The decisions of directors often impact their colleagues, especially when they're working in close proximity to similar material, so it makes sense to think that perhaps Guillermo del Toro's 'Pacific Rim' influenced Steven Spielberg's decision to place 'Robopocalypse' on indefinite hold. However, this "hold" may not be what it seems, according to recent statements by Spielberg.

We reported yesterday that Spielberg pumped the brakes on his adaptation of 'Robopocalypse,' a film that takes place in the not-so-distant future when humans become reliant on robots, but one robot becomes self-aware and sets out to destroy humanity -- a familiar tale by now, of course.

Deadline has an interesting piece on the way directors have influenced each other with their decisions -- David O. Russell only got to work on his Oscar-nominated 'Silver Linings Playbook' because Sydney Pollack couldn't figure the story out, Peter Jackson directed 'The Hobbit' because Guillermo del Toro bailed in favor of attempting 'At the Mountains of Madness' and 'Pacific Rim,' the former of which Del Toro believed was hurt by the development of 'Prometheus,' etc.

In that piece they say they've heard that one factor in the "indefinite hold" placed on 'Robopocalypse' may have been 'Pacific Rim,' with Spielberg believing that one giant robot epic is enough to hold the movie-going public over for a while. It's also possible that the rumored script issues are true, and Spielberg wants to get this thing right (yeah, lest we end up with another 'A.I.' or 'I, Robot').

And according to his statement today to Entertainment Weekly, 'Robopocalypse' is still very much happening:

“We found that the film was costing a lot of money and I found a better way to tell the story more economically but also much more personally,” Spielberg said. “I found the personal way into Robopocalypse, and so I just told everybody to go find other jobs, I’m starting on a new script and we’ll have this movie back on its feet soon.”

Spielberg isn't sure how long it will be delayed, but he estimates about six to eight months while he puts a new story together.

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