Terminator 5 studio rights auction part 3

TERMINATOR 5 BID WARS PART 3 (PREVIOUS OWNERS SONY IN CRISIS):

Reported on 29th April 2011:

The Terminator Saga has always been in trouble legally ever since original owner James Cameron sold the rights for a cup of coffee to one of his ex-wives. Sony one of the bidders in the recent Terminator rights auction were involved with Warner Brothers in bringing us parts 3 and 4 of the series so far but does the recent PSN data crisis mean that Sony might be out of the runnings for competiting with Terminator Rights auction? Let's find out...

So, the rights to the Terminator franchise are up for auction and amongst the companies aiming to purchase the future of the franchise is sony; Sony is the world's fifth largest media conglomerate with US$77.20 billion which makes them one financially secure motherf*cker... unless...

Recently the manufacturering giant had an unwanted visitor,- an "External Intrusion" as they politely describe it. On Tuesday the 26th of April Sony issued this statement:

"These malicious actions have also had an impact on your ability to enjoy the services provided by PlayStation Network and Qriocity, including online gaming and online access to music, movies, sports and TV shows. We have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online and expect to restore some service within a week."

What that essentially tranlsates as is ; PS3 owners going online to play multiplayer games, purchase downloads and enjoy services like Netflix,- the service has been down since April 20.

After the shutdown of PSN Sony claims they have employed a security company to conduct an investigation into the situation to ascertain what has happened and have begun to enhance security and reinforce the network infrastructure by re-jigging the system. Sorted? Well... no...
Sony has admitted that an unauthorized person has in fact obtained addresses, email addresses, birthdays and PSN online ID's. Sony also added that it is "possible" that profile data, including purchase history, billing addresses and PSN security questions, have been obtained by the intruder...

So how will this impact on Terminator... ?

Sony's Terms and Conditions state that "the firm is not liable for any loss of data or any 'unauthorised access,' to said data when using Sony Online Network", which would mean they don't have to pay a penny towards the loss of important personal information by its customers while using their products. However the UK Data Protection Act states that “any individual or company which handles personal information (including names, email addresses and payment details) is required to keep that information secure,”... Meaning Sony could face costs of £150million in compensation in the UK alone.

According to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the system hack also falls under criminal legislation overseen by the Metropolitan Police... Awk-ward...

This situation may end up costing Sony big time through legal fees, penalties, loss of revenue and loss of customers.

The question then becomes; Can Sony afford to pay the auction price of the Terminator franchise?

Sony recoups $500 million in annual revenue which is no small sum and last year Pacificor paid $29.5 million for the privilege of owning the Terminator name and though that is a large amount of money it seems only a drop in the ocean for money-making Sony, although... the situation as it stands may leave Sony slightly unsteady on its feet with its auction paddle.

Who will decide the future of the Terminator franchise... Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, CBS, Sony... or will the fans have to wait until the rights revert back to James Cameron in 2018 for Judgment Day?

We'll do our best to keep you up-to-date on everything Terminator!

 

OVERALL OPINION:

Terminator 3 & 4 did not meet the requirements of the fans. Will Sony getting back in on this be more of the same? Statistics show that the interest is in Lionsgate or Universal to take over. Maybe the general opinion is Sony had two chances to get it right and didn't so will they have learned from their mistake in bringing us rushed PG-13 Terminator movies?

Will another studio make the same mistake?

Endo Morgan