Deadline reports that previous announcements that there would be a $70 million animated/CGI film based on “Terminator” characters have resulted in a cease and desist letter from Pacificor, the people who own the rights to “Terminator”.
from the letter:
We recently became aware through various online media reports that Hannover House, purportedly a division of Target Development Group, Inc. (“TDGI”), entered into a purported feature film development venture with a Vancouver based entity, Red Bear Entertainment, for “Teminator 3000” an animated feature film based upon the characters introduced in the original Terminator movie.This knowledge came as a surprise to Pacificor. It did not license or authorize any such development or film. Indeed, it has not been contacted by Hannover House, TDGI, Red Bear Entertainment or anyone else seeking such a license or approval.
While some of the reports we have seen mention that Pacificor “retains approval and licencing authority…” over the proposed project, a reasonable inference drawn from the reports is that such approval has been obtained. Otherwise, why would the “development deal” have been entered into in the first place and why would the reports mention a proposed January 2011 start date for production?
Please be advised that the suggestion that Hannover House, TDGI, Red Bear Entertainment or any other entity is, has, or will be developing, producing, marketing or in any other way utilizing characters and situations which are part of the Terminator Franchise infringes upon and interferes with Pacificor’s ownership rights … This public pronouncement could impact Pacificor’s ability to attract and negotiate with development partners of its own choosing.
So the current status of the project, as Eric Parkinson of Hannover House told Deadline, is this:
“We’ve arranged a meeting, we’ll show them our money and if the rational brain prevails, they’ll take the deal. If not, I can’t do it without them. You’ll have a followup next week that we are either holding hands, or not doing the film.”
The letter from Pacificor, especially the line of “ability to attract and negotiate with development partners of its own choosing”, seems to also hint that the “Terminator” live action franchise isn’t as dead as was once thought.
Keep an eye on this one. The legal drama may be more entertaining than the end project!
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