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Some drama has been stirring between Paramount Pictures and David Fincher, and “Heavy Metal” editor Kevin Eastman knows why. Props to The Playlist, who report that Paramount and Fincher, director of Se7en and Fight Club, have been butting heads over the running time of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. As the bout went on, Paramount decided to pull the plug on the Heavy Metal project, which Fincher was set to executive produce.

The lovely people over at Slashfilm had their own opinion about the matter, stating “the official reason given was that Fincher’s version of the Heavy Metal project was too dark and sexy for the studio. But if one were to connect the dots, you see a connection to the supposed feud behind the scenes over the Ben Button running time.”

Apparently their speculation was dead on, as video has surfaced featuring Kevin Eastman speaking with RGB Filter at Fan Expo 2008. Eastman makes it clear that Paramount was using Heavy Metal as leverage against Fincher’s demands on running time.

“So they [Paramount} said, 'Until you step up to do what we want you to do with Benjamin, we're not going to greenlight any other of [your] movies,” Eastman explained. “And David said, “Fine, fuck you, I’m going to set up [Heavy Metal] somewhere else,” so we jumped over to Sony and set it up there.”

Eastman also said the production will begin in fall, and that Fincher wants to direct one of the animated Heavy Metal episodes, along with the likes of Guillermo Del Toro, Gore Verbinski, and Zack Snyder.

Lengths of various films have always been an issue between director and distributor, but the claim that Fincher would have a version of Heavy Metal that is too dark and sexy is like saying Paris Hilton shouldn’t pose in Playboy because it’s too risqué for her. Heavy Metal has a cult following and it will be interesting to see how a new version would do in terms of popularity.

You can watch the video of Kevin Eastman and get more info on the Heavy Metal drama below.

Who would you like to see do a “Heavy Metal” vignette?