victor kubicek Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When it comes to the Terminator franchise, the future might have begun, but it's sputtered and stalled out. It's not because of Christian Bale rants, McG, or poor reviews but pesky things like rights, loans, and financing. According to The LA Times, the franchise is back in court thanks to Terminator: Salvation producers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek. They've brought a $30 million dollar lawsuit against Santa Barbara based hedge fund Pacificor, which lent them the money to buy the Terminator rights, and against a former Pacificor employee, Kurt Benjamin, who arranged the whole deal.

Things aren't looking rosy for Anderson and Kubicek, who have been involved in more lawsuits than actual film productions. (Patrick Walsh reported on their feud with MGM back in 2007.) Their Halcyon Company is reportedly strapped for cash, and as they're currently trying to raise money in order to stay in business, Pacificor filed a lien against their other company, Dominion Group, which has froze their Terminator: Salvation earnings, and prevented them from borrowing against them for a fifth film. If the producing pair loses the $30 million lawsuit, and is unable to pay back Pacificor, the hedge fund will win the rights to the Terminator franchise. Anderson and Kubicek insist that they don't owe Pacificor any money on the loan thanks to a February settlement, and that the hedge fund company filed the lien in a "desperate and deliberate attempt to seize ownership and control of the Halcyon entities and of the ['Terminator'] franchise." They claim to have been led astray by Benjamin, who blackmailed and tricked them out of millions in order to help speed up foreclosement on the franchise, and win a piece of it for himself.

It's a big "he said, she said" financial and legal mess, and when you're on the outside looking in, it's impossible to say who is in the right. (Both Halycon and Pacificor sound like companies that would be share holders in Cyberdyne though, don't they?) But one thing is certain -- it's tangled up the Terminator franchise enough that John Connor might not be aiding humanity for a long time.

Hollywood: the only city in the world where having lunch at the right Italian cafe could net you millions of dollars. Two fledgling producers named Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek parlayed a tip from a dining partner into a deal for the rights to the Terminator series, resulting in Terminator Salvation and a deal that entitles them to "rake in half of any profits that might come from box-office, DVD and television sales as well as all the proceeds from a new video game and other consumer products," reports the Los Angeles Times. Dreams do come true -- as long as you can talk somebody else into forking over millions of dollars to reward your moxie, good timing, and luck.

It's a fascinating story, and well worth reading for anyone interested in the business side of Hollywood -- and for anyone who wonders, "What's a producer?" In this case, newbie producers Anderson and Kubicek (who only had one credit prior to Salvation on a film that was never released) thought they had a deal in place for millions of dollars in financing from Dubai, and so made a $25 million offer on the rights to Terminator, which were available from independent producers Andrew Vajna and Mario Kassar. When the Dubai financing fell through, the duo got another "lucky break" in the form of a commitment from a Santa Barbara hedge fund. The producers then secured funding and distribution from Warner Bros. and Sony, decided on McG as director and Christian Bale as star, and the rest is history. The producing duo also controls sequel rights and reportedly have McG signed up for one sequel and Bale for two more.

The Times also details various lawsuits that have followed in their wake, so it's not all roses and champagne for Anderson and Kubicek. Still, nice work if you can get it.