This was always an odd pairing. When the Terminator property was up for grabs, a variety of studios were vying to purchase the name of the very lucrative franchise, namely Annapurna Pictures and Lionsgate. Megan Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures ended up beating Lionsgate for the project and soon developed a partnership with Paramount, who would help finance the project with Annapurna. They even got some of the roles cast for Terminator: Genesis. Game Of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke got the role of Sarah Connor, while Zero Dark Thirty‘s Jason Clarke is in talks to play John Connor.
Now comes word that Annapurna Pictures will no longer a co-financer of the project. Hit the jump to see who will help finance the project.
Deadline says that Megan Ellison will still be executive producer, but that her brother, David Ellison and his Skydance Productions, along with Paramount will now finance the film.
Terminator: Genesis was an odd project for Annapurna Pictures, who pride themselves in financing independent projects like The Master, Zero Dark Thirty, Her, and American Hustle. Megan will continue to steer her focus on similar projects. The project was actually a better fit over at Skydance Pictures who financed projects like Star Trek Into Darkness, Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and World War Z.
Here’s what David Ellison had to say:
“Skydance Productions focuses on elevated event-level film making and the relaunch of this iconic franchise is a perfect match for our company. I am very confident in our top-notch creative team and the material driving this project. I’m grateful to Megan, who will remain involved as an executive producer, and for initially bringing the Terminator franchise to us. I look forward to our continued creative partnership as we prep for production in April.”
Megan Ellison said this about exiting the project:
“We have been working closely with the filmmakers and have the utmost faith in their abilities. We love this project and the direction it is going in, but for now Annapurna’s primary focus is to produce independent films. As I am staying on as executive producer, I am looking forward to working closely with David and Paramount to make a film that will live up to the brands’ legacy and one that I know audiences will love.”
Directed by Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World), Terminator: Genesis is expected to open in theaters on July 1, 2015.
[Source: Deadline]
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