Michael Fleming of Variety:
Warner Bros. has acquired North American distrib rights to "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins," triggering an early 2008 production start for a film that seeks to reinvent the cyborg saga with a storyline to be told over a three-pic span.
WB plans to distribute "Terminator Salvation" in summer 2009.
The Warner deal dashes MGM's hopes of corralling distribution rights to the film. The Lion planned to pepper its slate with tentpoles such as "The Hobbit (2009)" and "Terminator," but neither project has worked out for the distributor.
Halcyon sued MGM in July in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the distrib was interfering with its distribution plans on the fourth "Terminator" film on the basis of an MGM claim that it had acquired an exclusive 30-day negotiating window.
The "Terminator" pic franchise got a new lease on life in spring, when privately funded Halcyon and its co-CEOs Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson teamed with "Terminator 3" exec producer Moritz Borman to acquire film, merchandising and licensing rights from ex-Carolco partners Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar. Kubicek, Anderson and Borman are producing the new film, with Peter D. Graves as exec producer.
WB had first right of negotiation for domestic theatrical and TV distribution rights because the studio played the same role on 2003's Jonathan Mostow-directed "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." That pic posted a domestic gross of $150 million and a worldwide total of $427 million.
The producers said that the new film will carry the size and scale of "Terminator 3," and will have an event-sized budget. It will likely be less than the $200 million price tag of "Terminator 3," which was saddled with extravagant costs that included above the line payouts, rights payments and heavy fees incurred through a complex financial structure...
The complete article can found here
As I said before, a new full-on trilogy is a risk--what if the first flick tanks--especially without Arnold Schwarzenegger in the mix...
However, if the forthcoming franchise inspired TV series,"The Sarah Connor Chronicles", takes off early next year--That will help to give life beyond "Salvation"'s first film.
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