The Bioshock movie has been in pre-production for some time now, with even Gore Verbinski, the man behind Pirates of the Caribbean acting as director. However the movie has recently encountered a hitch in the form of Universal halting production, apparently trying to find ways to decrease the film's expected $160 million budget. This doesn't look like it will permanently derail the movie, already alternatives are being found (like moving the filming to London) but things are definitely up in the air for now.

Universal Pictures has put the brakes on "Bioshock," the Gore Verbinski-directed live action adaptation of the bestselling Take-Two Interactive vidgame. The picture was in pre-production, but the studio has halted that effort--and let some production staff go--as Universal and Verbinski figure out a way to make the film at a more reasonable budget.

Sources said that the John Logan-scripted picture was gearing up to shoot in Los Angeles, but that changed when the budget rose to the vicinity of $160 million. U and Verbinski are looking at alternatives like shooting in London as a way to pare costs. The plotline takes place in the underwater city Rapture, where a pilot crash-lands near a secret entrance and becomes involved in a power struggle.

Bale Fire via variety.com »