Vajna gets his robot
A bold $8 million bid by Vajna for half the "Terminator" underlying rights won out over Miramax at the Carolco Pictures bankruptcy court auction Tuesday. As expected, 20th Century Fox was a no-show (Daily Variety, Oct. 6).
Attorneys for producer Hurd, owner of the other 50% of the rights, failed to block the sale. Hurd and Miramax initially argued that Hurd's original rights agreements gave her approval over the sale process and that bidding should be restricted to major motion picture studios, thereby barring Vajna, an independent.
Only after Hurd withdrew her legal motion objecting to the sale procedure did the auction proceed. Arguments by Carolco trust attorney Howard Weg and comments by the judge Lisa Hill Fenning indicated a possibility that the court could have ordered the sale of both halves of "The Terminator" together, severing Hurd's rights forever once the sale was made.
In the end, Vajna won only the right to sit down and make a deal with Hurd, but did not win the right to make anything based on "Terminator" without her cooperation.
Miramax was the only competing bidder, despite the fact that two other undisclosed parties had qualified for the auction. Miramax folded its hand after attorneys for Vajna, who had put in a floor bid of $7.5 million, matched a Miramax offer of $8 million. The auction rules gave the opening bidder the right to match the ante and win against any competing bidder who failed to top the matching bid.
Miramax co-chairman Bob Weinstein had entered the courtroom apparently expecting Judge Fenning to rule in favor of Hurd and allow only studio bidders. Had the judge so ruled, the Miramax bid would have carried the day.
Weinstein's stance was ironic, considering Miramax's indie origins, but not unusual, given the Weinstein brothers' well-known tendency to play hardball.
What was unexpected, most courtroom observers agreed, was Miramax dropping out after upping the opening price by half a million dollars. Miramax has been a frequent shopper at the Carolco garage sale, snapping up remake and sequel rights to "Total Recall" for $3.15 million last January and similar rights to "Rambo" for $500,000 in May.
Prior to folding, Weinstein called a lengthy timeout and spent several minutes on his cellular phone in the hallway, and more time arguing to no avail over the auction rules with Weg, attorney for the Carolco liquidating trust.
Weg said, "The liquidating trust is very appreciative that Gale Anne Hurd withdrew her objection in order to allow the auction to proceed. We are pleased with the outcome and believe that we have maximized the asset value for all parties concerned."
Attorney Allen Shapiro, acting on behalf of Vajna, said the former Carolco co-chairman, was "thrilled." Producer Joel Michaels, of Mario Kassar's MK Prods., was also on hand, as Kassar is expected to re-team with his former Carolco partner, Vajna, on a "Terminator" sequel.
After the legal haggling Tuesday, and with a deal still to be made with Hurd, Michaels said making the movie will be "the easy part."
In other Carolco court actions Tuesday, Carolco trust attorney Rick Wynne said a settlement has been reached in longstanding litigation involving homevideo licenses between Carolco and Live Entertainment. Terms will be announced soon.
