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Denzel Back On Board For Movie?

According to Variety.com:

The 20th Century Fox drama “Unstoppable” just might live up to its title.

Nearly two weeks after Denzel Washington formally withdrew from the Tony Scott-directed drama, the actor and the studio are close to compromising on a deal that will put the runaway train picture back on its fast track for a fall start.

Pre-production on the film has resumed in Pittsburgh.

Washington has been attached since April to re-team with Scott and play a veteran engineer who jumps into a locomotive with a young conductor (“Star Trek’s” Chris Pine) to stop an unmanned runaway train loaded with toxic cargo that is going fast enough to derail when the train reaches a hairpin turn. The resulting spill will destroy a nearby town. The Mark Bomback script is based on true events.

Progress on the film slowed recently when Fox insisted that the budget be brought close to $90 million, which required salary concessions from Washington and Scott. Sources said the studio asked Scott to shave $3 million off his upfront salary, and Washington to shave $4 million off his, sources said. Washington declined and his WME agent Ed Limato began looking for other film jobs for his star’s fall slot.

Washington went off with Scott to promote “The Taking of Pelham 123” in Europe, and he took a fresh draft of the script with him. He and Scott kept talking, and Fox and Washington’s WME reps found some common deal-making ground. Both parties found ways to be flexible.

As a result, Fox has salvaged the fall start date on a priority film that the studio has invested years developing.

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