Depp, Clooney Project Broke

Feb. 16 -- The only thing dangerous about the new movie starring Johnny Depp and George Clooney is its lack of funding.

According to Variety, the two actors and director Bryan Singer are men without a country after financiers backing Confessions of a Dangerous Mind pulled out. The movie will now be unable to be filmed before possible industry strikes this summer.

Breaking Down the Set

The $35 million project is based on the autobiography of Chuck Barris, the eclectic host of The Gong Show, who claimed to moonlight as a CIA recruiter. Depp was to play Barris, and Clooney was going to appear as a CIA man.

"It's a shame," Singer told The Hollywood Reporter from Montreal, where the crew was disassembling the set. "It's a great project, a brilliant script, and we've got the very best people here."

The film's producer was unable to close the financing in time to accommodate both the June 1 completion deadline required by insurers and the 65-day shooting schedule. The deadline was to have provided a four-week buffer between the end of production and the start of the potential actors' strike.

Negotiations to sell domestic rights to Miramax Films fell through after two weeks, Variety notes. Artisan Entertainment, which had dropped out when the domestic bids rose above $8 million, is reportedly still interested in North American distribution.