Movies
Sony Enters Bidding War for ‘Terminator’ Franchise
Can anyone revive the Terminator franchise? Step one would be to remove McG from the equation, while also turning it back into a “chase film” as originally intended. But beyond that, it would take a madman like James Cameron to find a truly futuristic and invigorating way to revive the franchise. While Warner Bros. is no longer involved, buzz hit the web that Lionsgate might score the rights — which to me would mean a $12-20m Terminator film (no thanks). Thankfully, Sony has joined the bidding war (which I would find hilarious as Legion was a failed rip-off). Read on for the skinny.
From Variety:
“Sony’s joined Lionsgate in the bidding on the rights to the “Terminator” franchise.
The studio had no comment but a source close to the bidding confirmed that Sony submitted a bid Thursday, the final day for submitting offers.
Lionsgate stepped up last month as the first bidder for the rights to the “Terminator” franchise with a “stalking horse” or floor bid of $15 million and a 5% cut of future gross receipts.
Halcyon Group put the franchise up for sale in September-. The auction for the “Terminator” assets — which include the rights to future “Terminator” pics, TV series, DVDs and merchandise — will be held Monday at the offices of FTI Consulting in Los Angeles, followed by a bankruptcy court hearing two days later.
If Lionsgate doesn’t win the auction, it will receive $750,000 as a breakup fee from the winning bidder.
“Terminator Salvation,” the fourth film in the franchise, was produced by Halcyon with Warner Bros. handling domestic distribution and Sony taking international. It carried a production pricetag of about $200 million and took in $371 million worldwide.
Halcyon paid Mario Kassar $30 million for the “Terminator” rights in 2007, then filed for Chapter 11 as a result of a dispute with hedge fund Pacificor, which financed the purchase. At that point, Halcyon toppers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek told the bankruptcy court that they valued the “Terminator” franchise above $70 million. ”
After pulling in $28 million at the worldwide box office this month, director (and star) Dev Patel’s critically acclaimed action-thriller Monkey Man is now available to watch at home.
You can rent Monkey Man for $19.99 or digitally purchase the film for $24.99!
Monkey Man is currently 88% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with Bloody Disgusting’s head critic Meagan Navarro awarding the film 4.5/5 stars in her review out of SXSW back in March.
Meagan raves, “While the violence onscreen is palpable and painful, it’s not just the exquisite fight choreography and thrilling action set pieces that set Monkey Man apart but also its political consciousness, unique narrative structure, and myth-making scale.”
“While Monkey Man pays tribute to all of the action genre’s greats, from the Indonesian action classics to Korean revenge cinema and even a John Wick joke or two, Dev Patel’s cultural spin and unique narrative structure leave behind all influences in the dust for new terrain,” Meagan’s review continues.
She adds, “Monkey Man presents Dev Patel as a new action hero, a tenacious underdog with a penetrating stare who bites, bludgeons, and stabs his way through bodies to gloriously bloody excess. More excitingly, the film introduces Patel as a strong visionary right out of the gate.”
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Monkey Man is produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.
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