The Whole Truth About ‘Lies’: Late and Over Budget : Movies: ‘If this movie is as big as we think it is, what difference does it make when in the summer it opens?’ Fox executive says of film that reteams Cameron, Schwarzenegger.

Late Friday afternoon it became clear that, after an intensive week in the editing room, director James Cameron would not be delivering his megabudgeted “True Lies” in time for 20th Century Fox’s intended July 1 release date.

As a result, Fox has had to push back the $100-million Arnold Schwarzenegger action adventure--the linchpin of its summer schedule--to July 15 and to reshuffle the rest of its lineup.

“Baby’s Day Out,” written and produced by John Hughes, will replace “True Lies” as Fox’s July 4 holiday weekend release.

Cameron and Fox insist that all talk of a specific release date on “True Lies” had been tentative and that the two-week postponement will have a negligible impact on the box office.

“If this movie is as big as we think it is, what difference does it make when in the summer it opens?” asks Tom Sherak, Fox senior executive vice president, citing the case of “The Fugitive,” which opened last August and eventually grossed more than $180 million in the United States and Canada alone. Still, the move intensifies the buzz on a movie already under the microscope. “True Lies”--which reteams the “Terminator 2” duo of Cameron and Schwarzenegger--is the superstar’s first outing since last summer’s “Last Action Hero” debacle. No one but the crew, a few Fox executives and some pals of Cameron have seen any footage. And by the studio’s admission, it is Fox’s costliest project yet released under the 17-month reign of chairman Peter Chernin.

The movie, for that matter, is among the costliest in film history, and added post-production time required to complete the picture will bloat the budget millions of dollars more. Though Fox claims that the estimated $100 million-plus production cost is inflated, Chernin admits that, with at least $25 million for a marketing campaign, the studio has a lot on the line.

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Still, he maintains, the fate of “True Lies” won’t make or break the studio. “Coming off ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ the No. 2 movie of last year, the studio is incredibly strong,” he says. “The fortunes of Fox aren’t riding on any one film.”

The movie, which is the first to be delivered by Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment since the director signed a deal with Fox two years ago, tells the story of a top-secret government agent (Schwarzenegger) trying to save his country and hold on to his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Cameron is said to have received between $6 million and $7 million for writing, producing and directing the film, which originally had been budgeted at $60 million but greenlit at about $10 million more. When the budget swelled into the $70-million range, however, Cameron reportedly kicked back a portion of his fee. Schwarzenegger, for his part, pulled in $15 million against 15% of the gross.

Fox, which has all domestic rights plus France and Switzerland, put up the lion’s share of the budget, and sources estimate the studio’s exposure on the movie may be as much as $60 million-$70 million. Universal Pictures kicked in approximately 30% of a capped budget of about $60 million in exchange for the rest of the foreign rights with the exception of Japan, Italy and Germany.

But for Cameron’s contribution, Fox was responsible for all overages on the film.

“The film will need to gross $100 million (domestically) for the studio to break even,” says one industry analyst.

Under the terms of the original Lightstorm deal, the studio was only responsible for a portion of the financing, with the balance to come from Cameron’s foreign partners. When Lightstorm failed to secure the necessary funding last year, Fox became the primary financier. In exchange for putting up more capital, Fox not only received more worldwide distribution rights to “True Lies” but additional Cameron films.

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Of the two to be produced by Cameron, the first is “Strange Days,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Angela Bassett and Ralph Fiennes, which goes before the cameras in six weeks. Cameron will also direct another film for Fox after completing “Spider-Man” for Carolco Pictures next year.

Cameron, a noted perfectionist, started shooting “True Lies” last August and wrapped less than two weeks ago--way behind schedule.

“Yes, we went over,” admits Rae Sanchini, Lightstorm president and an executive producer of the film. “Most big films with this many moving pieces do. We had to transport a company of this size to six different cities and encountered a major earthquake while shooting in Van Nuys.”

Cameron, for that matter, is no stranger to chaotic post-production demands. His other $100-million movie, “Terminator 2,” also went down to the wire and eventually grossed more than $500 million worldwide.

Trailers for “True Lies” are scheduled to appear in selected theaters soon and the final trailer will surface around Memorial Day.

Still, based on excellent word-of-mouth and obvious star power, the studio is convinced the movie will speak for itself.

“When you have Arnold and Cameron, that’s all the hype you need,” Sherak says.