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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Two weeks ago Fast Five director Justin Lin said he had spoken to Arnold Schwarzenegger about making another Terminator movie, but “it has to be the right circumstances” and with “the right people”. Plus he’s getting more offers now, so it may not be the next thing he directs.

Well now according to Deadline things are moving forward. Schwarzenegger, who is now in his 60s, has officially attached himself to the movie, which is currently being shopped to studios. Universal, Sony and Lionsgate are said to be “looking hard at the package”, and the producers have chosen the right time to put it out there as Lin’s Fast Five is set to be #1 at the box office this weekend.

Deadline also mentions that 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. They don’t need to, and I’m with Cameron when he says the franchise has run its course, but it’s a well known property and there’s money to be made.

No screenwriter is attached at the moment, but it shouldn’t be long before a studio buys the Arnie/Lin package and a writer is hired.

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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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Update: According to Deadline Pacificor has sent a cease and desist letter to Hannover House as they haven’t approved the movie.

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Earlier this year Santa Barbara hedge fund Pacificor won the rights to the Terminator franchise at auction after beating the likes of Lionsgate and Sony. As Pacificor has 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.

Now Hannover House (who produced and distributed the original Terminator) has entered into a development venture with Red Bear Entertainment to make Terminator 3000, a $70 million 3D animated film based on the characters and situations introduced in the first Terminator film.

If this potential straight-to-DVD flick excites you then read more details from ComingSoon below:

Story details for Terminator 3000 are being kept under close wraps, but the writers and production team have a stated goal of minimizing violence in order to obtain a PG-13 level of material.

Hemdale produced and distributed director James Cameron’s original Terminator feature, but released the sequel rights in 1990 to Carolco, which later transferred the rights to ultimately end up under the control of Halcyon Media. Santa Barbara based Pacificor, LLC prevailed in the most recent auction and transfer of rights to the franchise in January, and retains approval and licensing authority over the proposed Terminator 3000 project.

Hannover House and Red Bear Entertainment will release details of the production timing, financing and principal production personnel later this year, in advance of a proposed January, 2011 start.

Suddenly McG’s original Terminator 5 plan to have John Connor battling machines in a modern day 2011 doesn’t seem that bad.

Obviously when they get a creative team involved we can see where this is heading, but the current idea just seems like a cash grab and it’s a shame to see the once great franchise reduced to that.

Do you want to see a 3D animated Terminator movie? Or would you prefer a reboot, sequel or franchise death?

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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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Some fanmade videos are crap, where as others are amazing. All I will say is watch this in HD!

Made by silverlightsaber

Since Christian Bale is starring as John Connor in May, I figured I’d make an interesting cross-over between the Terminator franchise and Bale’s other blockbuster franchise, Batman. The Terminator vs Batman, who wins? This was a very difficult crossover to make so I hope you enjoy it.

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In a rare move director James Cameron has written an article for Wired.com. In the piece he give us insite on how he first came about writing his Terminator outline in 1982, and his feelings on the current status of the Terminator franchise, with Terminator Salvation being released in May.

I’ve been fascinated ever since by our human propensity for dancing on the edge of the apocalypse. So when I wrote the first Terminator outline around 1982, I was just working out my childhood stuff. It was also born out of the science fiction movies and literature I grew up with. For the most part, they were warnings—about technology, about science, about the military and the government. You couldn’t escape those themes or the fear of nuclear holocaust.

I kind of turned my back on the Terminator world when there was early talk about a third film. I’d evolved beyond it. I don’t regret that, but I have to live with the consequence, which is that I keep seeing it resurrected. I’m not involved in Terminator Salvation. I’ve never read the script. I’m sure I’ll be paying 10 bucks to see it like everybody else.

Meanwhile, the original film was recently selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. So there’s a good possibility that when the machines actually do take over someday, The Terminator will still be in existence. And the machines can have a good electronic laugh about that.

You can read the whole thing by clicking here! (Highly recommended)

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