BBC News Online: Entertainment

Ali film 'gets green light'

Last week Columbia Pictures chairwoman Amy Pascal threatened to shelve the project, to be called Ali, because of concerns that Mann would go over budget.

Mann, director of the Oscar-nominated The Insider, persuaded the studio to raise the budget to $110m (£76m), unusually high for a sports movie.

Columbia said in a statement: "We are pleased that we could successfully work with all involved to reach an understanding that will allow a great actor and a talented director to team up and tell the story of one of the best-known men in the world."

After meetings with studio executives, Mann, Smith and producer Jon Peters agreed to:

• Pay for any costs that run over the budget,
• Reduce their upfront fees,
• Lower their share of foreign profits, and
• Cut pages and locations from the film's script.

Ali, who has given the project his blessing, reportedly singled out Smith as the only actor who could portray him on the big screen.

The star of blockbusters Men in Black and Independence Day, Smith has spent nearly six months training with Ali to get in shape to play the former heavyweight champion.

He reportedly earns $20m (£13.8m) a movie with an additional 20% of the studio's revenue after the first $100m (£69m), according to the Los Angeles Times.

He was ranked the 10th most bankable Hollywood star in a recent celebrity survey.

The paper also reported that Mann was to receive $6m (£4.1m) up front for Ali, against a percentage of the gross takings of the film.

Production on Ali is scheduled to start in January 2001.