Annapurna Pictures to financially back Leonardo DiCaprio`s `The Revenant`

Washington: Megan Ellison`s Annapurna Pictures is negotiating to come aboard as financial backer for Leonardo DiCaprio`s ` The Revenant ` after its original backer, Worldview, pulled back on film financing.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film, to be directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, co-starring Tom Hardy and Will Poulter, and is a harrowing survival story set in the early 19th century, based on the experiences of fur trapper Hugh Glass. According to a source, New Regency said to have approached Fox unsuccessfully for financial backing and the company would have been on the hook for a big chunk of the budget if the movie fell apart because Hardy`s deal was pay-or-play and DiCaprio`s deal was all but pay-or-play. Sources revealed that Inarritu, whose `Birdman` will open the Venice Film Festival in September, has been at odds with producers over the budget of the new film, which was aiming to begin shooting in September. A source said that Inarritu had been threatening to walk off, but he will get his way, and everything will be fine.