German rights trader Intertainment and US production company Kopelson Entertainment have mutually agreed to terminate their deal to finance a slate of big budget pictures.

According to a statement, the step - effective from Feb 11 - was taken "because of Intertainment's cost-cutting requirements interfering with the production requirements of Kopelson Entertainment."

The cost-cutting is a result of the ongoing litigation against Franchise Pictures concerning allegedly fraudulently inflated budgets. The main hearing for the trial between Intertainment and Franchise is set for April 20.

Philip Kaufman's thriller Twisted (formerly known as Blackout) was the only film completed under the agreement between Intertainment and Kopelson Entertainment, and will be released with Paramount Pictures in the US on February 27.

When the original agreement was signed in June 2000, Intertainment agreed to fully finance a slate of 10-20 pictures prepared by Arnold and Anne Kopelson with average budgets of $50m (ScreenDaily.com, 8 June 2000).