What does Status: Turnaround mean?

Mattias: This is going to be a little bit oversimplified, but hopefully pretty much accurate.

When a project is put into turnaround, it means that a production company has given up on trying to make the film and allows a producer to try to shop it to another production company. If the second production company wants to acquire the project, though, they generally have to pay the first company its costs of developing the project plus interest.

There is an additional wrinkle to the process called "changed elements". Basically, if there is a significant change to the project after it is put into turnaround, like a new director or new star, the project has to be offered back to the original production company so it has another chance to choose to make the film.