Ridley Scott's revisionist take on the Robin Hood tale has hit delays.
Scott was aiming for a mid-August start date, however production on the film, which is to star Russell Crowe as a sympathetic Sheriff of Nottingham, has been indefinitely postponed.
Script concerns, location logistics and the current labour unrest all played a role in the decision. In explaining the production shutdown, a spokesman cited the "cloud of the SAG strike" as one of three factors that led to the postponement.
They also said "the film's forest locations need to be green," which suggests even if other factors were to be resolved later this year; the production could not now resume until next spring.
The third key factor was the project's script by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, with a rewrite by Brian Helgeland. "The current version of the screenplay," the studio said, "is not yet where the studio and the filmmakers want it to be in terms of realising the full value of the story.
Sienna Millar was recently cast as Maid Marion with Sam Riley as Robin.
'Nottingham' had been on track to be released Nov. 6, 2009.
