Initially Warner Bros. attempted to sign Martin Scorsese in 2002. He turned down the chance to direct the movie, calling it "unfilmable". Later on, the movie became a "passion project" for director Akiva Goldsman. He was given the go-ahead by Warner Bros. in February 2011 with a budget of $75 million. The budget was later dropped to $60 million in February of 2012. Will Smith and Russell Crowe were linked to the project in supporting roles.