Studios pull out of Halo film

Fox and Universal have pulled their financing from the movie based on the popular video game Halo, which is being produced by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.

Hollywood trade paper Variety reports the two studios withdrew from the project out of concern for its soaring cost. Reports say the filmsexpense could reach $200 million US, far beyond the originalbudget of $135 million US.

The film is backed partially by software giant Microsoft, and the company is reportedly in negotiations with other partners now.

Its just part of filmmaking," said spokesman Jamie Wilson of Weta, the production company owned by Jackson and based in his native New Zealand. Preparation work on the film at Weta is expected to continue despite the pullout.

We've been in this situation before. It happened on Lord of the Rings and it happened on King Kong. There's a great film to be made and a lot of work has been done.

Variety reports the two studios had asked Microsoft and Jackson to reduce their take on the profits, which was refused by both.

Our goal remains the same to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise," said aMicrosoft spokesman in a statement.

Alex Garland, who wrote The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio and the zombie hit 28 Days Later, is writing the screenplay for Halo, which will be directed by Neil Blomkamp.

The video game follows the tribulations of future super-soldier Master Chief as he battles to save mankind from an alien race. It has sold more than 5 million copies since it was first released in 2001.

A sequel followed in 2004 and another is expected next year for Microsoft's video game console Xbox 360.