Word on the net is that Arnold Schwarzenegger himself has confirmed his involvement with the latest Terminator film.  While there is no official confirmation as of yet, Schwarzenegger was said to announce his appearance in Terminator 5 during a recent press day for The Last Stand.  The Kim Jee-woon actioner was intended to be Schwarzenegger’s big return to a leading role in action, but the opening weekend’s box office was a huge disappointment.  Perhaps returning to one of his signature franchises would help return the living legend to his former glory.  Terminator production has been ramping up behind the scenes as of late, so we’ll have to wait and see how all of this plays out.  Hit the jump for more.

The new Terminator film has taken another step forward closer to production.  Last month we learned that Megan Ellison’s brother, David Ellison, had come aboard the project to co-produce the next installment of the franchise through his Skydance Pictures banner alongside Megan’s Annapurna Pictures, and now the producers have tapped a couple of writers to start work on the script.  Deadline reports that Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier will write the script for the new Terminator film, though further details are understandably being kept under wraps.

Kalogridis previously penned the scripts for Shutter Island and Alexander, as well as the pilot for the TV series Bionic Woman.  Lussier, meanwhile, was responsible for writing 2011’s Drive Angry and received a “story by” credit on Dracula 2000, which he also directed.  As I mentioned, we know next to nothing about where this new Terminator stands in relation to the previous films, but Megan Ellison has confirmed that it will indeed be rated R.  With screenwriters now firmly onboard, expect to hear more news regarding the next Terminator sooner rather than later.

Producer Megan Ellison has been plenty busy financing films like The Master, Killing Them Softly, and Zero Dark Thirty through her Annapurna Pictures banner, so you’d be forgiven for forgetting that she’s also the person behind the new Terminator film.  Ellison bought the rights to the franchise over a year ago with plans to move forward on a new movie, but after a few starts and stops, not much has come to fruition.  Per Deadline, she has now brought on her brother, David Ellison (True Grit, Star Trek Into Darkness), to be her financial and creative partner on the project as the rights deal for the franchise has now officially come to a close.

The film still has no script or studio attached, but David Ellison’s close relationship with Tom Cruise (he produced Ghost Protocol and Jack Reacher and is also producing M:I 5) has many wondering if Cruise might eventually be a part of the new Terminator film.  It’s frankly too early to start that kind of speculation, but I wouldn’t completely rule the notion out.  The Ellison siblings are now starting from scratch on the new Terminator as they set out to find a screenwriter to put on the project.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he was ready to get back into the movie business following his tenure as Governator of California, no one was really expecting him to dive headfirst back into Hollywood.  Cut to 2012 and the actor has already shot a substantial role in The Expendables 2, just wrapped his “comeback” starring role in The Last Stand, and is poised to team up with Sylvester Stallone for the actioner The Tomb.  Oh yeah, and a Twins sequel.  Just last week we learned that Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are planning to reprise their roles from the 1988 comedy Twins in a sequel called Triplets with Eddie Murphy playing their long-lost sibling.

We got the chance to speak with Schwarzenegger in a recent group interview and the actor talked about the idea behind Triplets, how his personal life has affected the likelihood of a sequel to True Lies, and he also had some choice words for the most recent entry in the Terminator franchise.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Though Terminator 5 is currently without a director or screenwriter, a brief yet relieving update regarding the project was revealed a couple of days ago. Megan Ellison, who holds the rights to Terminator 5 and is the savior/financier of many projects including Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest effort, was asked on Twitter what kind of rating the fifth installment would carry. She responded simply:

“We can’t really tell you guys anything about Terminator BUT it will be an R rated film as God and James Cameron intended.”

Hallelujah! Following the disaster that was Terminator: Salvation, it’s refreshing to know that Terminator 5 will return to the less compromised quality of the earlier films. Fast Five helmer Justin Lin was onboard to direct, but was forced to drop out in order to finish out the Fast and Furious series. Hopefully we’ll hear more regarding Terminator 5 soon. Until then, fans can rest a bit easier.

