Universal and Fox studios pulled back from the Halo movie project at the last minute after an unsuccessful pay cut demand. Universal and Fox went after a larger profit cut by demanding that the filmmakers and Microsoft should settle for a smaller cut of the film profits. Microsoft, Bungie, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh declined the offer and the deal was off.
The official reason for the withdrawal of the studios was concern over costs rising over the budget of $135 million up to even $200 million. Representative of Jackson and Walsh, Ken Kamins, denied the rumours of the $200 million figure stating that no exact figure was ever discussed and the outlined costs would not amount to $200 million.
There are also rumours circling around the inexperienced movie director Neill Blomkamp. It is said that he might very well be the cause of worry for the studios. These rumours are also shot down by Kamins, who says that Jackson and Walsh are very confident in Blomkamp´s vision and talent.
This is not the end of Halo the Movie, as the creative talent behind the film is still intact. Microsoft and Kamins are currently working on finding new distribution partners.