Warner Balks, Seagal Signs With Columbia : Movies: Following studio’s postponement of his directorial debut, action star accepts another film project.

One week after Warner Bros. abruptly postponed the planned start of Steven Seagal’s directorial debut in “Rainbow Warrior,” when the studio reportedly became alarmed that the film was more expensive than it thought, Seagal has signed to star in an action-thriller for Columbia Pictures.

Seagal, whose star status rose dramatically with the box-office success last year of “Under Siege,” has signed to star in “Fire Down Below,” based on a screenplay by Jeb Stuart (“Die Hard”), which will be produced by Jon Peters. Seagal will also serve as producer.

The story is about a big-city Environmental Protection Agency agent who goes undercover to stop toxic waste dumpers in a tight-knit Appalachian mountain town.

Warner Bros. said Seagal is still scheduled to direct “Rainbow Warrior,” but spokesmen said filming has been pushed back to July or August.

The movie is scheduled to be shot in Alaska, but last week Warner Bros. cited insufficient snowfall as the reason for the postponement. However, Hollywood trade publication Daily Variety reported last week that a check of National Weather Service statistics last week showed that Valdez recorded 47 inches of snow on the ground and Nome had 10 inches with snow showers forecast throughout the week.

That has led to speculation that Warner Bros. was trying to find a reason to delay the project because it was alarmed that production costs had soared into the upper-$40-million range, when it should have been in the mid-$30 million range. Daily Variety quoted unidentified sources as saying the studio also was concerned that “no one was running the show,” a contention that was denied by Seagal’s publicist, Paul Bloch.

Some industry sources scoffed at rumors that Seagal was so peeved at Warner Bros. that he made the Columbia deal. They pointed out that he has a four-picture deal at Warner Bros. that allows him to make one film outside the studio in that period.

But others aren’t so sure and said the timing of the Columbia deal may signify a rift. “It sure smells like it,” said one source, who asked not to be identified. “It sends a message (to Warner Bros.).

“We know there is a lot of friction over his direction of ‘Rainbow Warrior’ and there is a lot of friction over Warner Bros. pushing back the start date,” he continued. “Columbia Pictures is the convenient beneficiary.”