Many years ago, Willis backed out of Disney’s Broadway Brawler after production had started due to a clash with the director, Lee Grant. Willis was looking at a lawsuit and a rather expensive $17.5m bill for the scrapped production, until Roth persuaded him to make a three-picture deal instead. Willis made Armageddon for a reduced fee to help cover the costs on Brawler and then added The Sixth Sense and The Kid. Total worldwide box office takings for the three? $1.3bn.
Willis seems to have a sense of owing Roth the occasional favour and Deadline are reporting that the friendship that has grown up between them is part of the reason behind Willis signing to star in “Ten”, a drama to be directed by Patrick Alessandrin (District 13: Ultimatum) and scripted by Skip Woods (Wolverine, The A-Team, Hitman), which will begin shooting in December.
We’ve got no news yet on further casting or a plot synopsis, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled and let you know.
