Posted at: 11/04/2009 2:00 PM | WHEC.com
By: Reelz Channel

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Terminator Rights for Sale

Producers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek fought to keep the rights to the Terminator franchise for their Halcyon Co. production company, but The Financial Times reports that that the rights to Terminator will be auctioned off this month.

Halcyon originally purchased the Terminator rights in 2007 for $25 million and produced a TV show, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and the movie sequel Terminator Salvation. While Chronicles was canceled, Salvation managed to gain $371 million in worldwide box office. Still Halcyon declared bankruptcy and sued their lender, Pacifcor, who Anderson and Kubicek claim pushed them into default on their loan. A bankruptcy judge allowed the producing duo to continue to develop Terminator 5, but it looks like that will come to an end once the rights are auctioned off.

In an openly sarcastic letter to DeadlineHollywood, writer-director Joss Whedon made a bid for the Terminator rights, offering $10,000 and claiming he had solid ideas on what to do with the franchise.

Terminator ... of the Rings! Yeah, what if he time-travelled TOO far ... back to when there was dragons and wizards? (I think it was the Dark Ages.) Hasta La Vista, Boramir! Cool, huh? "Now you gonna be Gandalf the Red!" RRRRIP! But then he totally helps, because he's a cyborg and he doesn't give a s#&% about the ring — it has no power over him! And he can carry it AND Frodo AND Sam AND f@%& up some orcs while he's doing it. This stuff just comes to me. I mean it. (I will also offer $10,000 for the Lord of the Rings franchise).

Considering the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise just sold to Nickelodeon for $60 million, and Terminator has been a far more profitable at the box office than the Ninja Turtles, Whedon may need to bid just a few more thousands.