One of the entertainment stories that has stayed fluid through the week is the debacle that is the “Men in Black III” production schedule, or lack thereof.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures started production on the film with only one act of the script written. The reasoning behind this decision is because all of the prinicpal actors–Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones–and director Barry Sonnenfeld, were all set to go, and delaying production could have jeopardized the cast. Sony allowed for there to be a break in the schedule so the rest of the script could be completed. However, the break, which was to start in December and end in mid-February, has now been extended to March 28.

David Koepp, who, according to the article, did uncredited work on the first “MIB” was brought on to work out some of the complexities involving the plot, which hinges around time travel, something that’s always linchpin of a sci-fi movie’s level of success or failure.

All of the delays are costing the company millions, even though Sony has stated that the costs will be offset due to when the movie started filming–December 2010, during the time when New York tax breaks were released, according to the article. But still, the decision to film the movie with not even 1/2 of a completed script is something that has confused many in the industry.

That’s not the only problem with this movie; Will Smith has been tinkering with the script. The original script that the studio signed off on–one written by “Tropic Thunder” scribe Etan Cohen–was why the cast decided to come back and do another “MIB”. But Smith still felt it pertinent to add his changes to the script. Supposedly, according to a source, Smith’s writing process “takes a long time”.

A lot of elements are at play in the “MIB III” hangup. Will Smith stop rewriting parts of the movie? Will Sony get its act together? We’ll see, because the film is supposed to be out in 3D in May 2012.