'It's not a slam on The Terminator. I love The Terminator. That part's totally true,' the creator of 'Dollhouse' responds when asked about his 10,000 dollars bid for the rights of the franchise.
- Nov 3, 2009
AceShowbiz - Amidst reports about the rights of the "Terminator" franchise being up for auction surfaced, TV series creator Joss Whedon penned an open letter to the franchise owners, offering $10,000 for the rights. While some deemed his letter hilarious, the man behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Dollhouse" told Entertainment Weekly he is not just being funny.
"Here's the thing: It's not a slam on The Terminator. I love The Terminator. That part's totally true," the 45-year-old explained his grounds. "I was thinking to myself, 'Not since they auctioned off frames from The Little Mermaid have I wished I had more money this much. So you know what, never hurts to ask.' I loved the movies, even the later movies."
"I loved the mythology. I loved the TV show [Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles] - like, really loved. Not for pretend. And not just because of [star] Summer [Glau]," he went on. "But mostly, it's just me being a dumb-ass, because that seems to be what I do best - I'm not even very good at that. So, no, I do not think they're going to call me and say 'Congratulations! We'll have that $10,000 now.' "
"If they will give them to me for $10,000, I absolutely would write a check," Whedon elaborated his response even more. "That's true. They just didn't say those [properties] were for sale. They said they were on back-order, is what I understand." Before the phone interview ended, he summed up by saying, "It's all ridiculous, but it comes from love."
Earlier, Whedon sent his open letter to Deadline.com as well as posted it on his fansite Whedonesque.com. "I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where 'hood' was capitalized 'cause it was a pun), and myriad other legendary tales," the letter began.
"I have heard through the 'grapevine' that the Terminator franchise is for sale, and I am prepared to make a pre-emptive bid RIGHT NOW to wrap this dealio up," part of the letter read. "This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check TODAY for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands. No, you didn't miscount. That's four - FOUR! - zeroes after that one. That's to show you I mean business. And I mean show business."
The last "Terminator" movie to hit big screen was "Terminator Salvation". Coming from director McG and starred by Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, the action thriller was released on May 21 in the U.S. and lost the opening weekend box office battle to "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian". Still, it went on to collect $371.4 million worldwide.
