Following the success of Fast Five ($600m worldwide) director Justin Lin suddenly found himself in demand. He signed a two-year production deal with Universal (which involved directing Fast Six), a first-look deal with Sony Pictures TV to develop TV projects, and became the director of choice for Terminator 5 following discussions with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

However, the problem for Lin is that both Fast Six and Terminator 5 are priority projects for those involved, and with both hoping to get started next year Lin has had to leave the Terminator franchise behind. For now.

From Deadline:

Things are starting to move on The Terminator franchise, but a plan by rights owner Megan Ellison and Arnold Schwarzenegger to put the first of two pictures in production for the fourth quarter of 2012 has forced director Justin Lin to drop out. But borrowing the film’s signature phrase “I’ll be back,” Lin has left the door open to a return if Ellison and Schwarzenegger will wait until he completes the sixth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise.

The rush to continue the Terminator franchise is mainly due to the fact in 2018 the Terminator rights will revert back to James Cameron, who directed the first two films, but until then whoever holds the rights has time to make at least two more movies. True Grit producer Megan Ellison bought the rights back in May, and is now hoping to get a screenwriter, director and studio involved so production can begin in late-2012.

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Things are moving forward on the Terminator front. According to Deadline True Grit producer Megan Ellison has won an auction for the rights to make at least two more Terminator movies, with Justin Lin (Fast Five) attached to direct and Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to star.

Apparently Lionsgate were on the verge of wrapping up the auction, but Ellison’s Annapurna Films came in with a higher bid which is speculated to be around $20 million.

What’s interesting is that Megan Ellison and Annapurna Films appear to be decent producers. They have crime drama The Wettest County in the World with Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Mia Wasikowska out next year, and recently wrapped Cogan’s Trade starring Brad Pitt.

No studio is currently attached to the Terminator project yet, but it will only be a matter of time. Personally I think the franchise has run its course, but if they bring good writers on-board to write the script it will boost confidence in the project. Fast Five may just be a summer popcorn flick, but it’s actually the best reviewed movie of franchise so Justin Lin may be able to make something worthwhile with a decent script.

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In February we heard that Universal were interested in making another Terminator movie, and their plan was to pair Fast Five director Justin Lin with screenwriter Chris Morgan on the project.

Santa Barbara hedge fund Pacificor won the rights back in 2009 so whatever happens with the Terminator franchise in the future will have to involve them, however in a recent interview Justin Lin revealed that directing a Terminator movie could be in his future, and he’s spoke to Arnold Schwarzenegger about it.

From Omelete (via Collider):

I think one of the great things is that when I got started, no one would return my calls, and now I get a lot of phone calls, which is good. I have options. Terminator was one of my favorite films growing up. And I feel I have a take that I would love to see, and I’ve talked with Arnold and we’ve talked and we’ll see. Again, I would love to do it, but it has to be the right circumstances. It has to be the right people. And there’s other projects too. But I’m in a position now that I can choose more than I could a year ago, two years ago. So that is something that is potentially in my future, but when I get home I will sit down and look at my options and choose what I want to do.

James Cameron, who directed the first (and best) two film thinks the franchise has ‘run its course’ and I have to agree with him. The Fast and Furious franchise is fun mindless action, but if the Terminator franchise is to continue it needs a director with a unique vision or take on the mythology. We don’t need another movie where things just blow up.

The return of Arnold Schwarzenegger would be welcomed, but that doesn’t guarantee we’ll get a good movie. It’ll be interesting to see what Justin Lin has planned, and if it will ever happen.

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In 2009 Santa Barbara hedge fund Pacificor won the rights to the Terminator franchise at auction after beating the likes of Lionsgate and Sony. As Pacificor had no experience with making movies they began talks with both Sony and Lionsgate to see if they could continue the franchise. Eventually those talks fell apart, and Pacificor began looking elsewhere.

Things have been pretty quiet since then, but now according to Deadline Universal is interested in making another Terminator movie, and their plan is to pair Fast Five director Justin Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan on the project.

