Warner Bros. and Jonah Hill are pushing back hard against a single word: “unreleasable.” Puck News journalist Matt Belloni set off a wave of industry chatter this week after reporting that Cut Off, Hill’s comedy co-starring Kristen Wiig, had been pulled from its July 17 release slot because the studio deemed it exactly that.
Warner Bros. disputed the claim, with a source telling The Hollywood Reporter that the film simply wrapped production in January and that the studio wants more time before release — and that a new date is forthcoming. A representative for Hill added that the film remains in post-production and the date was pushed because it simply wasn’t ready.
But the episode arrives at an uncomfortable moment for Hill as a filmmaker. His most recent feature, Outcome — a dark comedy for Apple TV starring Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer — landed in April to bruising reviews, earning a 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics described it as a “sweaty, self-absorbed train wreck.” Cut Off was meant to be a reset: broad, cheerful, commercially minded.
The film follows wealthy siblings, played by Hill and Wiig, who are suddenly stripped of their parents’ financial support and forced to manage adult life on their own for the first time. Bette Midler and Nathan Lane play the parents, with Adriana Barraza, Camila Cabello and Chelsea Peretti rounding out the cast. Hill co-wrote the script with Ezra Woods — the same collaborator on Outcome — and has described the film as a mix of Step Brothers, Clueless and Trading Places.
The project went through at least one significant casting change before filming began, with Jennifer Lawrence originally attached to Wiig’s role. Test screenings reportedly scored poorly, with one attendee describing the film as “unwatchable.”
Belloni also suggested the film’s ultimate fate may hinge on the pending Warner Bros.-Paramount merger and whether current film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy remain in their roles — leaving the decision potentially in David Ellison’s hands. The studio has released no promotional material for the film since production wrapped.
Hill had spoken about Cut Off with something like deliberate self-deprecation. At a SmartLess Live event in April, he told hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes that the film was “pure stupidity” and promised audiences “the dumbest shit you’ve ever seen in your entire life.” Whether that gamble reads as charming or cautionary will depend entirely on when — or whether — anyone gets to see it.
