Disney, Columbia to Team on ‘Bicentennial Man’

Walt Disney Pictures and Columbia Pictures said Thursday that they will jointly finance, distribute and market “Bicentennial Man,” a dramatic comedy Disney briefly put on the back burner last year because its budget was too high.

The picture reunites director Chris Columbus and actor Robin Williams, who teamed on the 1993 hit film “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

Under the terms of the partnership, the film, which began production this week in San Francisco, will be released domestically by Disney. Columbia will handle the international release. The two studios had a similar arrangement in 1997 with “Air Force One,” starring Harrison Ford.

The deal is just the latest Hollywood joint venture, as fear of flops has caused more studios to co-finance projects, covering their bets by sharing the risks. Just last fall, Disney put “Bicentennial Man” on hold when the film’s budget skyrocketed to more than $100 million. Pre-production resumed only after the budget was whittled down.

“As this project came together and the sheer scale of the production became evident, it was obvious to us that we wanted a partner to maximize production, marketing and distribution,” said Joe Roth, chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

John Calley, chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment, called the deal “an opportunity we couldn’t resist.”