After already changing hands a bunch of times, the rights to the Terminator franchise were bought by Halcyon (Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek) in 2007 for $25 million. They subsequently released Terminator Salvation this year, but despite the film earning $371 million worldwide, Halcyon is in bankruptcy court owing creditors between $4 and $32 million. Since the rights to the Terminator franchise are their only asset, they’re selling them, and they want $60 million.
“We’re going to be contacting a variety of studios and independent companies,” said Kevin Shultz, senior managing director at FTI. “We think the values are considerably in excess of the purchase price.”
In a previous bankruptcy court filing, Anderson claimed that the Terminator rights are now worth more than $60 million, more than double what he and Kubicek paid. Shultz said his firm will conduct its own analysis. Such valuations, which are based on forthcoming cash flow from “Salvation,” which has yet to be released on DVD, as well as potential further sequels, can vary widely because the performance of future films is so difficult to predict. [LA Times]
If someone pays $60 million for the rights — which they probably won’t — but if they pay anywhere near that, it’s hard to imagine they’d spend that much unless they were planning to make another Terminator movie. (Then again, it’s hard to imagine someone paying $25 million for the rights, making a movie that earns almost $400 million, and still ending up bankrupt, but that’s another story). I can only hope Fox buys the rights and hires Randi Mayem Singer to write the script. In a world, where John Connor is raised by an African-American family, one straitlaced robot will learn how to loosen up, and one community will be turned upside down. Starring Sinbad, Duane the Rock Johnson, and Channing Tatum. Terminator 5: I’ll be Black. Opens Judgement Day, August 29th 2011.
