metropolis, the eight-part Apple TV+ series that would have been Victoria’s largest-ever screen production, has been scrapped.
The epic sci-fi series from NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group was announced last year, and was expected to inject $416 million directly into the Victorian economy.
However, a representative from UPC, which is part of Universal’s Studio Group, confirmed the series was axed.
“Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision,” they said, according to Deadline.
The series had been in limbo for weeks, Deadline added, reportedly due to production drafts of the scripts not being completed before the writers strike. Other key elements of pre-production were also affected.
Essentially, not knowing when the series could go ahead, UCP decided to axe the production after evaluating the money already spent and the potential risks of developing the project.
At the time of cancellation, Lindy Booth and Briana Middleton had been cast in the series.
Metropolis was set to be directed and written by award-winning creator, producer and director Sam Esmail, who had expressed support for the writers’ strike.
“Studios: Take it from two writers that worked on MR. ROBOT, do not trust AI,” he wrote on Twitter.
Tweet from @samesmail
And 3900 jobs go
Metropolis was based on the Fritz Lang science fiction work that was released in 1927.
Lang’s film Metropolis was set in a futuristic city, where there is a divide between the working class and the city planners, only for a prominent son to fall in love with a woman from the working class.
Esmail’s project was set to be very ambitious.
“Metropolis is set to be one of the most technically ambitious screen productions in the world, and the state-of-the-art infrastructure being built right here, along with our outstanding crew and locations, truly places Melbourne as amongst the world’s great screen production cities,” VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said last year.
Production would have created some 3900 jobs in Victoria, with some 500 local cast and crew members, and 2400 extras.
Screen Victoria also expected more than 600 Victorian businesses and service providers would have benefitted from the production.
The writers’ strike is continuing and Metropolis is only one project that has been affected.
Major movies like Avatar and upcoming Star Wars films have been pushed back, reportedly due to the strike.
A Yellowstone prequel has also reportedly been delayed indefinitely.
Not only are writers striking over wages and conditions, but also in hopes of preventing studios from using AI to generate scripts.
