Ridley Scott's RSA production company and the online video network Machinima had struck a deal to create a series of sci-fi short films from exciting directors, but that deal is now said to have fallen through, reports VideoInk, citing sources close to the deal. Either funding issues or directors' availability is believed to be the behind the deal's collapse. While the plan falling apart may be bad news for Machinima as it tries to grow into a more mature network, it's bad news for viewers as well: a dozen directors would have been experimenting with short-form sci-fi ideas that ultimately could have turned into something bigger if they caught on.