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Saturday, June 29, 2013

TERMINATOR: FAR From TERMINAL

Terminator Franchise Is Alive and Well


Last month I posted on the comeback of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the return of the Terminator films.  Now it's official, Paramount Studios announced that not one but three new films based on the cyborg character will be produced.  The first, Terminator 5 is scheduled to be released in June of 2015.

The Terminator franchise started in 1984 with the release of The Terminator (which was created by James Cameron).  It was followed by three sequels: T2-Judgment Day, T3-Rise of the Machines, and T4-Salvation.  The franchise also includes a TV Series: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, video games, toys, and novels.

Schwarzenegger will return to the role that made him a star, and Paramount stated that Laeta Kalorgridis (Avatar) will work on the screenplay. Justin Lin, of  The Fast and Furious series, is being courted for the directorship.

The revival of the Terminator films is due to David and Megan Ellison, children of Oracle Corporation founder and billionaire Larry Ellison.  Both children manage separate movie production companies: David helms Skydance Productions (recent projects: World War Z, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Jack Reacher); while Megan Ellison runs Annapurna, which specializes in high-end independent films, such as: The Master, Zero Dark Thirty, Killing Them Softly, and Spring Breakers.

The Ellisons joined forces to produce the upcoming three Terminator films when Megan bought the rights to the franchise for $20 million two years ago.  The rights were originally owned by James Cameron which were sold for $25 million in 2007.

As fate and U.S. copyright laws would have it, the rights automatically revert to the original holder after 35 years, no matter who owns them, and thus the Ellisons have them until 2018, at which time, Cameron will regain ownership. 

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