Although Director Justin Lin (Fast Five) is still enthusiastic about the Terminator reboot, a scheduling conflict has arisen that may temporarily terminate his involvement. The Terminator franchise rights holder, Megan Ellison, is looking to start production on the first of two new installments by the last quarter of 2012. Since Lin’s The Fast and the Furious 6 has a release date of May 2013, his schedule doesn’t jive. However, if Ellison and Arnold Schwarzenegger can hold off on production until Lin is finished, there’s a chance he may still be involved.

The timeline doesn’t look all that rushed as reports indicate that Ellison has yet to acquire a script or, for that matter, a screenwriter. No studios have signed on though several have expressed interest. However, there is a minor cause for concern: due to a series of legal trickeries and copyright speak, James Cameron will actually regain the rights to the franchise in 2018. Hopefully Ellison and company can get a couple of installments churned out before then. Hit the jump for what you can expect from a Terminator reboot.

Justin Lin has found tremendous success after this year’s Fast Five.  In addition to Fast and Furious 6 (which is May 24, 2013 unless Universal chickens out again and moves it to April), he’s signed to do the next Terminator film, the Western Brigands of Rattleborge, and the psychological drama We Disappear.  And now THR reports that Lin has set up a two-year development deal with Universal that will have him producing and possibly directing three more movies for the studio in addition to Fast 6.  Through his new production company Barnstorm Pictures, Lin will be developing the action-spy flick Leading Man, “an untitled project about a WWII Japanese American battalion that is the most decorated unit in American history”, and the sci-fi thriller we reported on back in June.  If that weren’t enough to keep him busy, he’s also developing an adaptation of Lone Wolf and Cub with Marissa McMahon and 1212 Entertainment.

Lin knows how to direct action although he’s not on my top-tier of action directors.  However, he does get a bit of a pass for directing the Community episode “Modern Warfare”, and since he’s clearly got a lot of films ahead of him, I’m hoping he makes some good ones (but I’m not holding out much hope for Fast & Furious 6).

Arnold Schwarzenegger put his acting career on hold when it was discovered he had a in-no-way-surprising secret love child with his housekeeper.  That threw a wrench into Justin Lin’s Terminator 5 but producer Megan Ellison, who now holds the rights to the franchise, isn’t going to sit around waiting until the public moves on to the next scandal and forgets that Schwarzenegger is no hero.  With that in mind, What’s Playing has some interesting rumors to report on the film.

First up, the new film may bring back original characters Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor but it may do so in a Star Trek-style alternate timeline fashion where new actors could play the roles and take them in a new direction.  Since the franchise has always included some element of time travel, a fractured timeline wouldn’t be a crazy idea (especially since they already used that premise to spin off the short-lived The Sarah Connor Chronicles).  That’s a solid way to reboot the franchise and it would be even better if they could just cut out Schwarzenegger entirely.  But I could live with his casting if it didn’t mean another disturbing rumor coming to fruition.  Hit the jump for more.

Amidst the firestorm that has engulfed his personal life, Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to postpone indefinitely what was once his full-speed ahead return to acting. TheWrap reports that the former Governor/actor has instructed Creative Artists Agency to “put all acting projects on hold” as he attempts to turn over a new leaf that doesn’t involve lying to his family for more than a decade. In a written statement, Schwarzenegger’s team says:

“Governor Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines. This includes Cry Macho, the Terminator franchise and other projects under consideration. We will resume discussions when Governor Schwarzenegger decides.”

In addition to Cry Macho and a Terminator sequel, news of Schwarzenegger’s delayed return also means that his animated TV series, The Governator, is also on hold for the time being (a tough pill to swallow, no doubt). For now, there is no way of knowing exactly how long the actor’s return will be put off. Nevertheless, it does seem as if the ball is entirely in his court meaning that, as soon as he’s ready to return to acting, there will most likely be projects waiting for him on the other side. Whether or not it will be the same ones listed above may depend on whether Cry Macho director Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) and Terminator franchise rights-holder, Megan Ellison, want to wait around for Schwarzenegger to sort things out.