Nothing is official yet, but it’s interesting that this news comes after the recent announcement from Arnold Schwarzenegger that he is finally returning to acting after a number of years in politics. There’s no guarantee Schwarzenegger would return to the franchise, but I suppose it’d make it more watchable if he did.

Before the Terminator rights went to auction Terminator Salvation director McG had plans for its sequel to follow John Connor (Christian Bale) battling machines in a modern day 2011. Those plans evaporated when the rights changed hands, but then William Wisher, James Cameron’s writing partner on the first two films, scripted a detailed 24-page treatment for Terminator 5 and a 4-page concept outline for Terminator 6 which “continued the post-apocalyptic battleground scenario from Terminator Salvation, but added in the element of time travel.”

It is unknown whether this will happen now, but I can’t see where Justin Lin and Chris Morgan could go with the franchise. James Cameron thinks the franchise has ‘run its course’ and I have to agree with him. The Fast and Furious franchise is fun mindless action, but this franchise needs a Nolan-style reboot/sequel/re-imagining more than anything (not that Nolan should direct, but someone with talent and vision should).

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Last week we learned that an investment advisor called Pacificor had won the Terminator rights at auction, beating the likes of Lionsgate and Sony. This means that we can expect more Terminator movies in the future, as Pacificor will no doubt want to get their money’s worth out of them.

The auction was followed by buzz that William Wisher, writer of the first and second Terminator movies (the good ones) has written a treatment for Terminator 5 and 6. This would be cool if something became of it; however it’s still early days yet. Even if the original writer returns to the franchise, James Cameron made it quite clear to MTV that he wouldn’t be.

Where do you want the Terminator franchise to go from here? Should it die? Do you want a reboot, or did Terminator Salvation leave you wanting a Terminator 5?

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We’ve been following the plight of the Terminator rights since it was announced they would be going to auction last November. According to Deadline Hollywood the rights were sold today during a bidding war that lasted 5 hours. Both Sony (who distributed Terminator Salvation) and Lionsgate were interested in the rights, with the latter hoping to make “a complete re-boot, back to basics, with real emotional stories, and effects that will be secondary.”

Unfortunately for both studios they were outbid…by an investment advisor.

Halcyon Holding Corp accepted the $29.5 million bid from, of all parties, the debtholder which pushed it into bankruptcy, Santa Barbara-based hedge fund Pacificor. (This is the same Pacificor whom Halcyon accused in a lawsuit of extortion, bribery, and fraud and demanded $30M in damages.)

Tonight, Sony and Lionsgate dropped out at just under $29.5 million when it became clear that Pacificor “was willing to pay almost any amount of money for Terminator,” an insider tells me. Halcyon will receive $5 million for every Terminator movie made from now on, as well as retains the rich revenue streams from the movies Terminator 3 and 4.

Ideally James Cameron would have turned up to the auction by private jet, outbid everyone for the franchise he created, and put the rights in a safe for 10 years so nobody could expolit them. Alas, some company looking to make a quick buck will be in charge of the franchise, so we can expect either a reboot or Terminator 5 over the next few years.

Update: According to the L.A Times Sony and Lionsgate are jointly in talks with Pacificor to “take control of the property”. Pacificor has no experience making movies whatsoever, so they will need to work with studios if they are to put the rights into good use.

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Back in September we heard that Halcyon were interested in selling the rights to the Terminator franchise as they were trying to work their way out of bankruptcy. Now according to the Financial Times an auction for the rights will take place later this month.

Several financial buyers have expressed interest, including Platinum Equity, the Beverly Hills firm that owns Delphi, the auto parts maker .

All the big film studios have also registered interest in the rights, with Sony Pictures a leading contender, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Summit Entertainment, the company behind the Twilight series, is tracking the sale, as is Media Rights Capital, which produced Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno.

It will be interesting to see who wins the rights, and then to see what they do with them. Will they move forward with a sequel to Terminator Salvation, or will they wait a few years and make their own reboot?

