'Terminator' looks to fight another day -- or it will cost someone a whole lot of money to sit on the shelf. And some uber-geeks around Hollywood -- including Joss Whedon -- are stepping up for their stab at getting a piece of it.Auction rights to the 25-year-old 'Terminator' movie franchise are on the block later this month, according to England's Financial Times, with a change in ownership expected by January. The estimated price tag? More than $60 million, linking its sale to Viacom/Nickelodeon's purchase of 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.'
Whedon – the beloved 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' creator -- announced a lark of an effort on his website Whedonesque.com Monday to buy the 'Terminator' series for $10,000 (hardly enough to keep the lights on for the most recent $200 million-budgeted 'Terminator Salvation').
Whedon told EW.com later Monday "it never hurts to ask," and that the auction earlier in his career of 'Little Mermaid' animation cells, when he didn't have enough money, made him want to express interest.
With DVD sales down and the movie industry in a squeeze, question marks linger over how much is it really worth for the 'Terminator' franchise. This year's 'Terminator: Salvation' grossed $371 million worldwide, but only $125 million in the U.S.
Potential buyers include several Hollywood major studios, including Sony and the high-flying independent Summit Entertainment (which has 'New Moon' in November) could have the most interest, FT reports.
Halycon Co., which is in bankruptcy, is selling the rights, which include future projects, but not the earlier films.
Reader Comments (1)
formytots0128 at 4:04AM on Nov 12th 2009
Either Universal Studios or Disney Studios should make a bid for the Terminator franchise. Universal Studios already feature the T2-3D at their theme parks. Disney Studios can add to their Marvel Comics acquisition at a fraction of the cost. It makes good business sense for them to do this.
The Terminator franchise is very much alive and still continues to generate fans of all ages. Just go to any of the Universal Studios theme parks in California, Florida, and Japan where they feature the live action “T2-3D: Battle Across Time”. This show incorporates real life actors and awesome 3D theatrics. The show is still packed and plenty of cheers at the end. Its been around for many years and has built a good base of Terminator aware fans. Definitely a must attend show for all Terminator fans if you happen to be visiting the area. I saw it again this Summer and was pleased at the positive reaction of the viewers. Its no wonder that the Terminator franchise is still alive and well. We just need good direction and vision to keep it going. Josh Whedon seems to want to take a shot at it.
Here is the link:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T2_3-D:_Battle_Across_Time
Josh Whedon certainly has a good sense of humor. It shows in his writing style, directing, and friendship with his cast of actors. I am glad that he even thought of writing about “Terminator” and including Summer Glau. It is not to make fun of the Terminator genre but rather by the way it has been mishandled lately by Halcyon. Josh somewhat alluded to be a big fan of futuristic world’s gone bad and the human drama behind it and so this is definitely right up his alley of interest. Thanks Josh for also being a fan of the early Terminator movies. Those were definitely classic and much loved by us TSCC fans.