• calliope@piefed.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    36
    ·
    8 hours ago

    The movie was bankrolled by Saudi Arabia to set up infrastructure for the entire filmmaking industry there. That’s why it was so expensive.

    Also, a large chunk of the $150 million budget was literally putting infrastructure in place to manage a production of this size. “On-set insiders say Saudi production hub Neom Media was effectively laying the infrastructure for an entire industry on the budget of ‘Desert Warrior,’” the report noted.

    https://www.slashfilm.com/2160537/anthony-mackie-desert-warrior-one-of-biggest-box-office-flops-ever/

    • FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      7 hours ago

      Neom media, huh? But the line (NEOM) isn’t finished yet, so i wonder if they set up shop i na bunch of trailers in the desert, probably costing more, or if they set up shop in a different town and will then move the entire business over to NEOM when it’s actually built

      EDIT:

      https://maps.app.goo.gl/LL8ucz1xi8tj7NSo8

      • rainwall@piefed.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        6 hours ago

        Gonna be a long wait. NEOM is canceled in all but name:

        Much of the city was planned to be completed by 2030, as it is one of the focal points of Saudi Vision 2030.[7] Experts expressed skepticism about the ambitions of the megaproject.[8] Initially estimated to cost $1.6 trillion,[2] the project’s estimated costs were by 2025 in excess of $8.8 trillion (more than 25 times the annual Saudi budget).[9] By July 2022, only two buildings had been constructed, and most of the project area remained bare desert.[10] In 2024, Neom was reported to have been substantially scaled back from its original plan.[9][11] An internal audit of the megaproject found extensive problems, including “evidence of deliberate manipulation”, by the managers of the project.[9] By 2025, new contracts for Neom dried up and there was no mention of Neom in Saudi Arabia’s pre-budget statement for 2026.[12] In March 2026, large contracts for tunneling work[13] and the Trojena ski resort were cancelled.[14]