the game's trailer, after which he immediately (and without waiting for the opinion of the board of directors) supported the production of a film adaptation. On July 5, 2000, FGN Online published an exclusive piece claiming that EA had signed an agreement with Miramax to create a film based on the game. According to the publisher's source, American McGee would be involved in the film's production, potentially as a creative director or co-producer. On December 7, 2000, McGee formally announced the film adaptation, which had been entrusted with Collision Entertainment, a subsidiary of Dimension Films, after ten months of negotiations. Wes Craven and John August were attached as director and screenwriter, with McGee co-producing the film alongside Collision Entertainment, and Abandon Entertainment acting as international distributor. No actors had yet been signed on, but Natalie Portman was rumored to have expressed interest. Milla Jovovich and Christina Ricci were also rumored to be attached. In September 2001, August explained that he had turned in a script treatment for Alice and was not attached to develop fuller drafts for the film adaptation. In December 2001, Craven announced that the film would be a computer-animated feature with a tentative 2003 release date. In February 2002, Dimension Films signed brother screenwriters Jon and Erich Hoeber to write a new screenplay for Alice. In July 2003, the brothers announced that they had completed the script for the film adaptation. On March 4, 2004, McGee reported that the project had moved from Dimension Films to 20th Century Fox. Marcus Nispel On June 21, 2005, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Universal Pictures had acquired the film and signed Sarah Michelle Gellar on for the lead role, with Marcus Nispel attached to direct and the Hoeber brothers still attached to write. On February 8, 2006, Scott Faye, who had become a producer of the project, announced that filming would begin in the summer of 2006, with a budget of $40 to $50 million and a tentative 2007 release date. By 2008, the project was in turnaround, and Nispel and Gellar's involvement had ceased. Rumors circulated of Jane March being cast as the Queen of Hearts, which Faye denied. Short films In June 2013, American McGee was given the opportunity to buy back the film rights which were originally sold several years prior. Through Kickstarter, McGee managed to fund the cost of the film rights ($100,000) and another $100,000