In early 2002, Darren Aronofsky cast Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the central leads of Tom and Izzi with a budget of 75 million dollars. During pre-production, Pitt and Aronofsky were having major creative differences, so Pitt left to film Troy (2004) instead, and the film was shut down, and the sets and props built in Australia were auctioned off. In early 2004, with a smaller budget of 35 million dollars, Aronofsky cast Hugh Jackman as Tom and Rachel Weisz replaced Blanchett as Izzi. Warner Bros., who had invested 20 million dollars in the canceled version, agreed to finance the new, cheaper version.