I know getting funding for films can be a tricky game. For the longest time, Uwe Boll could guarantee investors a solid return thanks to tax loopholes, which explains how he could continue to put out crap. Meanwhile, Peter Jackson claims he’s not getting paid fully for Lord of the Rings because New Line says the movie never pulled a profit. It’s definitely tricky.

So movies that don’t deserve funding get it while movies that do deserve it don’t. Nothing proves that point more than today’s news from Variety that Jan de Bont’s next film, Stopping Power, has had the plug pulled due to losing one of the movie’s investors. Apparently "Stopping Power" had quite the double meaning.

Admittedly, it’s been over a decade since de Bont has had a successful film (and he was attached to that disaster, Meg for the last year), but to pull the plug on a de Bont film seems extreme, doesn’t it? Especially considering Stopping Power stars John Cusack, an actor with massive audience appeal. I can’t believe they couldn’t find another investor interested in cashing in on a de Bont, Cusack project. Other actors reportedly involved were Jason Isaacs and Melissa George.

Internationalmedia, the company who pulled the plug on the movie, didn’t disclose which investor backed out from the movie or for what reason, but the project is dead. Such a shame, considering the movie was slated to start filming soon. Apparently Internationalmedia may be pursuing legal action against whoever left the venture.