Warner Brothers just spent a fair amount of money showing off the cast and crew of upcoming release RocknRolla at San Diego Comic Con. So imagine my surprise to read though Filmstalker that it looks like the studio may be abandoning the picture due to concerns about the movie’s marketability and broad commercial appeal.

The news comes to light through a recent article in the LA Times, which caught producer Joel Silver screening RocknRolla for rival studios. The suggestion made is that Silver is probably looking for a new distributor for the film, because Warner Brothers may not be giving the picture the support Silver was hoping for.

"I think it's a well-made picture, but while it's funny in spots, it's very English," WB chief Alan Horn told the Times. "I don't think it's broadly commercial. It feels like a film that deserves a spirited release, but not a wide one. Joel has an 800-screen deal, which we'll honor, but we might not be willing to spend the marketing money he wants us to." Horn then goes on to contradict himself, stating that he doesn’t even see the movie opening on 800 screens.

This isn’t the only British movie at Warner Brothers being shopped around. Danny Boyle’s latest, Slumdog Millionaire is also a concern for commercial appeal and is being reassessed by the studios execs. Don’t think it’s just the English films getting put in the cart, however. Pride and Glory, a movie about New York police officers, is also open for offers.

Shopping movies around to new distributors is hardly an uncommon experience in Hollywood, and it’s hard to see a strict line being drawn against movies that are “very English” (to use Horn’s words) when there’s another picture on the shelf that seems “very American.” I just don’t understand why the studio would invest money in a presence for RocknRolla in a high profile event like Comic Con, and then decide a month later to approach the movie so differently. Warners claims they are overloaded with movies to distribute, especially now that New Line has been folded under, but it seems to me you put your money in the movies you definitely want to see in theaters. RocknRolla is no more English today than it was a month ago, before WB put money into promoting it and bringing cast members to San Diego.