TERMINATOR Owners Delay Judgment Day For Their Company
by Jeffrey Van Camp
The producing duo behind Terminator Salvation arent in the best financial situation. In August, Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek filed for Chapter 11.
Now, a U.S. Bankruptcy judge has freed up some money that will allow the duos company, Halcyon Co. to continue developing future Terminator movies during its ongoing lawsuit with its lenders. The Los Angeles judge freed up $2.1 million in tax rebates the company is owed.
To buy the Terminator franchise, Halcyon took out a $30 million dollar loan from a hedge-fund company called Pacificor in 2007, according to Variety. Halcyon now claims that (despite its peaceful sounding name) Pacificor tried to push Halcyon into default so it could seize the Terminator franchise and sell it. The duo also accuses Kurt Benjamin, who helped them set up the deal with Pacificor, of extortion and double dealing. They claim he tried to sabotage their relationship with Pacificor. Benjamin, of course, denies these allegations. Fun, right? Its like high school all over again.
Terminator Salvation wasnt a huge moneymaker. The film had a $200 million dollar budget and raked in about $371 million in worldwide box office receipts. It was profitable, but for the most expensive Terminator movie, it pulled in $60+ million less than Rise of the Machines, and $145 million less than James Camerons Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which pulled more than $516 million at half the budget. Fox has also canceled Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles after its ratings fizzled in early 2009.
Anderson and Kubicek dont want to sell the franchise, valued at more than $70 million, and already have plans for several more movies. I wish theyd sell. Its safe to say that Terminator Salvation was terrible. Our review says as much. The director, McG, admitted it in an august interview. Even Sam Worthington talked to us about some of the problems with the film. I know theyre huge fans of the franchise and all, but I dont think they have what it takes to bring Terminator back as a respected franchise. Christian Bale was not the right choice for John Connor, and until they admit that and some of the other fundamental issues of the film, we dont need them spending cash developing another sequel.
