Pharrell Williams Film “Golden” Won’t Be Released

The Michel Gondry-directed movie musical “Golden,” about the childhood of singer and music producer Pharrell Williams, has been permanently scrapped with the movie not to be released in any capacity.

Variety broke the news, saying the film was originally aiming for a wide theatrical release on May 5th this year but sources for the trade say that within Universal Pictures the date was pushed back last year and has now been ditched altogether.

Originally titled “Atlantis,” the film stars the likes of Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Janelle Monáe, Missy Elliott, Quinta Brunson, Anderson .Paak and Jaboukie Young-White.

The trade indicates the project was shut down after “unanimous agreement from producers and Gondry that the film did not live up to its developed conceit”. Those involved were paid for the work they completed, but the film was only in early post-production when the decision was made and so will never be finished.

Universal is expected to absorb roughly $20 million in costs already spent on production. However, this isn’t a “Batgirl” or “Coyote vs. Acme” situation where the cancellation was reportedly motivated by a tax write-off. Creatives cancelling a project this far along is decidedly unusual.

It follows on from the failure of “Piece by Piece,” the LEGO-created documentary biopic about Williams’ life and career. That movie opened in October last year to softly positive reviews and disastrous box-office – the film earning just $9.7 million States-side and barely $1 million overseas.

That’s worse than the other quirky 2024 biopic about a musician surnamed Williams, the Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man,” which scored great reviews but earned just $19.4 million worldwide from a decidedly more costly budget.

The post Pharrell Williams Film “Golden” Won’t Be Released appeared first on Dark Horizons.