Movies
Lionsgate Loses Battle for the Future, Megan Ellison Wins ‘Terminator’ Rights
He’s back, and for multiple films.
Megan Ellison has won an auction for the rights to make at least two more installments of The Terminator franchise, with Fast Five‘s Justin Lin attached to direct and Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to reprise his role, reports Deadline.
The deal came down to Ellison’s Annapurna Films and Lionsgate, which seemed to have had the project sewn up until she came forward with a dramatic bid. The auction at the time was for a guarantee for at least half of the $29.5 million paid by hedge fund Pacificor to pull the franchise out of bankruptcy.
The expectation is the Skynet storyline will be wrapped up in two features. Ellison made her bid without a domestic distributor attached, so conceivably that project could become about the hottest title in the ongoing Cannes market.
Keith C. Blackmore’s book series Mountain Man is headed to the screen, with Deadline reporting today that Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”) is on board to star in the film adaptation.
The actor will also produce the upcoming zombie movie.
“Mountain Man tells the story of Gus, a lonely post-apocalyptic survivor facing isolation and the ever-present specter of a zombie attack, who struggles with alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts until he discovers another survivor, a captivating woman who poses another threat altogether.”
John Lee (False Positive) will direct Mountain Man from a script by Matt Deller.
“John is a brilliant creative mind. We’ve been looking for the right thing to do together since we filmed Pee Wee’s Big Holiday and it’s finally here,” 3:59’s Joe and Nick Manganiello told Deadline. “Very excited to get to work on such weird, wild project with him.”
Film Bridge International is launching sales on the project in Cannes.
Blackmore’s Mountain Man series features 7 books, the first one published in 2011.
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