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Back in 2007 producers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek bought the rights to the Terminator franchise for $25 million. This was a bit of surprise because they hadn’t really done anything, apart from a movie called Cook-Off! which they starred in themselves. They then made Terminator Salvation which wasn’t a bad movie, although it could have been better. It wasn’t really a flop as it made $370+ million worldwide, although it should have made more than $125 million in the US.

Now according to the L.A Times the Terminator rights will be trading hands once again.

Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek, who acquired the science-fiction franchise in 2007 for $25 million and produced this year’s sequel “Terminator Salvation,” are now looking to sell them partially or outright as several companies owned by the duo work their way through bankruptcy.

Anderson and Kubicek’s Halcyon Holding Group has engaged financial advisory firm FTI Capital Advisors, pending bankruptcy court approval, to “evaluate strategic alternatives,” according to a statement. Since Halcyon’s only valuable asset is the Terminator rights, any deal would involve an investment in, or outright sale, of them.

A Halcyon spokesperson said that the company will pay back all of its debts in full following a Terminator transaction.

A few months ago director McG was talking about setting Terminator 5 in a pre-Judgment Day 2011, but I doubt there will be another further developments until the rights are sorted out.

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Terminator Salvation will be released later this month by Warner Bros in the US and Sony overseas, however some studio drama may occur regarding who will finance and distribute Terminator 5, which is currently in development.

From Variety:

MGM has a 30-day right of first refusal to finance and distribute the fifth “Terminator” film, a right earned through the settlement of a lawsuit between the studio and Halcyon partners Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson. According to sources, MGM has every intention of making a serious play for the franchise, potentially trumping Warner Bros., which is distributing “Terminator Salvation” in domestic territories, and Sony, which is releasing the film overseas.

The distribution drama promises to be a real cliffhanger that will begin once Halcyon delivers its demands to MGM along with a first draft of the screenplay for the fifth “Terminator.”

“Salvation” was a much riskier prospect then than the fifth “Terminator” is now. At the time, MGM made its decision knowing only that franchise linchpin Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t returning, and the studio had only an early script by “Terminator 3″ scribes John Brancato and Michael Ferris they developed with “T3″ helmer Jonathan Mostow. That script has changed significantly, with uncredited work done by Jonah Nolan, Paul Haggis, Shawn Ryan and Anthony Zuiker. Though Halcyon hasn’t yet set a writer for the fifth film, the prospects are strong because McG is returning as director, and Christian Bale will reprise as John Connor.

The MGM-Halcyon drama may not play out until a year from now, when Kubicek and Anderson get an early script, but the stakes may well be supremacy for summer 2011 or 2012.

As long as a movie is good I don’t really care which studio is behind it, however you have to feel a bit sorry for Warner Bros (even if they do earn billions). First they had the Watchmen/Fox legal battle and now they could lose a potential franchise they set up.

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Terminator Salvation takes place in 2018 where Skynet and the machines are running the show. John Connor (Christian Bale) is leading the human resistance who are trying to stay alive and take down Skynet. However, for the sequel McG has suggested that we may see John Connor battling machines in a modern day 2011.

From Film Journal:

“I strongly suspect the next movie is going to take place in a [pre-Judgment Day] 2011,” McG reveals. “John Connor is going to travel back in time and he’s going to have to galvanize the militaries of the world for an impending Skynet invasion. They’ve figured out time travel to the degree where they can send more than one naked entity. So you’re going to have hunter killers and transports and harvesters and everything arriving in our time and Connor fighting back with conventional military warfare, which I think is going to be fucking awesome.

I also think he’s going to meet a scientist that’s going to look a lot like present-day Robert Patrick [who famously played the T-1000 in Terminator 2], talking about stem-cell research and how we can all live as idealized, younger versions of ourselves.”

McG has said in the past that he has a outline for the new trilogy, so this will no doubt be part of the master plan. I wonder where the third film will take place? When you introduce time travel anything is possible. Skynet vs. the dinosaurs anyone?

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