Lionsgate has missed out on the rights to The Terminator franchise again.  After losing the bidding war to Pacificor back in February 2010, the rights went back up for sale at Cannes and Lionsgate once again tried to grab the franchise.  But on Wednesday we learned that Megan Ellison, whose Annapurna Pictures had taken to backing prestige directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and Kathryn Bigelow, unexpectedly threw her hat into the ring.  Now Deadline is reporting that Ellison has won the bidding war and it’s a surprising film to add to her indie-dominated portfolio.  Hit the jump for more on Ellison’s other projects and my thoughts on her Terminator acquisition.

Producer Megan Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures have entered a bidding war with Lionsgate over the rights to the Terminator franchise.  As you may recall, Ellison previously has set her production company to backing smaller films with acclaimed directors like Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled religious drama and Inherent Vice, and Kathryn Bigelow’s hunt for Osama Bin Laden film.  It looked like Lionsgate was going to win the rights with a bid yesterday, but Deadline reports that Ellison has submitted a higher amount even though she doesn’t have a distributor locked in (although it’s probably not too difficult to find a studio willing to distribute a Terminator film).

Hit the jump for more on this potential deal.

This weekend audiences will be treated to Justin Lin’s third entry in the T & Acceleration franchise Fast Five, a film that’s best quality is just how ridiculous it is. Earlier in the week it was announced that the director had been handed the keys to Terminator 5 and today the French film website Cinemateaser released an interview with the director, in which he discusses his next unnecessary 5^th entry in an action franchise. Lin is apparently a big fan of the Terminator movies and makes it clear that he doesn’t simply want this to be an empty collection of robot fight sequences, which is promising even if McG expressed similar sentiments back when he took over the series for Terminator Salvation. Hit the jump to read what Lin has to say about his potential cyborg action opus.

Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning to acting and considering offers, the question becomes: what roles are out there for a 63-year-old action star who hasn’t starred in a movie since 2003?  According to Arnold: plenty.  The Arnold Fans [via AICN] spoke to Schwarzenegger at his annual bodybuilding competition, The Arnold Classic.  When asked about what scripts he was considering, Schwarzenegger told his fans:

“Well, first of all it’s more 15 films, obvious ones from The Terminator to remakes of Predator and The Running Man and all of those things.  Then also a lot of original stuff too.  But I am also packaging a Comic Book character right now. I’m going to announce that sometime by the end of March or the beginning of April.”

Hit the jump for my thoughts on Arnold’s future.

Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day are among the best action movies of all time.  Rise of the Machines and Salvation are not.  But there may be hope yet for the next installment in the time-traveling-killer-robot saga.  According to Mike Fleming at Deadline, William Wisher (who collaborated with James Cameron on the first two films) is making a strong case to potentially write the next two movies in the franchise.  Wisher has already written a “detailed, 24-page treatment for Terminator 5” and a “4-page concept outline for Terminator 6.”  Fleming goes on to say that there will be “several new villains and plenty of firepower.”  One more note of interest:  There’s a part for Linda Hamilton and even Arnold Schwarzenegger in Wisher’s stories.

To get my thoughts on the project, hit the jump.

If you had to sum up this summer’s “Terminator Salvation” in one word, it would probably be “disappointment”.  There were  glimmers of a fantastic film shining through but they were continually blocked by The Christian Bale Show featuring The Angry, Grimacing John Connor and his Growling Voice Band.  In a recent interview, Director McG gives his thoughts on what he thinks went wrong with the film and what he hopes to do with “Terminator 5″.  Hit the jump to grit your teeth and stare pensively into the sunset.